An Angus coffee business set up by two professional footballers is looking to the future after three major contract wins.
Maison Dieu Coffee Roasters is run by former Dundee United stars John Souttar and Euan Spark.
John, now at Rangers, started the firm with colleague Euan, wife Kayley and brother Harry after fearing his football career might be ended by a second ruptured achilles tendon.
Now, the 26-year-old said said they couldn’t have asked for a better start to the business.
“Euan and I underwent intensive training courses to learn about roasting beans, how to become a proficient barista and sustainability within the industry,” he said.
“Since then, we’ve worked closely with cafes and business in the area showing the work that goes into making speciality coffee.
“From supplying our coffee beans to training, we are on a mission to educate about great tasting coffee.”
Plans to grow Angus coffee business
The pair have plans to grow the business, particularly in online and wholesale markets.
Brechin City’s Euan said: “This is just the beginning for Maison Dieu.
“Our monthly subscriptions are incredibly popular and have seen a 70% increase over the past six months.
“We’ve got big plans and expansion is very much a key focus for our year two strategy as we increase our wholesale market share and develop our direct-to-consumer offering.”
It comes as the Angus business has secured three major deals, including with the UK’s second largest holiday park.
Maison Dieu has signed contracts with Cafe Noir in Stonehaven and Fitzroy Cafe in Edinburgh.
Its also agreed a deal with its biggest customer to date – Billing Aquadrome in England.
The site – part of Royale Resorts who owns 40 parks across the UK – is set in 235 acres with more than 2,000 lodges, making it the second largest holiday park in the UK.
Significant milestones for Angus coffee roaster
The deal with Maison Dieu signals the first time Billing Aquadrome has introduced speciality coffee to its customers.
Euan added: “Billing Aquadrome is our first customer south of the border.
“This is the first of any Royale resort site to move away from big chain named coffee.
“The partnership with Fitzroy marks our expansion into the central belt, a significant growth milestone for us.
“There are less than 30 coffee roasters in Scotland. We are only one of two in Angus that roast our own beans on site.
“We have established ourselves in Tayside and the north east, roasting and serving over 100,000 cups of coffee in our first year.”
The roasters sell their coffee from premises on Montrose Street and online.
It also operates a popular takeaway window serving home-baked cakes and toasties, employing local high school pupils as baristas.
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