2023…. our year for expansion, continuing our dedication to sustainability and supporting the wonderful events and initiatives hosted by our multiple affiliated NHS charities.
Our Expansion Journey….
As we have enjoyed many successful years within our multiple sites at St George’s University Hospitals in Tooting, we made the decision to branch out and seek opportunities within other NHS Trusts.
Watford General Hospital (West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust): we were awarded the contract to operate a Peabodys Coffee within the main entrance of the hospital in December 2022. Keen to deliver our exceptional offering, we transformed an existing coffee shop, into a temporary site, which opened in January. We were instantly popular with staff, patients, and visitors! So, we were delighted to open our permanent store in May 2023! Our compact but functional store welcomes hundreds of customers a day, providing a place where a great coffee and a friendly smile are always on the menu!
Royal Sussex County Hospital, Brighton (University Hospitals Sussex Foundation Trust): along with the great weather, came a fabulous new addition to the hospital – the Louisa Martindale Building opened its doors in June 2023. Our takeaway store in the atrium on level 1 opened for business in July. Our exquisitely designed site, blends beautifully with the ultra-modern look and feel of the hospital. The atrium offers a spacious area for much needed rest and relaxation whilst enjoying our delicious food and drinks.
We are currently creating another Peabodys site on the 6th floor of the same building. This space will include a Red Basil café, alongside our coffee shop. One can enjoy the stunning views from the roof terrace, whilst partaking in delicious fresh homemade pasta, sauces, and speciality Italian dishes, all prepared on site. Whilst the opening date is still to be confirmed, we hope to welcome our customers from early spring!
Lister Hospital, Stevenage (East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust): We were welcomed into the Wellbeing Hub in September 2023. An amazing transformation of the existing space, saw a Peabodys Coffee in situ within an area used by staff to take some time out, whilst also offering patients and visitors an incredibly aesthetically pleasing place to also enjoy a break!
Throughout the time all these fantastic sites have been opening, we have also been busy submitting tenders for more opportunities!
Dedicated to Sustainability….
We are proud to celebrate our commitment to social responsibility and sustainability, principles that have been at the core of our business since its inception. We believe that our actions shape our future, and we strive to make a positive impact on the environment and the lives of those around us.
Our strategy to remove all single use plastic from our stores is on track for completion in 2024. All plastic wrapping for our paninis, baguettes and ciabattas has been replaced with recyclable FSC paper and our cakes and pastries are packaged within FSC home compostable paper bags! We solely use compostable and recyclable cups and lids for our hot drinks. In 2023 we have saved over 1 million cups and lids from landfill. Our compostable cups and lids only take 6-8 weeks to completely decompose!
We continue to work with the World Land Trust to protect and secure the future of the Brazilian rainforest. In 2023, we have saved 137,119 sq. metres of rainforest and protected 8,643 trees. We have stored 12,922 tonnes of carbon, which means we are carbon neutral until the end of 2024!
We sell a lot of coffee; therefore, we have a lot of coffee grounds, which happens to be a super garden fertiliser. We bag up the grounds and have them available to collect for use in gardens at all our sites. We are happy to say that we also help fertilise hospital grounds too.
We joined in and encouraged a super healthy start to the year and promoted Veganuary, with delicious vegan products – which are available all year round. We also offered a discount on products during our Meat Free Mondays. Both initiatives have continued into 2024.
In November, the Peabodys managers from all our sites embarked on a trip to our coffee supplier’s roastery in Belgium. What a fabulous opportunity to witness first-hand the intricate processes involved in creating our exceptional coffee. We are proud of the knowledge gained, which we have shared with our teams, and encourage them to share with our customers. We were truly inspired by the commitment to fair-trade organic practices and the support for rainforest conservation and social initiatives.
Supporting our NHS Charities….
We are part of our Trust’s communities, and we actively support the Charities that work so hard with events and initiatives.
We were delighted to be part of the abseil organised by Raise, West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals Charity. Our incredibly brave, Kelsi Dunlop, abseiled down the Atria car park building in Watford. The event raised over £17,000 which is amazing!
We supported the National Healthcare Estates and Facilities Day in June, across multiple sites. Happily providing mini tarts and pastries to the teams, as well as offering a hot drink for £1 during “Happy Hours” throughout the day.
Celebrating the NHS birthday is a day we have supported multiple times and this year to celebrate the 75th birthday was no exception. We donated cakes and pastries for sale and offered multiple “Happy Hours”. In Watford, we were pleased to support their “All Stars Week” where nearly 200 NHS employees enjoyed a £1 coffee as part of the celebrations.
The festive period saw us donating for a Christmas tree and supporting the “Christmas Stars” fundraising campaign at Lister Hospital. We also donned Santa Hats to support the St George’s Hospital Charity. We were honoured to be part of the Rocking Horse Charity event at Brighton Hospital, spreading joy and support.
In 2023, Peabodys Coffee supported the Keech Hospice by becoming a member of their Business Club. This incredible organisation offers free, specialist care for adults and children living with life-limiting illnesses in Luton, south Bedfordshire, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, and Milton Keynes. We were honoured to support such a worthy cause and contribute to the well-being of our community.
Throughout the year we have also pledged our support to Macmillan Cancer Charity across all sites. We regularly donate cakes and coffee to be sold during their coffee morning events. We also provided refreshments for the grand opening of their Macmillan Information and Support centre at St George’s in December.
We remain committed to our core values of sustainability, social responsibility and providing an exceptional food and drink experience. The future is indeed bright for Peabodys Coffee, and we know that 2024 is going to be a great year for us! We look forward to sharing more news with you soon!