By Francis Chan

WHILE other businesses were scrimping and saving to cut costs during the downturn, Mr Christian Huber did just the opposite, to give more value to his clients.

'We've been in this business for 47 years, we're pioneers in coffee roasting, so now we want to enhance our customers' experience by sharing with them the coffee journey,' said the managing director of Boncafe International.

In February, in the thick of the global financial crisis, Mr Huber, 37, launched the Etre Bon Gallery and Academy - a $250,000 showcase dedicated to educating people on the coffee trade - at the firm's roasting plant in Pandan Loop.

'They can come and learn everything about coffee, from where the beans are grown, to how they are roasted and prepared,' he said.

Etre Bon - which means 'to be good' in French - also serves as a training centre for anyone who wants to learn more about coffee and how to serve it.

More than 60 per cent of Boncafe's business-to-business clients have visited or sent staff to Etre Bon since it was opened, either for training or to develop new beverages.

'We wanted to allow them to come and use Etre Bon as a test pad to experiment and concoct new beverages using our products, as a way to add value to them,' explained Mr Huber.

The company has also launched several new products, with more to come in the months ahead.

'About two months ago, we introduced our new signature tea collection and the initial response from the market has been very good,' said Mr Huber.

He was referring to Bontea, a collection of 12 teas ranging from classic flavours like Darjeeling and English Breakfast to various fruit teas and rarer blends like the South African Rooibos.

And to cater to a growing market of coffee-lovers who want professionally brewed coffee at home, Boncafe will begin to retail the Ascaso Dream Espresso Machine.

'We decided to bring them in to offer people an alternative to automatic machines... we see a growth in the number of people who want to make their own home-made brew,' said the former stage actor who left the theatre in 2002 to join Boncafe - a business his father Werner Ernst Huber founded in 1962.

The easy-to-use Ascaso Dream will hit the stores before Christmas and coffee- lovers who buy the espresso making machine will be able to sign up for courses at Etre Bon.

His new initiatives aside, the old favourites at Boncafe are also making headway in gaining market share both in Singapore and overseas.

Sales of Boncafe Roasted and Ground Gourmet Coffee have gone up by 15 per cent since Mr Huber redesigned and repackaged the coffee in 2006 - not a bad performance for the retail coffee business.

Towards the end of last year, other products such as Boncafe I-cafe - a ready-to-drink ice coffee - broke into the European and American markets, in addition to a distributorship arrangement being established in Vietnam.

'We have made significant inroads into those markets... and I hope that will increase our momentum with our other product offerings,' he said.

Looking ahead, Mr Huber said he will continue to explore new markets overseas and expand Boncafe's product lines while remaining prudent.

'Plans working towards America and Europe are still ongoing, but because of the economic crisis, priority was given this year to our regional strengths and coverage instead.'

This article was first published in The Straits Times.