Great Coffee from Bean to Brew
Interview with Barbara Friedli, Quality Assurance and Steffen Rutter, Head of Sales
With artisanal precision, an uncompromising commitment to quality, and a growing focus on sustainability, UCC Coffee Switzerland is positioning itself as a driving force in the Swiss and international coffee landscape. In this interview with European Business, Barbara Friedli and Steffen Rutter explain how the company balances tradition with innovation, why exceptional coffee is far more than a beverage – and how, in the end, quality always makes strong business sense.
European Business: Ms. Friedli, Mr. Rutter, your company’s mission is: Every coffee, every moment. What quality philosophy underpins this approach?
Barbara Friedli: As one of the larger roasting collectives in Switzerland, our mission is to offer what we consider to be the highest quality green coffee – today and in the future – through our network of roasteries across the country. For us, quality assurance begins at the very first step: sourcing. Through our central purchasing unit and trading partners, we rigorously sample and degust all green coffee components we procure, evaluating their bean size, moisture content, and over two dozen additional parameters. If a product doesn’t meet our standards, we decline it, because we will never compromise on quality. This careful selection is the foundation for our roasting process, where every blend is guided by precise roasting curves. Our experienced roast masters continuously oversee the entire process and can immediately intervene should even the slightest deviation occur.
European Business: Your quality assurance doesn’t end with the roasting process.
Barbara Friedli: Even the best coffee is ruined by a poorly calibrated machine. That’s why our baristas work closely with our customers on-site to ensure that every setting – from grind size to water quality to brewing temperature – is optimized. In Switzerland, we also act as distributors for three of the biggest high-quality coffee machine manufacturers. We see this as part of our Total Coffee Solution promise, ensuring premium taste and operational reliability. Additionally, especially at high-traffic locations, we conduct regular quality checks, where our staff or service partners document sensory impressions and inspect machine functionality down to the last detail.
European Business: How do you convince commercial and retail clients that this level of quality – and the cost that comes with it – is worth the effort?
Steffen Rutter: Market research shows that strong personal and shared experiences are key drivers in the hot beverage category – especially coffee. Employers who want their teams to come to work motivated and engage in meaningful collaboration quickly recognize the value of a truly satisfying coffee experience. The idea is simple: people don’t want inferior coffee at work compared to what they enjoy at home. In Switzerland, many of our institutional clients – clinics, care homes, police and fire departments, correctional facilities – understand this well. Public sector employers in particular, who often cannot compete on salary with the private sector, use great coffee as one way to show appreciation and enhance employee satisfaction. But the value proposition is just as clear for our retail and convenience clients – gas stations, quick-service restaurants, and the like. If you want to generate revenue with coffee, it has to taste great. And experience shows: better coffee sells more, which directly translates into stronger margins.
European Business: What innovations is UCC Coffee currently focusing on most intensively?
Barbara Friedli: Sustainability has been a growing priority for us and our customers for quite some time. In the coming years, we expect to obtain more product certifications in addition to the prestigious labels we already hold from organizations like Demeter, Bio Suisse, and the Rainforest Alliance. Packaging plays a particularly crucial role in our sustainability efforts. In that spirit, our Nespresso-compatible capsules now use 80% recyclable aluminum, and we have fully transitioned our cardboard packaging to FSC-certified materials. Among our Swiss catering and retail partners, there is also increasing demand for monofoil packaging – a shift we are actively embracing to enhance recyclability and reduce waste.
European Business: Having been founded in 1904, how does UCC Coffee’s long tradition inform your day-to-day business activities?
Steffen Rutter: We believe that our long history and deep-rooted tradition are not at odds with our drive for innovation – rather, they serve as a solid foundation for our future. In Switzerland, where we operate in a highly competitive environment, strong market players exert continuous pressure on quality. For us, as a medium-sized company, this acts as a powerful motivator to constantly innovate and further increase the quality of our products. Building on this strength and our refined craftsmanship, we aim to further expand our presence in export markets. While our core focus remains on the Swiss market, we also see promising opportunities to showcase our Swiss-roasted blends internationally, particularly in regions such as MENA, South America, and Africa, where premium quality and craftsmanship are increasingly valued. A case in point: The Swiss government requires roasters to maintain reserves of raw materials to ensure production can continue for a couple of months in the event of an import disruption. This responsibility underscores our role as a reliable national supplier.