6. Kim Thompson
Owner and Partner, Raw Coffee Company
Thompson founded the first roastery in Dubai to offer speciality coffee that uses certified organic and Fair Trade beans. Since then, with her business partner Matt Toogood, she has opened Raw Café in Emirates Academy of hospitality, founded coffee boutique Mokha1450, which will get a second outlet in March 2017 on Palm Jumeirah, and opened an internationally-certified training school for baristas. Next, Raw Coffee Company — which is achieving year-on-year growth of 40% — will launch two new coffee brands (Refinery by Raw and Fundamental) and unveil an app called Refuel that allows people to give feedback, focusing on the barista, in order to acknowledge this skill and improve coffee education. Thompson also revealed to Caterer that the company will be developing sales in Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman, opening a one-off coffee lounge in a large hotel, and venturing into Iran through a joint venture.
Bite-sized facts:
Number of years in the F&B industry: 11
Number of years with this company: 9
Number of years in this role: 9
Number of years working in the Middle East: 20
Number of people you are responsible for: 40
Number of F&B outlets in the Middle East: 3
Nationality: New Zealand
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