Every day is coffee day — at Flyer Enterprises

For #InternationalCoffeeDay, we grabbed a cup o’ Joe, pulled up a chair and talked with Kyle Ransom, senior finance major and CEO of Flyer Enterprises. The student-run business has been pouring coffee on campus since 2001 with the opening of The Blend, the company’s first coffee division, located in the basement of Roesch Library. Today, FE is keeping campus caffeinated through three standalone divisions plus its other food service offerings.

Why coffee? The Blend was developed to fulfill student and faculty needs for coffee in the library. Due to the success of The Blend, Flyer Enterprises decided to create a second coffee shop in the atrium of Miriam Hall. In 2017, Heritage Coffee House was launched in the heart of campus and has been an excellent place for students and faculty to work, study, meet, and enjoy delicious coffee. Although Flyer Enterprises has three central coffee shops around campus, we also serve coffee at The Galley and ArtStreet Café.

How has the desire for coffee changed over time? Flyer Enterprises’ options in regards to flavors, brands and offerings have changed tremendously over time. One of our main goals as coffee shops is to continue responding and changing based on current trends in the market and based on the culture that we’re trying to create within the different businesses. Overall, coffee has been one thing that has stayed pretty constant on campus. We have focused on promotional tactics to soak up as much of the market as possible.

But what about those who don’t (*gasp*) like coffee? A new trend we are beginning to see is a desire for coffee alternatives. Products like teas and refreshers are beginning to find their way to the top of our menus.

What about your off-campus competition? There truly isn’t any competition with other coffee shops off campus. Our biggest strengths come from the fact that we have very convenient locations and that students are the ones who are serving the coffee. This connection we have on campus truly makes Flyer Enterprises what it is today.

What’s next? Flyer Enterprises is always looking for more ways to continue growing our coffee marketing in ideal areas around campus. One thing we have considered doing is implementing coffee carts around campus. These carts would serve an assortment of coffees within different academic buildings. This project is in the beginning stages but it is something that we believe could attract customers from parts of campus that we have never interacted with.