The Science Gallery Café is soon set to defy Trinity’s demand that it stock only Coca-Cola Company bottled products, The University Times has learned.
After seeking legal advice, the cafe believes that its own licensing agreement with the College does not obligate it to comply with the terms of the substantial exclusive pouring rights deal that the Coca-Cola Company signed with Trinity in 2016.
The move follows a months-long battle between the cafe and Coca-Cola. As part of the agreement, campus-based outlets are, by and large, not permitted to sell bottled drinks made by any other company.
While the deal was negotiated and concluded with the involvement of Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU), which operates two shops on campus, no representative from the independently owned and operated cafe in the Science Gallery was consulted before it was signed, Peter Sztal, one of the owners of the cafe, told The University Times.
Sztal, he said, was “aggressively” approached by a Coca-Cola representative in November 2016. “She just came in and told me that I had to remove all the items from my fridges. I told her she was a bit crazy.”
“It was a long battle over eight to ten months. I was trying to fight it. I just didn’t agree that someone could come in and tell an independent business what to stock.”
In addition to demands that the cafe buy directly from Coca-Cola, rather than through a distributor, and that it place orders for a minimum of ten cases of its products, representatives from the company also came on premises to conduct audits.
“There were reps – a lady – coming in here without permission, right in behind the counter. She started taking pictures of my fridges, so I had to complain”, Sztal said.
After raising the issue with Moira O’Brien, Trinity’s Catering Manager, the cafe was assured that it would not happen again.
Despite securing some concessions, such as the right to order from its own choice of distributor, the cafe will start to sell other products in the coming weeks, Sztal said. It has been selling only Coca-Cola bottled products since March 2017.
“I will start selling other brands and look for a reaction. Probably within a week or two”, Sztal said.
Sztal also raised issues with how his company was being treated in negotiations. “No-one is looking at me as a financial contributor”, he said. “My company is paying quite a substantial rent for this premises that goes directly to Trinity College.”
The cafe’s licensing agreement with the College is based on turnover, he noted. “The more money we bring in, the more money Trinity College gets. And it’s quite a substantial amount. We’ve been here for the last seven-and-a-half years.”
Though Sztal is not aware of the precise terms of the deal between Trinity and Coca-Cola, he was warned of the implications of taking a stand against the company. “I was genuinely told that if I rocked the boat here that it was going to have a negative impact on the financial agreement”, he said.
The cafe, which opened in May 2010, has been described by Times Higher Education as “the best café of any science centre in the world”. Run by Sztal and his partner, Frank Kavanagh, it employs nine other people.
Its unbridled success, Sztal said, can be put down to it making the “right choices”. “When it comes to ingredients and menus, we care about absolutely everything. How can one element of it be controlled by someone that actually doesn’t have anything to do with any of this?”
As a result of the agreement, the cafe has stopped offering the range of independent products it once offered, such as On Lemon, the lemonade made by a Polish beverage company, and small-batch juices and smoothies made by a Ranelagh-based company called Green Beards. And customers, he said, have noticed.
“That’s what made me think: it’s not even just me that’s annoyed, as a company director and operator of the cafe – it’s actually the general public too.”
“My customers are angry with the fact that their choices are limited to unhealthy choices. The sugar tax is coming in.”
“What’s next in the pipeline?” Sztal asked. “Is it going to be a supplier of milk? Is it going to be eggs? Is it going to be coffee?”
Trinity’s Commercial Revenue Unit trumpets its deal with Coca-Cola as a “key partnership” on its website. In addition to the TCDSU shops, the 10-year agreement covers the Buttery, the Dining Hall, the cafe in the Arts Block, the Pavilion Bar and Westland Eats.
A substantial amount of the proceeds from the deal has been directed towards Trinity Sport “to help develop student health, fitness and wellbeing”, the website says.
The Coca-Cola Company did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.
