Royal Cup Coffee

File:Royal Cup logo.png

Royal Cup Coffee, Inc. is a privately-held coffee and tea importer, roaster and distributor based at 160 Cleage Drive near Pinson Valley Parkway in northeast Birmingham. The company distributes to restaurants, offices, hotels, airlines, resorts and convenience stores across North America and the Caribbean. It also provides and maintains coffee serving equipment through a national network of trained route managers and technicians. The business reported $176 million in sales for 2007 and employs over 600 workers.

History

A 1920 ad for Batterton's Royal Cup coffee and tea

The Royal Cup name was first used to designate a brand of coffees and teas sold by the Batterton Coffee Company, which was founded in 1896 by Henry Batterton.

The Batterton family sold the business to Billy Smith in 1950. When Smith died in 1968 his son, Bill Smith, Jr took over the company. Later his younger brother, Hatton came on board.

During the 1980s the company operated as a national licensing system. In 1998 the Smiths took full ownership of the system.

Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 the company sent a truck to "Ground Zero" to serve coffee to rescue workers.

In 2003 Royal Cup began buying coffee from farms certified by the Rainforest Alliance for meeting high environmental and social standards in their operations.

References

• Nobles, Barr (June 7, 2002) "Royal Cup Coffee brews own brand of success." Birmingham Business Journal

External links

• Royal Cup Coffee website
• Profile of Royal Cup from "Good Morning Alabama" on YouTube.com