Case study -J Atkinson Co – use of Enterprise Cultural Heritage

The aim of this case study is to provide you with an example of Enterprise Cultural Heritage training material use by J. Atkinson & Co.

This work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.

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Before you start…

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MNMEMOS Enterprise Cultural Heritage training material strikes a chord

Since Thomas Atkinson started the ‘Grasshopper Tea Warehouse’ in 1837 some things have changed for J. Atkinson & Co. Both location and name have changed but what has not changed is a commitment to providing the finest tea and coffee.

In recent years Ian and Sue Steel, the current owners, have extended the business to include an award-winning café, the Music Room, a coffee academy, and supplying local cafes with their brilliant coffee and the know how to ensure that all ‘Atkinson’ coffee is as good as it can be.

On the day we spoke to them they were launching their latest development; a range of exclusive J. Atkinson & Co. single cask whisky with taste pairing suggestions for the best coffees to accompany them. They now employ 19 people and the next generation are involved with Ian and Sue’s sons running the Music Room.

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Innovation through heritage

While remaining committed to the importance of the heritage aspects of the business they are also happy to innovate where this will complement this and are looking to new technology to support this. As the vintage roasters age it is no longer possible to get spare parts to maintain them and Ian is considering how 3D printing can be used to create spare parts for the roasters which impart such subtlety to their coffees.

As one of the original companies contacted as part of the MNEMOS project J. Atkinson & Co were approached to trial the Enterprise Cultural Heritage training material developed by the project. Ian is about to embark on a major new development taking on the next door premises to extend the shop and develop a whole new ‘Atkinson’s Tea & Coffee Heritage & Innovation Centre’ which Ian likens to a walk-through website. This meant that the Change Management module of the training looked particularly relevant and was where Ian initially focused. He found it struck a lot of chords with his own experiences and offered some new insights as well.

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Change Management applied…

Ian was very interested in the emphasis in the Change Management module on the importance of engaging staff with change. Although he feels that there is not a lot of trepidation amongst his staff about the new developments he recognised that it is still important to build staff engagement.

As a result of the training Ian has already circulated a questionnaire among the staff asking for ‘The Dream-Teams’ Dreams’ for the new development.

The feedback has been very interesting and he can see staff coming together behind suggestions which they can carry forward into the new development. More of what he has learnt from the Change Management material will be bought into play as the new developments become more concrete.

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Brand management applied

J. Atkinson & Co place great value on their brand and are aware of its value in differentiating them from their competitors so the second element of the training material that Ian looked at was the Brand Management module.

Already aware of the role of Brand Management in engaging with customers, Ian was delighted to see Atkinson’s used to illustrate various aspects of Brand Management, his attention was caught by the section about the use of Social Media to engage with customers.

This is an area he will now look to develop further as he is more aware that just having an on-line presence is not simply enough. Currently this is no-one’s role and as Ian said ‘you would not open a shop and then not staff it.’

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IPR applied

Ian is planning to engage with the other two modules of the training; Heritage Management and IPR Management and to study them fully as his experience of the two modules he has studied has been so fruitful.

Although already involved in Heritage Marketing Ian is sure that there will be more to learn from the MNEMOS training materials.

Visit J. Atkinson & Co. at www.thecoffeehopper.com

If you would like to access the free training material and read case studies on the use of ECH visit the project website at: www.enterpriseculturaleheritage.org

The content included in this training material has been compiled by the MNEMOS project team from a variety of sources. The MNEMOS project team reserves the right to change the terms and conditions of use of this training material without notice and any time. The training material is produced for educational purposes only and does not offer legally binding advice. The training material as well as the www.enterpriseculturalheritage.org website are made available “as is” and “as available”. MNEMOS project team makes no representation and does not warrant:a) That the information selected for the training material and the website is comprehensive, complete, verified, organised and accurate;b) That it is licensed by the copyright or database right owner of any third party content to include or reproduce such content in this training material and the website;c) That the training material and the website will be uninterrupted and error-free; andd) That the server from which the training material and the website is available is free of viruses or bugs.

Disclaimer

This work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.

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End of Case Study in Enterprise Cultural Heritage (ECH) Management use

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