From the revolutionary ice-blended to its newfangled single-serve beverage system, Mel Elias, president and CEO of Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, proves brewing up big ideas is just his cup of tea.
The brand is affectionately dubbed “The Bean” among Hollywood A-listers such as Jennifer Aniston, Tom Cruise, Ellen Degeneres and Justin Bieber. And it’s not uncommon to find the paparazzi lying in wait outside Los Angeles locations of the chain. While it’s no secret that Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf has made serious inroads into Southern California’s – and the world’s – java culture, it’s a little-known fact that the outfit, founded in the US in 1963, is no less Singaporean than Mel Elias, its 42-year-old president and chief executive officer.
Born in Malaysia (though he’s Singaporean), Mel moved here at the age of 11, where he attended United World College and completed his national service. Thereafter, he read law at the London School of Economics. Today, he calls Los Angeles – where he runs the java juggernaut, now majority-owned by a Singaporean family – home.
With his debonair looks and low-key personality, Mel, a self-confessed musician at heart, comes across more as a rock star than the top bean of a coffee chain. But his accomplishments, along with a maverick streak, clue you in that he’s no average corporate Joe.
It was in 1996 that the ex-lawyer found his true calling, leaving Harry Elias Partnership, an eponymous law firm founded by his godfather, Harry, for a shot at growing a global business. Then, his brother-in-law and Singaporean businessman Victor Sassoon had just acquired the Asia franchise rights for Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, and was looking to grow his team. Mel, who drew up the contracts, was intrigued.
“I’ve always had the itch for business. It’s in my blood,” explains the bachelor and third-generation entrepreneur, who loves “building something and seeing things to its completion”. His grandfather, Aaron Isaac, founded Hilda’s Department Store in Middle Road, while his father, Elias Elias, managed a retail business in Malaysia.
Entrusted with business development, Mel, who had to learn everything from scratch, launched Singapore’s first Coffee Bean at the old Scotts Shopping Centre, and Malaysia’s first at KL Plaza. Then relatively young and inexperienced, he ran the business from a warehouse with a crate for an office chair, and admits there were moments of self-doubt. “There was a point when I thought: ‘I left a legal career and I’m here launching a coffee shop. Is Malaysia going to embrace a branded coffee culture?’ At that time, you could buy three nasi lemaks for an ice-blended.”
It didn’t take long before he got his answer. By 1998, there were 27 more outlets in Singapore and two in Malaysia – more than the 21 rival Starbucks had in Singapore. Today, Coffee Bean boasts close to 800 outlets worldwide. Since becoming chief executive officer in 2008, Mel has tripled the company’s profits with sales exceeding US$400 million (S$500 million) last year. And within the next 12 to 18 months, it will decide if it should go public to raise funds for further growth.
And few understand better than him that in the hyper-competitive world of speciality coffee, details – and innovation – count. It’s no surprise Coffee Bean beat Starbucks to make its debut in the booming single-serve market last December with CBTL, a machine that allows consumers to play barista at home, concocting their favourite brew with the touch of a button.
“To keep the brand relevant and cutting-edge, and still very much part of popular culture, requires you to be on top of your game and think five steps ahead,” explains Mel, who was in Singapore recently to launch the product. It also explains his penchant for bringing fresh ideas to the table. Take, for example, his plan to introduce “sonic branding” to the outlets, a pet project just a few months shy of implementation.
It’s about distilling a multi-million-dollar business into a playlist of songs, says the self-professed “music junkie”, who composes, plays the piano and drums, and hosts open mic sessions at home. The same way Intel’s trademark five-note “bong” and McDonald’s “I’m lovin’ it” refrain has left an imprint on consumers’ minds, he hopes to create what he dubs “the CBTL sound”. The Coffee Bean playlist isn’t overplayed mainstream pop, he adds. “We want it to be ‘discoverable’. We’re selecting artistes who really have a great shot at being something, so we can say we introduced their music into the mainstream.”
Then there’s his laser-like fixation with understanding pop culture and Coffee Bean’s key clientele: Generations Y and Z. Among the most-used apps on his iPad is Pulse, which alerts him to the top 20 Youtube downloads daily. At work, he relies on interns to distill the 50 or so industry reports he gets weekly – in part to maximise his time and to comprehend how they perceive the world and approach life. To tap into their psyche, Mel has even introduced a reverse-mentoring programme, where everyone in his executive team picks an under-25 to tutor them on social media, whether it’s the latest apps or the coolest gadget in the market.
While it’s plain that Mel is more rule-maker than follower, underlying his new school thinking are solid old-school values. Subscribing to a bottom-up philosophy, Mel, who can still pull a latte or cappuccino if he needs to, demands that everyone who joins the company starts with making coffee and serving the customers. “They need to understand what the troops go through in the trenches,” he says. “They must understand the heartbeat and blood that flows through the company. It’s non-negotiable.”
And for Mel, it isn’t enough just to do well. “It’s also important that we do good,” he emphasises. A firm believer in giving back, he has launched several social initiatives, including building a community centre and sponsoring an orphanage, both in Sri Lanka, after the 2004 tsunami.
While he relishes changing the world in more ways than one, he gets just as much, if not more, satisfaction in bringing out the best in someone, particularly when it’s one of Coffee Bean’s own. “When I see one of my baristas get promoted to senior director,” Elias says, “I’m proud of that.”