Kenco
Encyclopedia
Kenco is a brand of instant coffee
, and roast & ground coffee
distributed by Kraft Foods
in the United Kingdom
and the Republic of Ireland. Originally known as the Kenya Coffee Company, they started distributing coffee to Britain in 1923. Shortly after, they opened a coffee shop in Sloane Square
and then changed their name to Kenco in 1962.
In 2008 the brand was relaunched with 75% of the beans for its instant range being sourced from Rainforest Alliance
certified farms. The company sources their coffee beans from Brazil
, Costa Rica
, Colombia
, Peru
, Ethiopia
, Vietnam
and Indonesia
.
As demand increased, the company moved to number 30 Sloane Street, London, next door to a food merchants called John Gardiner. Gardiner ran a food wholesale business, restaurants and provided outdoor catering at events such as Wimbledon Tennis Championships.
After World War II, Tom Kelly, a Gardiner employee, persuaded the company to buy The Kenya Coffee Company. On completion of the deal, Tom Kelly was put in charge of the new business and he expanded the retail chain. As well as selling coffee by mail order and from the Sloane Street premises, Kelly diversified into catering and opened eleven coffee shops on locations as Wimbledon, King’s Road and Golders Green. These Kenya Coffee Company shops may well have been the first branded high street coffee shop in the UK. In the 1960s, the cafes were thriving, selling not only coffee but all sorts of cakes as well. Besides the coffee shop activity, Tom Kelly also acquired the rights to sell Gaggia machines, and so the company started to sell espresso machines to other coffee bars.
During the 1960s, the Kenyan Coffee Company changed its name into the Kenco Coffee company, to reflect the fact that the amount of coffee the company bought from Kenya was decreasing.
Before being owned by Kraft Foods, the brand was owned by General Foods
and before that Premier Brands.
Kenco purchases 75% of their coffee beans for their freeze dried range from Rainforest Alliance
Certified farms and aiming to make it 100% by 2010.
Instant coffee
Instant coffee, also called soluble coffee and coffee powder, is a beverage derived from brewed coffee beans. Instant coffee is commercially prepared by either freeze-drying or spray drying, after which it can be rehydrated...
, and roast & ground coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
distributed by Kraft Foods
Kraft Foods
Kraft Foods Inc. is an American confectionery, food and beverage conglomerate. It markets many brands in more than 170 countries. 12 of its brands annually earn more than $1 billion worldwide: Cadbury, Jacobs, Kraft, LU, Maxwell House, Milka, Nabisco, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia, Trident, Tang...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and the Republic of Ireland. Originally known as the Kenya Coffee Company, they started distributing coffee to Britain in 1923. Shortly after, they opened a coffee shop in Sloane Square
Sloane Square
Sloane Square is a small hard-landscaped square on the boundaries of the fashionable London districts of Knightsbridge, Belgravia and Chelsea, located southwest of Charing Cross, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. The square is part of the Hans Town area designed in 1771 by Henry...
and then changed their name to Kenco in 1962.
In 2008 the brand was relaunched with 75% of the beans for its instant range being sourced from Rainforest Alliance
Rainforest Alliance
The Rainforest Alliance is a non-governmental organization with the published aims of working to conserve biodiversity and ensure sustainable livelihoods by transforming land-use practices, business practices and consumer behavior. It is based in New York City, and has offices throughout the...
certified farms. The company sources their coffee beans from Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
, Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
and Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
.
History
Kenco was founded in 1923 by a co-operative of retired Kenyan coffee growers who traded as “The Kenya Coffee Company Limited”. Soon, LC Gibbs and CS Baines began selling coffee from a shop in Vere Street, Mayfair. The shop sold roast and ground coffee locally but most of its sales were by mail order - selling coffee to country houses using advertisements in publications like Tatler, Country Life and The Times.As demand increased, the company moved to number 30 Sloane Street, London, next door to a food merchants called John Gardiner. Gardiner ran a food wholesale business, restaurants and provided outdoor catering at events such as Wimbledon Tennis Championships.
After World War II, Tom Kelly, a Gardiner employee, persuaded the company to buy The Kenya Coffee Company. On completion of the deal, Tom Kelly was put in charge of the new business and he expanded the retail chain. As well as selling coffee by mail order and from the Sloane Street premises, Kelly diversified into catering and opened eleven coffee shops on locations as Wimbledon, King’s Road and Golders Green. These Kenya Coffee Company shops may well have been the first branded high street coffee shop in the UK. In the 1960s, the cafes were thriving, selling not only coffee but all sorts of cakes as well. Besides the coffee shop activity, Tom Kelly also acquired the rights to sell Gaggia machines, and so the company started to sell espresso machines to other coffee bars.
During the 1960s, the Kenyan Coffee Company changed its name into the Kenco Coffee company, to reflect the fact that the amount of coffee the company bought from Kenya was decreasing.
Before being owned by Kraft Foods, the brand was owned by General Foods
General Foods
General Foods Corporation was a company whose direct predecessor was established in the USA by Charles William Post as the Postum Cereal Company in 1895. The name General Foods was adopted in 1929, after several corporate acquisitions...
and before that Premier Brands.
Kenco purchases 75% of their coffee beans for their freeze dried range from Rainforest Alliance
Rainforest Alliance
The Rainforest Alliance is a non-governmental organization with the published aims of working to conserve biodiversity and ensure sustainable livelihoods by transforming land-use practices, business practices and consumer behavior. It is based in New York City, and has offices throughout the...
Certified farms and aiming to make it 100% by 2010.
Products
- FreshSeal: The perfect on the move, hot beverage solution
- Singles: freshly brewed, every time
- InCup: the quick and easy vending solution
- Traditional Vending: Branded loose ingredients for traditional systems
- Roast & Ground: For Espresso, Bulk Brew, Pour & Serve & Cafeteria systems