This page is - Feature List

We do not use a features list like most trade papers - we do not optimistically line up a list of subjects and stick to it come what may.   We don't think that is at all useful to us, suppliers, or the readers!

We are a news magazine, and as such, everything newsworthy is valid for inclusion in all our issues, all the time.  This is, of course, the most useful approach for anyone who wants to promote a product or service - you don't want to be told 'we've just done that' or 'we're not doing that until next year'.   With Coffee House, if whatever you have is newsworthy, then it's of interest to us... and, of course, this means that things like coffee blends and espresso machines are relevant every month.

However, people do constantly ask us to produce a features list. So we have done!

When using this list, please remember that we are the magazine which knows something about the beverage and cafe sector - we're the ones who can actually make a cappuccino.  So when we say we're writing about a subject, that means we are looking extremely closely at everything it involves for our trade, with a greater understanding than you will find from any other magazine. 

But we don't pretend that we know everything. So, if anyone has an idea for something which readers would really like to see featured in Coffee House - just suggest it to us. You're very welcome to do so.

Please also remember that we write for many other magazines... whether your subject does or does not fit Coffee House, there's always a chance we can use it elsewhere, for our mutual benefit.

Boughton's Coffee House -  features list, 2013

(The ratecard is at the foot of the page)

As you know, we aren’t that keen on features schedules – we’re a news magazine.   The bizarre thing about trade paper features schedules is that they are generally based on what happened last year (or on ’what the rival magazines did last year’ !!!)  and when you look at what is projected on some schedules for December 2013, you find that things can quite easily be two years out of date!  

So, our advance features list is offered only as a rough guide – the content of a news publication changes according to circumstances, and this list will almost certainly be added to or amended during the year; please stay in touch with us for updates.

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EVER-PRESENT SUBJECTS

Certain subjects are treated as news, and are relevant to all issues.  Items concerning espresso machines or other equipment, launches of coffee products, or tea products are relevant every issue.  If you have such news to talk about, please don’t wait for a specific issue – just let us have this news as it happens.

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Here we go - errors, omissions, and stupid mistakes excepted and regretted...

Dec 2011/January 2012  (CH67)

 To print middle of the month. Artwork deadline probably 4th.

This is a combined issue, because Ian and Trudi were hit with so much freelance work in late 2011, the December issue was in danger of coming out in the middle of the Christmas rush - so we just decided to skip it.

The lead feature subjects will be one or two from the following, depending, on which turn out to be most interesting -

The winter menu – soups and porridges

Believe it or not, someone recently queried to us the concept of selling soups through a coffee-house route – and yet we recall reporting the s consultancy making such a point of highlighting the potential of the product!  The same goes for porridges – the railway-station commuter coffee bars saw this ages ago, and even Kerry, the flavoured-syrup giant,  saw the business and came out with a relevant product.

The Healthy cafe

In the winter, a vast number of people suffer from vitamin deficiency, which is directly related to the absence of sunlight, and eating less fruit at this time of year.  Consumers need to get their vitamins from somewhere – and the café trade is well positioned to put this right. This is a winter business with a reason.    The ‘healthy eating’ revolution has also sparked a vast range of potential products, and in turn a vast amount of further debate. The matter of milk alone is a subject on which entire books have been written… and look how much of that a café uses!  We look at the options for the ‘healthy eating’ café.

The Hygienic cafe

Cleanliness in any catering business is one of the most vital parts of management. We discuss practical cleaning products, issues and methods.

EPOS

Automatic payment, stockholding, and promotional methods are advancing extremely rapidly. We look at the latest systems on offer.

Barista championship 2013. 

We may start previewing this in January… we haven’t decided.

Filter coffee

This doesn’t go away, does it? People have been predicting the ‘return’ of filter coffee on the café menu for years, and indeed it has been steadily growing for several years… and still cafes continue to open up their brew-bars.  Where does filter coffee go next?

Hospitality

The show is on from 21-23 January. We shall preview what is relevant and important to the café trade… if it warrants it. If it doesn’t look that directly relevant, we won’t waste your time with it.

