I did the giveaway, unbelievable or not, sales increased 110%. I believe it. I believe it. How did that, like, how did that feel for you?
Obviously really happy because you see the numbers go up, but is there a danger as a business owner that if this is what's going to happen, that you have to keep following trends? Yes, you have to follow the trends because once you stop, other small cafes will be more recognizable. So maybe people, they're just gonna go to them. Because brand loyalty is not a thing here yet.
Like the industry isn't evolved enough where people follow specific coffee brands, correct? Yes, that's true. Yes. But now, Inshallah, with the expansion, We are going to create a story in the social media.
Talking about not opening a successful cafe, Talking about this type of origin of beans, how you get it, how will it come in the cup for you? What will you experience? And how did I reach to that producer? Tell me something.
In a market where infused coffees and co-fermented coffees are very popular, very, very popular here. Do you think the consumer is interested in understanding The origin story of that coffee and will that be a part of the trend, do you think? Because infused coffees are a trend themselves. Yes, now everybody's focusing.
This is the next after the bobos than infused coffee. Everybody's going crazy. This is just going to be a short period of time because Saudi Arabia, they experienced the same thing with infused coffees and now, it's almost dead. Really?
Yes, because infused coffee, a lot of the new generation, they just want something that's not coffee. Right, yeah. I want something as a bubble gum or a coconut or a mango. Just put for yourself.
No need to go above and beyond. This is something that I don't understand. I went to a cafe once in which Emirates. Where are the small ones?
Even I won't say the type of infused coffee because everybody will know that it's the only one. I went in the afternoon. It's 45 Celsius outside. Mashallah.
So that's a Tuesday here at the moment. I went and I asked what was this coffee? I was curious. The line that was in front of me was unbelievable.
That blows my mind about here in cafes. So what did I do? I told my brother, please drive the car. I got out.
I said, what are you doing? I said, none of your business. Let me. I went to see what the people were ordering because no one's ordering that drink.
They were all young. Yeah. Between 18 to 26 or 25 years old, all of them in the cafes. I was very surprised.
But you know, these kind of trends affect us as roasters. First of all, these kind of infused coffees affects the roasting machine itself. Yes. Two, even your demanders in the cafe.
Yeah. Three, they are expensive to buy as green beans. They between 150 or 180 to 250 dirhams per kg. Yeah.
So you're not making a big profit out of it when you sell it as roasted. But there's a demand. There absolutely is. Like, I'm shocked at how popular they are.
I can't go through a whole cup, but people just drink loads of it here. And it definitely gives you the impression that people here like to follow the next trend. Then they get sick of the trend and then they're waiting for the next trend. Yes, and they get excited.
Any new hype, they'll just go for it. You know, even if one or two cafes, they do something unique, they'll go the distance just for the photo. Because that's the ultimate thing, right? Like, it's all for the grams.
It's all for TikTok. That's what all of them... I can't tell you the number of cafes I go into and you walk around the cafe and the tables, once someone's left, the cakes that they ordered are still on the table. The coffees have barely been drunk.
And you can tell they just came, they ordered, they took photos and they left. They do it in the country and out of the country. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's out there here.
Like, it's just, it's standard. The way... I see the same thing in Saudi. So, what do you think, as we wrap up this series, what do you think the next trend is going to be?
Or where do you think it's going to come from? It will be cold brew. Ah, why do you think it's going to be cold brew? Actually, that makes sense.
But why do you think it's going to be cold brew? Because with cold brew, you could mix the infused coffee a little bit and just have a little bit with you in the car or on the boat or whatever you're doing and you know, just enjoy it with ice. Yeah, it's easy. It's portable.
You can take it wherever you want. You don't need a barista to make it. You can create it as a ready-to-drink product. Put it in the fridge and people grab and go.
And so, that hasn't been a fad here yet, cold brew. No, no, no. Oh wow, then it will be the next big thing, for sure. Because in America, it was the next big thing for five years.
It was massive. So, Zaid, this has been a fantastic, fantastic series. Thank you very much. I want to ask you, what were you going to say?
Tell me. I want to say thank you. I'm blessed to have you as a friend. I have the blessings and invited me to the podcast.
It's a real pleasure, I have to say. And like I said, it's one of those things where, you know, when you meet someone and you don't know why you know you're meant to be in each other's lives and then you realise, like, we met before we realised we met. And I'm privileged to be able to watch the growth of your business, to see El Matador and to see Lama Cafe be businesses that end up establishing you and your team in the region. It's going to be a privilege to watch.
You've been working a long time on these brands and it's going to be very exciting. So when... Alhamdulillah. So when the future version of you comes back and watches this series, what do you hope for him?
I should have done this earlier. Right. So you hope that he's continuing to do it. Not only continuing, accomplishing a lot of things in the coffee industry.
You know, it's not easy, one. Two, thank God in the UAE, we have a privilege of one. A lot of opportunities. Alhamdulillah.
You know, and people respect each other when they see someone that wants to reach a point. And Alhamdulillah, I've done a lot in my life. Alhamdulillah. You know, especially when I became a judge and everything.
So going forward, big things are happening in Origins. Understanding more about coffee. Learning from people. Learning from you.
Learning from my friends in Saudi Arabia. My friends in Europe. My friends in Los Angeles, you know. You learn till you die.
So it's not about saying I have a certificate or I reached a point in life. I'm going to stop. No, I will never stop. This is a legacy for me.
Inshallah. Inshallah. Where can people find out about El Matador and Lama Cafe online? You can find El Matador account.
.ae. LamaCafe underscore .ae. Website. You'll see more and more.
And MatadorCoffee.com. You'll going to see more and more coming up soon. Inshallah. And plus, please everyone, more of the coffee is beginning next year.
Plus by the brew bar, I'm going to be there with some experimental coffees and I'm going to talk about them because I'm going to receive them from Ethiopia end of this year. So I'm going to share them with the public. Wow. Wow.
Can I have a special, please? And a cigar. Zaid, thank you for your leadership. Thank you for inspiring the next generation of business owners and showing them that there is a way forward to do business here in the UAE that is with integrity and with leadership and with a lot of hope and inspiration for the future.
I'm very grateful to know you and I'm excited about having you back on the podcast again. Inshallah. There's only one thing left to do. Will you sign off our series for us?
No, you do it. Peace, love and peanut butter, everybody. God bless. Have an amazing rest of your day.
Bye, everyone. Bye. This episode is part of a five-part series produced by Mapper Forward. Check the full playlist and guest details in the show notes as well as how you can support our work in the coffee industry.
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