Russell Merry ventures into Coffee biz with Break Fluid

Russell Merry, formerly of the SVP and GM at Cycling Sports Group UK, has lifted the lid on his next venture – a coffee business under the Break Fluid banner.

There will remain a link to the bike business as Break Fluid runs a coffee machine leasing arm, which offers three to five year contracts for shops looking to offer customers a drinks service. A ‘profits calculator’ is available to give prospective partners an idea of if leasing a machine could be a viable proposition for the store.

The business has been around since 2015, though Merry came on board as the majority shareholder recently and has now begun work to grow the business’s commercial aspirations and seed further links in industries such as cycling.

Thus far, the coffee biz has sponsored the Toyota British GT Supra race team, giving it visibility in the auto sports segment. On the back of this the firm inked a deal to supply 1,000 Break Fluid coffee machines across retail and sporting premises across the UK.

“After a lifetime in the bicycle industry it’s time to take a shot at the beverage industry,” Merry told CI.N.

“I believe that two types of retail will survive after Coronavirus. The Internet for its kind of convenience, but also independent retail and those who can create ‘experience’ retail. Bike shops are great at this. Ride outs and expert advice being key. I believe we can add to that with simple provision of coffee via Break Fluid bean to cup machines.”

The bike industry has a history of offering coffee and cake to customers in need of a mid-ride refill. On the back of the 2012 road boom businesses such as Look Mum No Hands and London’s Rapha Cafe made a success of putting catering front of house and tacking on either workshop or accessory sales as a sideline.