Kendricks Coffee Roasters A Sussex Family Business
Kendricks is based on the beautiful West Sussex coast and has been since 1964. Worthing’s only coffee roasters is an independent family run and owned business.
Originally founded by Thalben Kendrick Loydell, it was the Kendricks speciality tea blends that took flight. Supplying all over the world including high-end stores such as Harrods and Macy’s of New York. The 1990’s saw such rapid growth it’s tea arm was sold, making way for the focus to shift to coffee. ‘It was an exciting time, right at the beginning of the coffee revolution’ says Thalben’s son Phil Loydell, now directing the company.
Today at Kendrick’s, they pride themselves on supplying an exceptional coffee experience. Passionate and committed to purchasing only the highest quality Arabica coffee beans and as members of the Rainforest Alliance, you can be sure that the coffee you drink is helping to provide coffee growers and their families with a better life, whilst taking care of the environment too!
Gone are the days of roasting on a small hand turned roaster. They now use two different types of roaster, the traditional Giesen drum roaster and Neuhaus Notec fully automatic batch roaster. Meaning they offer both small and large batch coffee roasting, delivered just days after roasting ensuring it’s the freshest local coffee you can get!
Like many businesses, the pandemic has hit Kendricks hard. Usually filling the Ferring air with the daily smell of roasting coffee, it’s customer base has been reduced by 75%. With much of it’s trade coming from sectors forced to close, the usual 1,000kg weekly output of beans and daily 30,000 teabags has currently halved. But this team continues to show resilience with an injection of positivity led from the top by Phil and third generation roaster 25 year old Rob Kendricks Loydell. ‘I’m really trying to bring it into the 21st century. We’ve used the pandemic to think about where we want to go and what areas of the business to pick up. I’ve been involved with the company since the age of 12 so whilst wanting to propel forward am keen to keep its heritage’.
They’ve used lockdown to adapt and strengthen the brand. The company has brought in PR expert Jo Bayles and Salesman Danny Teeder. The shop in Ocean Drive has had a revamp now serving fresh, hot and cold drinks for the first time. New products created ready for launch including the tea range about to be reinstated to its former glory. Kendricks passion remains in full flow as the country emerges from lockdown.