Kick-Start Coffee: Still brewing and kicking 10 years on

Like many startup businesses that have been established during the pandemic, the seeds of Kick-Start Coffee were planted in 2010 due to a phenomenon that affected the brand founder's life few years prior--the 2008 financial crisis.

“I started the brand at a turning point in my life where I pivoted careers after the 2008 financial crisis,” Mike Asuncion, founder and president of Silca Coffee Roasting Company Inc., shared.

“Much like today’s global pandemic shifted people’s plans, the world economic changes at that time rocked my world," he added. "I was an investment banker with Lehman Brothers abroad and came home to Manila to become a startup coffee entrepreneur.”

Asuncion also expressed: “The success story of Kick-Start Coffee can serve as inspiration to Filipinos who are currently evaluating how to pivot in the new normal.”

THE SUCCESS STORY

Asuncion's interest for the brew has been planted in him since childhood.

"As a kid, I have memories of our warehouse stacked with sacks of coffee and going around to farms and watching many people handle coffee throughout the value chain," he reminisced, referring to the business of his parents, Enrile and Evelyn Poblete Asuncion.

The family has been in the coffee industry since 1977, so today, with over forty years of experience in the industry, Silca Coffee is now one of the leading coffee roasters in the Philippines. 

As he grew older, his interest bloomed into a professional goal.

"In college, I conducted my thesis on Exporting Roasted Philippine Coffee to the United States and I concluded it would be feasible, but we needed an established brand from the Philippines to make it successful,” Asuncion shared.

Aside from his sudden career change, he was also driven to preserve his family’s coffee legacy, as well as being inspired by the coffee culture in cities such as Seattle, Portland, and San Francisco.

And not long after Asuncion's return to the country and help in the family business, the Kick-Start Coffee brand was born. It aimed to highlight the richness of high-quality coffee roasted in the Philippines.

Within a decade, Kick-Start grew from a brand sold at bazaars and boutique stores into a supermarket staple.

Asuncion trades directly with farmers across the country and coffee origins around the world, creating a strong branch of connection between those people and the company.

The connection also ensures that each bag from the brand contains carefully blended roasts that continue the 40-plus-year tradition.

THE BLENDED ROASTS

To mark its 10-year milestone, Kick-Start Coffee has introduced updates on its collection of three signature blends which will hit the stores this month.

The signature blends are: Brewed Awakening, a pure Arabica medium-dark roasted coffee that contains rich, complex flavor and a distinctive aroma. Next is the Your Daily Lift, a blend of Arabica and Robusta which features a balanced, full-bodied, mild flavor profile. Last is the Philippine Barako, a pure Barako blend that offers an intense fruity and aroma, with a bold yet sweet flavor.

Each blend's packaging also symbolizes the Philippine flag with the colors each one sports; Blue, yellow, and red, respectively.

They are also printed with positive messages that are said to reflect the brand’s resiliency and dedication to better, positive days.

The new packaging are made with stronger bodies and resealable tin ties to ensure the coffee remains fresh between servings.

“The launch of the new Kick-Start Coffee symbolizes the evolution of the brand and an entrepreneurial journey milestone,” Asuncion explained.

He added: “We hired a firm from San Francisco to preserve the essence of the original design, while modernizing it with a global appeal to prepare (the product) for new markets abroad.”

The seeds planted ten years ago are surely growing beans of success.  

Photo is from Kick-Start Coffee.