Coffee firm invests £4m in its future

AFTER investing £4 million in new premises, one of Dundee’s oldest businesses is ready for the future.

Private label packing group Aimers Coffee and Tea was founded in 1884. Its former Milnbank Road factory was regarded a Dundee landmark.

Last year it relocated to a new 35,000sq ft factory at Dryburgh Industrial Estate. The firm spent close to £4m on the facility and new equipment.

The firm has prepared for the move since 2018 as its old premises did not allow for the strong growth it was seeing.

Chairman Eric Duncan believes Aimers is now ready for whatever the future brings.

“In the middle of a pandemic moving premises and investing heavily in the business, it’s not necessarily the best thing,” he said. “It’s a difficult period for the whole economy.

“This is an investment for the future to allow us to go forward.”

The investment in equipment has gone towards automating the production process as much as possible.

Mr Duncan explained this gives a guarantee of a consistently good product.

Faraday Street produces in excess of 1,000 tonnes of tea and coffee annually.

Even with Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic hitting at the same time, Aimers managed to weather the storm.

The chairman said: “The coffee-to-go market has been phenomenal during the pandemic, so things were actually OK for us.

“But it did have its challenges, like every business had.”

As a private label producer, Aimers is found mostly in cafes, hotels and restaurants rather than kitchen cupboards.

Despite keeping a low profile, Mr Duncan thinks the majority of Scots have Aimers tea or coffee more often than they realise.

“Anywhere you would drink coffee out of home is where our product would end up,” he explained.

While Brits still prefer tea – the expert estimates for every two cups of tea drunk there is one cup of coffee – the roasted coffee market is on the up.

Now more than ever, customers want to know where the coffee they drink has come from.

To give back to coffee-growing communities and encourage work in the industry, the firm co-operates with a school in Tanzania.

Over the past five years, the Dundee firm has encouraged children to stay in school so they can get a job in the industry later.

While investing in the future of Tanzanian coffee farms, he has also done his best to secure Aimers’ future in Dundee.

Mr Duncan does not see a return to normality in 2022, but hopes people will gain confidence to go back to hospitality.

However, he has bigger plans than just making it through this year.

“I hope that Aimers carries on for the next 50 to 100 years in Dundee,” he said.