Media Relations: One Cup Joe

B6 ♦ BUCKS COUNTY COURIER TIMES ♦ TUESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2014
DOW
NASDAQ
S&P
MONEY
-17.78
16,991.91
-20.82
4,454.80
-3.08
1,964.82
US stocks edge lower; HP makes jump
recent weeks and the Standard & Poor’s 500
index logged its biggest monthly drop since
NEW YORK — Some encouraging
January last month. Stocks rebounded from
corporate news failed to give the broader
that slump on Friday after a report showed
stock market a boost on Monday, and stocks a pickup in hiring last month, but many
edged lower as investors waited for news on investors remain uncertain about the outthe outlook for the Federal Reserve’s interlook for stocks as the Fed nears the end of
est rate policy.
its bond-buying stimulus program and conHewlett-Packard jumped after announc- siders raising rates.
ing that it is splitting itself in two. One com“The tug of war between the bulls and
pany will focus on personal computers and
the bears is ongoing now,” said Quincy
printing and the other on technology serKrosby, a market strategist at Prudential
vices. Medical-equipment maker Carefusion Financial.
surged on word that it was being acquired
The S&P 500 fell 3.08 points, or 0.2 perby its rival Becton Dickinson and Co.
cent, to 1,964.82. The Dow Jones industrial
But after opening higher, stocks gave
average dropped 17.78 points, or 0.1 percent,
up their early gains and alternated between
to 16,991.91. The Nasdaq composite fell
20.82 points, or 0.5 percent, to 4,454.80.
small gains and small losses.
Hewlett-Packard gained after
The market’s bull run has faltered in
By STEVE ROTHWELL
ASSOCIATED PRESS
announcing that it is splitting itself in two.
One company will focus on personal computers and printing and the other on technology services such as data storage, servers
and software. The stock climbed $1.67, or
4.7 percent, to $36.87.
Carefusion jumped $10.58, or 22.9 percent, to $56.75 on news that it was being
acquired by a rival. New Jersey medical
equipment maker Becton Dickinson and Co.
said it will pay $12.2 billion for the company,
in a combination focused on medication systems for hospitals and pharmacies. Becton
climbed $9.14, or 7.9 percent, to $124.98.
The Fed is due to release minutes on
Wednesday of its policy meeting last month
and the central bank will end its bond purchases this month. Now investors are watching for clues about the likely timing of any
interest rate hike.
Investors should remember that if the
Fed is raising rates, it will be because the
economy is strengthening, said Karyn Cavanaugh, a senior market strategist at Voya.
“If the potential rise in interest rates is
predicated on stronger growth....and if the
market recognizes that earnings are good,
and the economy is good then (higher rates)
it shouldn’t be much of an event,” said
Cavanaugh.
H&R Block logged the biggest drop
in the S&P 500 after saying that its latest
attempt to sell its banking business is getting delayed in the regulatory approval process. The tax preparer said it would not be
able to complete the deal before the next tax
season. Its stock dropped $1.75, or 5.5 percent, to $29.91.
GM uses calls,
Facebook, to get
recalled cars fixed
By TOM KRISHER
ASSOCIATED PRESS
DETROIT — Eight
months after General
Motors began recalling more than 2 million
cars because of a deadly
ignition-switch defect,
less than half the owners
have gotten their vehicles
fixed. At first, the problem was a shortage of
parts. But now the problem is people.
Despite the heavy
publicity surrounding
the scandal, many drivers
evidently haven’t heard
of the recall or haven’t
grasped how serious the
defect is because it hasn’t
given them any trouble.
As a result, GM has
been forced to go beyond
the usual ominoussounding recall letters.
It has sent out Facebook messages and made
phone calls to owners of
the cars, mainly Chevrolet
Cobalts and Saturn Ions.
CEO Mary
Barra has
even sent a personal letter
urging people to get the
switches replaced.
“In some cases we’ve
gone to the owners’ home
and gotten the vehicle,
gave them a loaner, and
are working to fix it,”
Barra said last week.
GM announced in
February and March that
it was recalling the cars
after taking more than
a decade to disclose the
defect, now linked to at
least two dozen deaths.
The switches can slip
out of the run position,
causing the engine to shut
off. That can knock out
power-assisted steering
and disable the air bags.
Despite recall letters
that bluntly warn that
the defect can lead to
injury and even death,
only about 1.16 million of
the 2.36 million affected
vehicles still on the road
have been bought in for
repairs.
By CRISSA SHOEMAKER DEBREE
F
STAFF WRITER
Wal-Mart plans 1-stop
health coverage shopping
to expand beyond food
and other basics at a time
NEW YORK — Wal- of sluggish traffic and
sales. It also could help
Mart is taking one-stop
Wal-Mart compete with
shopping to another
drugstore chains such
area: health insurance.
as Walgreen and CVS,
The world’s largest
which are rapidly adding
retailer plans to work
health care services.
with DirectHealth.com,
Customers can enroll
an online health insuronline,
by phone or at
ance comparison site and
2,700 of Wal-Mart’s more
agency, to allow shopthan 4,000 stores, startpers to compare covering Oct. 10. The stores
age options and enroll
will be staffed with indein Medicare plans or the pendent insurance agents
public exchange plans
from DirectHealth.com.
created under the AffordIn April, Wal-Mart
able Care Act.
teamed up with AutoinThe strategy is another surance.com to let shopstep into insurance marpers quickly find and
keting as the retailer tries buy insurance policies
online. DirectHealth.
to use its mammoth size
By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Firstrust accepting nominees
for business awards program
Firstrust Bank is
accepting nominations
for its third annual
“Philly’s Business First
Awards.” The winning
business will receive
$15,000 to split with the
charity of its choice.
