Retail

Coworking with Kyle Mervau

He's co-owner and director of sales and coffee at Electric Roasting City Co.
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Kyle Mervau

· 3 min read

Retail news that keeps industry pros in the know

Retail Brew delivers the latest retail industry news and insights surrounding marketing, DTC, and e-commerce to keep leaders and decision-makers up to date.

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We’re living up to the “Brew” in our name by focusing on all things coffee with Kyle Mervau from Pennsylvania-based coffee company Electric City Roasting Co.

How would you describe your job to someone who doesn’t work in retail? It’s the most important job in the world! No one can do their jobs without a great cup of coffee, and we provide that! Joking aside, I tell people that I buy coffees from all over the world and work to provide people and businesses with incredible coffee every single time they brew it.

One thing we can’t guess about your job from your LinkedIn profile? The chain of relationships. Many people see [a] sales director or business development, but don’t see all of the relationships and people that are in this large line from “seed to cup” for specialty coffee. From farmers and their family, to logistics and importers, to warehouses and roasting, to training baristas, and finally, the end-user experience.

What’s your favorite project you’ve worked on? I’ll say two: getting incredibly sourced specialty coffee into five of our local Wegmans locations and maintaining that relationship for over seven years. Secondly, any of our partner cafes who we assisted to help them build from the ground up their coffee shop dream. Working with customers from the very beginning stages is what we do best, and just selling coffee at the end of the day just wouldn't cut it for me anymore.

Which emerging retail trend are you most excited about this year, and why? It’s bittersweet, but I am most excited about all of the creativity in retail right now in navigating supply-chain bumps. It has been really cool to see how companies are really doubling down to make sure the end-user experience is more dialed in and more enhanced than ever before. This time is unique in our world, and I’m looking forward to continuing to see all of the innovation and creativity.

What’s your go-to coffee order? Are you serious? I have a coffee company! I could talk all day here! But I’ll give my boring yet honest answer: If I know it’s a great café that is serving well-roasted and cared-for coffees, I would love to just have a small black coffee and/or an espresso. I want to taste exactly what that coffee and the craft around it has to say.

Worst piece of advice you’ve received? You need to harden your heart and get tough in this industry. I honestly have seen so much success being exactly who I am and building transparent and friendly relationships with all of my customers and partners.

What was your favorite retail product when you were 15, and what’s your favorite retail product now? When I was 15, it was probably a skateboard...or a PS2. Now, I get pretty stoked about running shoes!

Retail news that keeps industry pros in the know

Retail Brew delivers the latest retail industry news and insights surrounding marketing, DTC, and e-commerce to keep leaders and decision-makers up to date.