from left to right:: Johan Vermeersch: MasterCoffee Roaster, founder and managing director of Koffie Kān. Johan was practically born between bales of coffee: both his father and his grandfather were coffee roasters. He learned the craft from them. Thanks to this invaluable background, his sense of modern entrepreneurship and his wide and detailed knowledge of sound and sustainable technology, he and his team have been able to make Koffie Kān into a highly specialised roasting house that has a steadily growing share in various niche markets in Belgium and is now starting to export its blends. Because Johan is convinced that small-scale companies are the basis for a flourishing industry, he has been promoting the co-operation of small roasting houses within the national coffee federation for years. By the turn of the millenium and for 8 years he has also been the inspiring chairman of the Belgian Association of Coffee Roasters.
Martine Nijsters: drank her first cup of real coffee when Johan came to woo her and was hooked immediately.
As a professional copywriter, she has written numerous articles and guides on coffee, as well as two books: a 'bible' for the critical coffee connoisseur, 'Koffie Kān te boek'
(in Dutch, published by Koffie Kān and, alas, out of print) and a book commissioned by the Belgian Association of Coffee Roasters, 'Koffie een vriend', which has been translated into French as 'Café mon ami'. For the same professional association, she co-ordinated a generic promotion campaign for coffee that ran from 1986 to 1989, and is currently still in charge of various promotion activities. Her easy and regular communication with customers and with the press makes her a pillar of all the marketing activities of Koffie Kān.
Marjolein Vermeersch: their daughter, joined the company in the beginning of 1999, after gaining work experience in advertising and with an export consultant. Before that, she obtained a Masterīs degree in Business Administration in Barcelona and a Masterīs in International Trade at EHSAL college in Brussels. To familiarise herself with the coffee trade, she took an international Coffee Course organised by the Coffee Trade Federation in London and trained with a number of specialised importers. At Koffie Kān, Marjolein is responsible for sales, which means she is usually the voice on the telephone.
Frederik Danneels: is not only Marjolein's husband, but also responsible for the production. He roasts and packages the coffee and conducts the strictest quality control tests. His extensive expertise and great commitment to the quality policy of Koffie Kān ensure that every bag of Koffie Kān coffee is 100% fresh and tasty.
Nadine en Sonia: loyal and enthusiastic employees who are always ready to carry out daily tasks at Koffie Kān and make sure visitors get a real treat on open days. With their diligence and eye for detail, Nadine and Sonia are invaluable to our operation and to the service we provide to our customers.