The awards highlight
local businesses that
make a positive difference in the community
and display excellent
business values. Last
year, more than 500 area
CHLOE ELMER / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Cheryl Ciaranca, of Langhorne, shops at OneCupJoe in Summit Square in Middletown on Monday morning.
businesses were nominated and more than
5,000 votes were cast by
members of the public. A
Philly law firm was the
2013 winner.
Participants can
nominate themselves
or another business
through Nov. 14. Judges
will choose the top 20
finalists; the public will
choose the winners.
To nominate, visit
www.bizfirstawards.com.
or Bobby Beans and
Java Jay, there’s no
such thing as too
much coffee.
That’s why
you’ll find more than
265 varieties of coffee,
tea and other beverages at OneCupJoe, a
retail store that sells
caffeine fixes in single-serve packages.
“One of the top
things people say
when they come in
here is, ‘I feel like a
kid in a candy store,’
“ said Jeremy “Java
Jay” Zevin. “It’s like
the old Mr. Bulky’s,
where you could pick
whatever
candy you
wanted, or
like the craft
beer store, where
you can build your
own six pack.”
Zevin and longtime
friend Robert “Bobby Beans” Takakjy
opened OneCupJoe on Street Road
in Bensalem a year ago, and it’s celebrating its first anniversary by giving
away scratch-off tickets that could win
shoppers free coffee. A second store in
Middletown opened in the spring, and
two more stores will open this fall, in
Malvern and an as-yet-undetermined
location in Burlington County, New
Jersey, the partners said.
Takakjy and Zevin, who both
live in Bensalem, have been selling
single-serve coffee cups since the late
1990s through their commercial coffee service, which helped businesses
throughout the region keep employees
caffeinated. As the popularity of single-cup brewers like Keurig grew, so
did that side of the business.
“We were thinking of a way of, how
can we sell directly to the consumer?”
Takakjy said. “Wouldn’t it be cool if
we had a retail store where the public
could come in directly?”
The market for single-serve coffee pods is growing, as more coffee
drinkers opt for the convenience of
machines that brew a cup at a time.
U.S. sales of single-serve brewing systems grew 8 percent to $930 million
last year, according to the NPD Group.
According to market research firm
Want to know more?
OneCupJoe sells single-cup
coffees at stores in the Bensalem
Plaza Shopping Center at 2090
Street Road and the Summit
Square Shopping Center, located
off the Newtown Bypass in
Middletown. It also sells online;
visit onecupjoe.com for more
information.
Contact us
Do you know anyone who’s
making a living as an
entrepreneur of an interesting
business or as an employee in
an occupation he or she always
had dreamed about? If so, email
[email protected]
or call 215-345-3186.
Packaged Facts, single-cup coffee
accounts for more than 20 percent of
the U.S. retail coffee market in food,
drug and mass merchandise outlets.
Single-cup coffee sales are expected
to surpass $5 billion by 2016, up from
$415 million in 2011 and $922 million
in 2012, the firm says.
Megan Klemmer’s first trip to OneCupJoe was to buy coffee cups as a gift.
Her second trip was to stock up on coffee for herself.
“You can’t beat the price,”
the Morrisville resident said.
A mix-and-match tray
of 24 cups will run you
$14.99. Single brand
boxes run a little
less. A gift box is $3
more.
“We have
people who come
in and just buy
one,” Takakjy
said. “They buy
one; they buy
five; they buy
a tray. There’s
many different
ways to buy here.
We have people
who come in and
shop in two minutes,
and buy 40 (cups). We
have people who will
stay here 45 minutes, and
study the selection we have.
It’s cool to see the different
shopping techniques.”
In addition to well-known brands
like Green Mountain and Starbucks,
OneCupJoe also sells local brands like
Lacas and Lancaster County Coffee
Roasters, and specialty brands like
Guy Fieri and Cake Boss flavored
coffees. Later this fall, they’ll unveil
their own brand of OneCupJoe coffee,
with flavors like peanut butter banana
cream pie, decaf chocolate buttercream
and a double-caffeinated version called
Voodoo.
Zevin and Takakjy are also weighing in on the brewing coffee war, urging customers not to buy Keurig’s
new Keurig 2.0, which won’t work on
non-Keurig-branded pods. Canada’s
Club Coffee has filed a $600 million
lawsuit against Keurig as a result of
that decision.
As for what makes a perfect cup
of coffee, Bobby Beans and Java Jay
agree it begins with the water. Bad
water equals bad coffee. From there,
however, their tastes diverge. To Zevin,
anything that’s not dark roast tastes
like water. And he takes only sugar, no
cream. Takakjy prefers a coffee that can
handle cream well.
“That’s the point,” Zevin said. “It’s
all different.”
Crissa Shoemaker DeBree: 215-345-3186;
email: [email protected];
Twitter: @CrissaShoemaker