Speaker Q&A (2018): Sam Roberts, Boston Tea Party
Co-owner and CEO of Boston Tea Party, Sam Roberts has been at the helm of the Bristol-based café chain for the last 12 years. A new speaker for 2018, he’ll be taking part in lunch!’s Coffee Cup Debate (21 Sept) alongside Ollie Rosevear (Costa Coffee), Alan Tomlins (Small Batch Coffee Roasters) and Martin Kersh (Foodservice Packaging Association) discussing their experiences and ideas around reducing and removing single use waste and reusing and recycling take out coffee cups.
Which food-to-go operators do you particularly admire and why?
Pret – for quality and service consistency.
What do you feel is the key for operators to successfully compete against their competitors?
Being clear about who they are and what they stand for.
What do you see as key trends for food-to-go in the coming year?
Reusable cups!
What’s your bestselling product at the moment?
West Country Breakfast (our full English).
What’s the most rewarding aspect of your job?
Watching people develop and proving you can scale up a brand without compromising what you stand for.
And the most challenging?
Balancing being sustainable and profitable.
Can you tell us a bit about your much anticipated session at lunch! 2018?
I’m looking forward to listening to other brands telling us about their plans to reduce single use disposable items from their businesses.
Who or what inspires you to be even better?
Our people.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?
Execution is king.
Tell us a fun fact about yourself that most people don’t know:
I love trees.
See Sam at lunch! 2018
The Coffee Cup Debate: 2.15pm in Keynote Theatre 2 on Friday 21 September.