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February 2013  (68)

To print mid-month.  Deadline for artwork probably end of Jan.

The Ethical cafe

This year, Fairtrade Fortnight in 2013 is 25th Feb to 10th March.  The coffee-house trade has never got the most out of this… and indeed, the major Fairtrade brands have never adequately supported the café trade (whatever they might say!)    This year, the subject has all the more interest, with the recent questioning of just what good the ethical certifications are actually doing.   We shall invite the suppliers who use the certifying ‘marks’ to come out and talk decisively about what good all this is going to be for the trade.

Milk

The biggest ingredient of the coffee menu!  But look at what has happened to it – soy, goats’, almond, flavoured, all kinds of products.  And still there is the debate about whether or not it is healthy for us to drink the milk of another animal. 

Menus and Signage

This truly is an art.  Not just what is on the menu, but how you say it, and how you display it. If you’re going to offer the public anything at all… make it count.

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March 2013  (69)

To print mid-month.  Deadline for artwork probably end February.

AND NOW WE ARE TEN!

This is the big one for us -  Coffee House, the most interesting and most readable magazine for the coffee-house sector, celebrates its tenth birthday in March 2013. 

Disposable Cups and takeaway packaging

This really is a campaign for us, and now we can begin to see things changing.  Some of the packaging suppliers have had a captive audience for too long, and have settled into a very cosy existence which required very little creative work.  How they have been shown up by the companies who bring in new thinking!  We really enjoyed the meeting about takeaway packaging and street litter in November... that was a good move.   We continue to look far deeper into this subject than any magazine in the trade.

Linked with…

Labelling

Espresso machines

A constant subject for us, it’s true.  But with so much happening, it’s worth having a feature devoted to it.

The Chester Coffee Festival is 30 March – 1st April.

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April 2013  (70)

To print mid-month.  Deadline for artwork probably end of March .

The summer drink

A look at the soft drink sector, its health issues, and its relevance to cafes, including the use of the cordial (a much under-rated product) and the use of bottled waters. 

linked with...

Snacks, bread products, biscuits and cakes

A supplier said, notably - 'the coffee house food offer has yet to be defined'. And so far as we are concerned, it still has not.  

London Coffee Festival

25-28 April 2013.

Including the UK Barista Championship.

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May 2013  (71)

The print date is set to get the magazine to readers one week before the trade’s biggest show.  Deadline for artwork probably 1st May.

Caffe Culture preview. (15-16 May 2013)

This does rather tend to dominate the issue, doesn’t it? 

WBC in Melbourne, Australia (MICE, 23-26 May 2013

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June 2013  (72)

To print mid-month.  Deadline for artwork probably end of May.

Flavours

For both summer use and looking forward to winter drinks

Smoothies and Shakes

It has now been proven that this is an all-year-round sector. There is far more to it than meets the eye, which is why we shall give it a special feature.

Tea

This is an ever-present news subject for us, but we have been told by readers and suppliers that they would appreciate an issue devoted to it.

Avex – 11-13 June.

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July 2013 (73)

To print mid-month.  Deadline for artwork probably end of June.

Machines

The breadth of what counts as a ‘coffee machine’ continues to expand, much to our surprise. A year or two ago, who would have considered a siphon to be an important part of coffee-shop business? We look across the whole spectrum, from espresso to single-serve filter.

Coffee.

We don’t usually have coffee as a subject, because it’s an ever-present. But, we have been asked to give roasters and brands a platform for the products they are proud of.

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Aug 2013  (74)

To print mid-month.  Deadline for artwork probably end of July.

Great Taste Awards

It is always fascinating to see which teas and coffees did well in the awards. There are always surprises in this… and many of them end up as worthwhile additions to a catering menu.

Incentives, Advertising and Promotion

What has worked in the beverage trade… and why?

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Sept 2013 (75)

To print first week.  Deadline for artwork probably end of August.

Rainforest Alliance Week

The date isn’t yet set, but is probably around mid-month. We reported last year that the ‘awareness week’ was planned so late, and with so little trade promotion, that it actually created very little awareness. We shall be encouraging more support for the trade this year

Lunch! Show preview

26-27 September 2013.

