Greg Wins Smart 50 & Innovation Awards

Greg Ubert, our founder and president, has won a Smart 50 Award from Smart Business magazine.  The Smart 50 Awards recognize the top executives of the 50 smartest companies in central Ohio for their ability to effectively build and lead successful organizations. He also won the specialty Innovation Award.

“I am beyond honored to receive this recognition,” Greg said. “It’s a testament to the hard work of our Cuppers here at Crimson Cup, our customers across the country and internationally, and the coffee farmers from around the world who grow our coffee.”

Ten Cuppers were on hand at the award ceremony to celebrate Greg’s latest achievement.

Here’s how Smart Business described Greg and Crimson Cup:

“Greg Ubert started Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea in 1991 with a tiny, gas-fired coffee roaster in a one-room office. Specialty coffee was in its infancy. Today, the top coffee roaster provides coffee and coffeehouse products while creating a value chain of mutual benefit with growers and other suppliers.

“When Ubert saw coffeehouse customers struggling, he developed the service platform “7 Steps to Success” — the basis for Crimson Cup’s coffee franchise alternative program. The accompanying book has become an operating guide for hundreds of entrepreneurs. Crimson Cup doesn’t take ownership or require them to pay franchise fees or royalties.

The company not only has a company-owned coffee house for marketing, customer service and drink preparation ideas, its innovation lab features areas for coffee evaluation, roasting, training and gathering.”

More than 26 years after Greg started roasting, Crimson Cup is a leading coffee roaster, recognized by specialty coffee’s flagship publication Roast magazine as the 2016 Macro Roaster of the Year. Our coffees regularly win taste tests, high rankings from independent coffee reviewers, and trophies in competitions including the Good Food Awards, the Golden Bean North America Awards, and America’s Best Espresso.