A conversation over coffee on resurrecting the Pluton brand
Formerly, after a walk through the streets of Warsaw, you could at the Hotel Europejski and Bristol, in Wedel and Blikego cafes or in the Frigate at Mazowiecka Street to drink coffee, whose amazing history awakened the imagination of modern entrepreneurs … I talk to Anna Sobocka and Michał Kmiecik about the resurrection of the pre-war coffee brand.
Krzysztof Zaleski (KZ): I am interested in how your story with coffee Pluton began. In recent years, we have noticed several spectacular returns of various brands.
Michał Kmiecik (MK): Some time ago I came across the mention of Pluton in Tygodnik Ilustrowany from 1905. This intrigued me because I had never heard of Pluton before. It turned out that this brand was really powerful before the war. I wondered why, for example, Wedel survived the war and Pluton was not so lucky. The company was not nationalized after the war, the factory was taken from it, and the owners received a tax surcharge and were forced to declare bankruptcy. After which …
Anna Sobocka (AS): … they repaid the debts …
MK: … Yes, and only six years after being declared bankrupt! However, the company has never been able to return to the market. Although this was the dream of Kordian Tarasiewicz, the last managing director of the company.
KZ: So you got interested in this story not only privately, but it inspired you to act …
MK: I was looking for a project that would matter to me. Ania, after learning about the company’s history, decided to join the work of reviving this brand.
AS: Yes, I thought it was an interesting challenge. Talks with the family lasted a long time, which I understand – this is their heritage. The family had to convince us and believe that we want to not only recreate the brand but also revive the company’s philosophy.
KZ: I wonder how descendants of Mr. Tarasiewicz participated in this project? They gave the green light and said: we trust, act?
AS: The family has been a consultant until now. Although the Grandson of Mr. Tarasiewicz, operating in another industry, he simply had to trust us.
KZ: It is very interesting – the frequently observed reactivations of brands take place without the company’s operating philosophy. Only the well-known trademark returns. Your approach to the issue is different.
MK: We believe that old brands, like architectural monuments and literary works, are part of our heritage. That is why our activities are not limited to the logotype on the packaging. We can now only imagine that in 1882 everyone was smoking coffee in their home. They bought green coffee beans and smoked them in their own roasting pan or drum. Pluton coffee was delivered ready. Throughout the entire period of its existence, the company has tried to be – unusually for those times – innovative in the product area. For example, she worked on creating a coffee extract. Perhaps, if not for the post-war fate of Pluton, for instant coffee we would not say Neska – only Pluton!
MK: Marketing was another area of innovation. At that time, it was claimed that a good product does not need advertising. Despite this, Pluton’s owners actively pursued a well-thought-out promotional policy. Starting from the currently popular discount coupons, ending with the design of products and the stores themselves. Product placement was also attractive in the medium appropriate for those years – in the theater. Adolf Dymsza on the theater stage said the question “On Pluton and his coffee!”
AS: The area that aroused our greatest recognition was the organizational culture and concern for employees. A novelty was the establishment of a loan and assistance fund, the introduction of a 15% sales bonus for store employees, the transfer of some shares at the time of transformation into a joint-stock company. Other activities for employees were also carried out. During the war, the company used to issue free soup for employees, which was consumed jointly with the company’s management.
MK: Many interesting stories told by Pluton employees have survived to our times. From these descriptions emerges a picture of the company in which each of us would like to work.
KZ: Everyone felt responsible for the fate of the company? As if the company was a second home …
MK: The crew’s involvement was so great that during World War I, when a coffee container got stuck behind the front line, one of the employees went to Finland. He managed to organize the transport of this order and after many complications, the coffee ended up in Warsaw’s Pluton. Another example is the story of how, during World War II, the Germans confiscated sacks of coffee. An employee went to a German station …
AS: And despite his fear, he demanded payment for this coffee. And he got this payment! These are the dimensions of commitment that currently …
KZ: … The right ones don’t fit in your head … so it’s easier to do something that you believe in?
MK: Authenticity and commitment to work are important to us. We have seen that in the product and production context, we want to refer to Pluton’s heritage. Therefore, coffee is roasted by craft, although less profitable. Yes, coffee was roasted in Plutno.
KZ: What’s the difference between craft coffee and industrial roasting?
AS: The artisanal roasting process is longer. The coffee is air-cooled. We only smoke 30 kilos of coffee in one process. 30 kilos is just 60 packages for sale.
MK: This is a time-consuming process. The quality of the grain itself is also important.
KZ: And industrial coffee roasting?
AS: Coffee is water-cooled industrially, so some valuable extract escapes from it.
KZ: So everything starts with the right grain?
MK: Yes. Many documents have been preserved that show how cooperation with grain suppliers was respected. During the war and post-war times, when it was impossible to import for currency, the company tried to get grain by using barter. So she exchanged something for gum arabic, rice, and then reached coffee. Then the company’s managers tried to change the business profile, marmalade was produced. It was all for the company to survive. The owners of the company showed great flexibility in operation and did not focus on the thought “we are a coffee roaster!” For us, it is a science that we try to draw from.
AS: We know that entrepreneurs have a great responsibility – for products, colleagues, and partners.
MK: We are lucky that we can choose business partners. We try to support consumer patriotism, we cooperate only with Polish companies. Although we know how the modern market works, 70% are occupied by large foreign networks. Pluton has a fantastic history – and we want to show it abroad.
KZ: I understand. Tell me where can you buy Pluton coffee today?
AS: You can look for us in about 200 stores. We are present all over Poland thanks to Krakowski Kredens. In the Warsaw region, we are on the Piotr i Paweł and Społem networks.
MK: We work with Lewiatan, Frisco, K&M Delikatesy. We have our online store and we are at the stage of building a nationwide distribution.
KZ: I understand that at this stage you focus on coffee?
MK: Pluton’s main activity was the production and sale of coffee, but we want to recreate the portfolio that the company had in the interwar period, i.e. both tea and coffee substitutes.
AS: These were, among others, cereal coffee, whose popularity is currently growing. Now there is a fashion for being fit, for healthy food. We try to meet this.
KZ: Some people risk saying that coffee is healthy.
MK: It is important to us that we sell 100% coffee. It has no aromas, additives or dyes.
KZ: I am curious how do you want to connect tradition and modernity in this business? I suspect you are working on innovative solutions while feeling the breath of history?
KM: As soon as we sort out the situation related to the distribution of coffee, we will be able to deal with activities related to innovation. The plans are waiting, they are ready.
KZ: I wish you success in the implementation of the project and thank you for an inspiring conversation with the history of coffee in the background.
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All coffee lovers and those who like Polish brands with history and want to follow and get to know more about the Pluton brand, please visit kawapluton.com. In addition to the website, the brand news can be followed on the official Facebook fan page facebook.com/KawaPluton and Instagram instagram.com/kawapluton.