How St Ali coffee roasters in South Melbourne survived coronavirus lockdown
Creativity and quick-thinking kept iconic speciality coffee roasters St Ali afloat through the coronavirus pandemic — as well as a lucky break its owner calls the “Mother Teresa of lifesavers”.
Business
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A series of pivots has allowed Melbourne specialty coffee business St Ali to weather the economic effects of COVID-19.
Owner Salvatore Malatesta said the business was on a strong footing as it approached the end of the financial year because of some creative decisions and a fortuitous opportunity.
“One pivot was to turn five of our 13 venues into grocers or general stores and, thanks to our brand strength, we could make sufficient sales,” Mr Malatesta said.
“Another pivot was our e-commerce platform that was already in existence, but it went from strength to strength this year. Sales quintupled on that platform as people panic-bought coffee in recent months.”
Throughout the challenges of the pandemic, Mr Malatesta has managed to retain most of St Ali’s 285 employees with about 72 members of the business being diverted into the St Ali hand sanitiser venture.
“That was the Mother Teresa of all lifesavers for us,” he said.
In the first week of January, a friend of Mr Malatesta who owns HydroChem — a leading water treatment company in Melbourne — was asked by a customer to produce 10,000 litres of hand sanitiser.
HydroChem asked St Ali to step in and make and brand the sanitiser at the HydroChem facility.
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A dispatch centre was set up at one of St Ali’s roasting facilities, with staff then delivering the hand sanitiser.
“At one point we had people working 24 hours a day, seven days a week, making and dispatching hand sanitiser,” Mr Malatesta said.
“That experience has become a launch pad for a new St Ali personal care brand that includes hand soap and moisturiser.
“We’ve been looking at developing a range of products before now but this time has made some of those products come to life.”