Maxol and Bewley’s announce €10m coffee and equipment partnership

Irish petrol station forecourt operator Maxol has announced a €10m ($10.7m) coffee supply deal with Bewley’s coffee and tea group. 
 

The five-year agreement will see Bewley’s supply 270 tonnes of coffee for Maxol, with new coffee machine equipment installed in 72 Maxol stores, including the replacement of 130 coffee machines. Additionally, an initial 20 Maxol sites will trial iced and oatmilk-based coffee ranges for the first time. 

Maxol CEO Brian Donaldson said the group plans to roll out iced and oatmilk coffee to approximately half of its 200-strong petrol forecourt network within the next 12 months, as part of an ongoing innovation and investment strategy. 

The agreement advances Maxol’s partnership with Bewley’s which dates back to 2018 when the Dublin-based tea and coffee group developed Maxol’s fair trade coffee brand ROSA.  
 

The petrol station forecourt operator sold more than 3.5 million cups of ROSA coffee in Ireland in 2022 and forecasts it will sell 20 million over the next five years. 
 

“Maxol is becoming as well known for its coffee as it is for its traditional fuel and retail convenience offering. Therefore, choosing a partner that could not only provide a fantastic quality product but was also highly innovative was critical to our decision to work with Bewley’s again. Given the estimated 20 million cups of ROSA coffee we expect to sell over the next five years, we are confident we have secured a really strong partnership,” he said. 

Founded in 1920, Maxol operates 240 stores across Ireland, while Dublin-based Bewley’s currently supplies coffee and tea to over 4,000 hotels, restaurants and cafés. Bewley’s is credited with introducing Fair Trade coffee to the Irish market and currently accounts for 45% of all Fair Trade coffee sold in the country.