Chocolate

Still one of the truly most important products in the coffee-house world – and the developments never stop. Will this be the year that single-origin chocolate really takes off, as predicted?

Chocolate Week, a very big event indeed, is 14-20th October, so we'll have our preview in this issue.

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Oct 2013  (76)

To print mid-month.  Deadline for artwork probably end of September.

General café machinery

That is, panini grills to ice machines

Christmas

This is the right time for a little sensible advance planning of the most profitable products to work with in the final weeks of the year.

Espresso machines and grinders

Another thing we don't usually put in our schedule, because it's a constant subject every month. But we have been asked to do a specific issue on it... so we will!

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Nov 2013  (77)

To print mid-month.  Deadline for artwork probably end of October.

 The winter trade.

Yes, the winters are getting colder.  For the coffee-house trade, that’s good news – but a strategic approach to it is desirable.

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Dec 2013  (78)

To print mid-month.  Deadline for artwork end of November.

No idea yet !!!! 

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The rate card:

Full page –  £750 plus VAT

(due to a slight change in page design, the full page size is now 186mm wide x 270mm deep. This is the size of the box you can fill; I’m not bleeding to the page edge). 

Half page, vertical or horizontal – £600 plus VAT

(186mm wide x 126mm deep, or 90mm wide x 270mm deep)

Quarter page in any format -  £400 plus VAT

(the conventional vertical size is 90mm wide x 126mm deep; or a horizontal size is 139mm wide by 80mm deep.  Less usual sizes are 186mm wide x 63mm; or 43mm wide x 254mm deep.  We can do 123mm wide x 90mm deep, but we like advance notice of this, because we have to change the page to a three-column grid  )

Other ideas:

Inserts:  £400 per insertion plus VAT.   There is no additional charge for postage if an insert weighs no more than 10gms, and/or does not push us into the next postage band; any excess postage will be charged at cost.  If more than one insert is included in an issue, the excess postage will be split between the advertisers. 

Back page:  A size of approximately A5 is booked for 12 months – when available the cost is £325 plus VAT.    

Website: We have always made slots available at the top of the home page, but in late 2008 we began to develop advertising slots across other pages. These are remarkably economical, and usually of petty-cash size... but check with us to see what can be done, please.

Earpieces: on an A4 news-format sheet, the earpiece size each side is about 30mm x 20mm.     Best used in conjunction with an inside appearance. Please check for availability.

Product slots: we do not charge for ‘colour separations’. This is a fraud. However, we do occasionally make available a small advertisement slot of a picture and 70 words, for £50 plus VAT.   

Positions: we do not guarantee any position, other than the back page. In a paper the size of ours, the concept of 'early right hand' simply doesn't exist... every page is an early one!   You are very welcome to say where you would like an ad to be placed, and we will do our best to comply... but placing cannot be accepted as a condition of order.

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ADVERTISERS, PLEASE - would you kindly take note of the following artwork requirements?

We shall be very grateful for our advertisers’ assistance with supplying artwork in a practical format.
It has become very clear in recent years that more advertisers now prefer to produce their artwork in-house, probably to save on agency and designer fees… however, this has caused some problems, and we have several recent examples of artwork being prepared in un-openable file formats,  and even unheard-of colour formats.

May we please ask:

1. Can we please have artwork  only  in Jpeg format?  Could you please avoid PDF files for artwork, if possible?  Please do not send anything in Mac format.

2. Please give us a full-colour hard-copy proof. I know this involves snail-mail, but the point is that many computer monitors show colours in a different way  –  what is royal blue on one screen may be purple on another.  If you supply your own colour print, it shows our printer exactly what result you expect him to achieve and what colours he has to match.

3. If you do send artwork by e-mail, please do not use any compression software such as Stuffit.  As this is not universally used, it can cause file-opening problems.   We would prefer that you do not send Zip files, either.

We don't wish to sound officious about this - but if you send it in the wrong format, then  we may decline responsibility for the result.
Having said that, we will always work to help produce (or if necessary, repair) an advertisement.   And we often only charge for it if we are expected to put in an unreasonable amount of work!