“We have the experience to thrive in every country” — Mikel Coffee CMO, Stelios Papakostas

Mikel Coffee Company opened its first stores in Germany and Iraq in 2023 | Photo credit: Mikel Coffee Company

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How would you describe trading for Mikel currently?

Coffee is a daily habit for Greek consumers, whether at work, on a walk, at home or in a coffee shop with friends. With the advent of the pandemic, online sales were added which resulted in stores combining multiple services.

Mikel is one of the few companies in the industry that combines all our services — dine in, take-away and delivery — therefore satisfying the highest demands of consumers. During the pandemic our company opened 100 new stores worldwide, which proves the Mikel brand is both popular and profitable.

The biggest takeaway of the pandemic was that it pushed the Greek and global market to new habits, with a prime example being the increase in sales from delivery.

E-commerce boosted online sales through various platforms and companies quickly adapted to the new conditions, with technology at the forefront.
 

“We expect further development in Germany, Spain and France, as well as the UK, where we already have three stores”

With Mikel’s roots firmly embedded in Greece, how is the brand perceived internationally?

In Greece, the industry of coffee has always had many competitors. As a result, all coffee shops, big and small, quickly achieved high levels of improvement and innovative ideas on coffee, in comparison to the rest of the world which is used to specific flavours of hot coffee and some specific ready-to-drink cold coffee beverages.

The choice between 180 flavours of coffee beverages, the attractive environment of the stores, the high standard of service, and of course the partners in our stores, are the recipe for success that makes our brand loved and recognised worldwide.

Which markets are currently best performing and where do you see the most growth potential for Mikel Coffee?

Each market has its own characteristics which, based on continuous developments, change. Based on the company's development in all five continents, we have penetrated the global market and have the experience to thrive in every country.

We can say that countries in the Middle East show most growth due to the economic background compared to markets in Europe and the West, which we believe are restructuring with new projects due to saturation.

We expect further development in Germany, Spain, France, as well as the UK where we already have three stores.

In 2023, we are pleased to announce our first store in Germany, one of the countries we aim to develop the Mikel network in, as well as further expansion in the Middle East with a new addition in Iraq.

We are also in ongoing discussions for further development in the US and Europe.
 

Stelios Papakostas is CMO at Mikel Coffee Company