Page 31 - RW-APRIL-2021

COMPANY PROFILE Building the House With its longstanding place in the Australian food and beverage landscape, it’s no surprise that The House of Robert Timms has jumped over many hurdles during its 70 years. Ms de Leeuw provides the following highlights of the journey: 1924: “Robert Timms Jr joined Moran & Cato \\\[the largest chain of grocery stores in Australia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries\\\] as a 15-year-old apprentice. \\\[This is\\\] where his natural talent in sales of tea and coffee in particular saw him promoted to various roles over several years. When he left Moran & Cato, he sold the shares he’d acquired, and purchased the Associated Tea Company.” 1945: “During World War II Robert Timms Jr and his staff worked up to 20 hours a day to ensure both the Australian and the US armed forces were supplied with fresh coffee. At the conclusion of the war ... he focused on expanding the business, and with many migrants moving to Australia, he decided to focus on coffee production over tea.” 1950s: “Robert Timms Jr won two major contracts. The first being the introduction of self-service grinders into supermarkets. The second, “Our philosophy is that The House of Robert Timms coffee is an everyday luxury for the aspirational spirit, where quality is not a choice; it’s a necessity.” the development of a special coffee blend in 1954 (at the request of Ansett Airlines) for Queen Elizabeth II. Royal Special Blend was born.” 1956: “Robert Timms became the official coffee supplier to the Melbourne Olympic Games.” 1960s: “\\\[A step change for Robert Timms Jr\\\] resulted in the development and launch of his gourmet instant coffee, New Guinea Gold, which became a best seller in Australia.” 1970s: “Robert Timms was the largest privately owned tea and coffee company in Australia, representing more than 75 per cent of the pure coffee market.” 1980s: “The business was sold to Unilever, which further invested in and consolidated the business.” 1990s: “The introduction of coffee bags to the Australian market was an innovative concept delivering a good café-quality coffee with the convenience of a single-serve bag, which was individually sealed for freshness and portability.” Ms de Leeuw notes that The House of Robert Timms in recent times has launched several new products that have attracted “great industry feedback”, including the Robert Timms Café Series Freeze Dried Medium Roast 90g. She adds that one of the challenges the team has had to face has been remaining relevant in the changing landscape, being required to grow along with Australians’ taste buds. They have achieved this, she says, by creating new product innovations. “Our people are fiercely passionate about our brands and products and strive to ensure we deliver on our promise of quality and consistency,” Ms de Leeuw said. “We’re coffee experts, and in particular we’re single-serve experts. “We’re fully committed to the coffee category and investing in manufacturing and state-of-the-art facilities to grow our segments by being the quality and fresh offering preferred by customers and consumers alike.” APR, 2021 RETAIL WORLD 29