We celebrated International Women’s Day with words of wisdom from some of the incredible female hospitality owners and managers that we are lucky enough to work with in the wholesale branch of our business.
A majority of the team at Climpsons are women - a business model to inspire more women to work in coffee and challenge historic bias and stereotypes in what began as a heavily male dominated industry. From roasting beans to sharing knowledge through training. From administration and account management to brewing to perfection at our cafes. You'll find women in key leadership roles across our whole company.
We also have the pleasure of working with an incredible group of female-led organisations through our wholesale supplier network. These are just some amongst many of the inspirational individuals making waves as women in coffee.
Read on to find out where their greatest female inspirations have come from and about their experiences as female business owners.
Shelagh from Lantana
On a day that puts a spotlight on gender equality and celebrates the achievements of women, I’m delighted to say that women are strongly represented in leadership roles in our business. Four out of our five person leadership team are women, 71% of our restaurant managers are female (67% of GMs and 75% of deputies) and 67% of internal promotions in 2023 were women.
It’s hard to know what impact that has on the culture of Lantana. I do know from my own experience of working in hospitality, an industry dominated by male managers, CEOs, MDs and founders, the importance of seeing women succeed in leadership roles to inspire and encourage other women. For me this has included Thomasina Miers, Asma Khan, Monica Galetti and of course Kate Nicolls!
Kat at Salt the Radish
From the start, our staff have ended up being predominantly female / fem and it has been very important for me to create a safe space in hospitality for them, especially in the kitchen. The reality is that it’s still a very male-dominated industry and can be quite toxic.
I’ve been lucky enough to have incredibly great female role models personally and in the workplace. I’ve always tried to use these positive experiences and in my own small way make a change in the workplace - leading with kindness, creating an environment that allows people to grow at their own pace and encouraging people to openly talk about their struggles and experiences without judgement.
Amy at Folks
I've always wanted to run my own business. From a very young age, my sister and I would spend hours conjuring up ideas, from selling lemonade and popcorn at the end of our drive to writing and planning plays for our local village hall. I worked in retail from the age of 14 to 24 and then followed a career in marketing, working for Thames Water, The National Lottery, Hostelworld, Direct Line Group and GoCardless. My sister went on to start her own business @thebasketroom which has gone from her spare room to a company that supplies John Lewis and independents all over the world, all while supporting other women and traditional crafts. She has been my biggest inspiration and last year, with her advice and support, I took the plunge and left my job to run a coffee shop. I took the reigns from another brilliant woman, who had built an amazing space and community. Since opening, I've worked with over ten female-owned businesses, collaborating through pop-ups, selling their products or giving them space in the shop. For many reasons, I feel much more suited to this world than I ever did in the corporate one.
Vicky at Victor Victoria
My mum was a Tupperware party manager who ran and empowered her own group of ladies which made her job an enjoyable and rewarding part of her life. I guess this rubbed off on me as I have started four businesses now. Initially just side hustles, but have now turned into a successful award winning coffee shop company that has just opened its second site. I love being my own boss, having the freedom of running the business, but also knowing that me and my team are able to make a difference to someone's day.
Nikki and Kate at Milk and Side Hustle
We’re best friends who get to spend our time together, lifting each other up, exactly how we think women should support each other.
We have so much fun serving up the best Climpsons coffee from our little van Madge (yep, even the van is female) We’ve created something special through strength, love, respect and all of the laughs. Because that’s how women do it.
Phoebe at Alba Caffe
I'm Phoebe Hunt / @phoebetravelpig and I run Alba Caffè and Event Space just off Commercial Street in East London. We're a small team of women: me, our barista Meg @meggamyy, and chef Jess @jessroseyoung, as well as my bestie @bellacland who jumps in at a moment's notice to help us out. There are all sorts of challenges setting up an independent cafe and I am so grateful to share the highs and lows with these three (... but they already know that!)
We love to work with other inspirational female-led businesses. If this sounds like you, get in touch to find out more about using our coffee for wholesale at your cafe, restaurant, shop or office.
