Insomnia Coffee Company

Irish coffee chain

Insomnia Coffee Company

Industry| Coffee Company
Founded| 1997 (Ireland)
Headquarters| Dublin, Ireland

Key people

| John Clohisey (Chairman), Harry O Kelly (CEO)
Revenue| €36.77m (2019)[1]
€30.9 million (2018)
€28.7 million (2017)[2]
Owner| Insomnia Ltd
Parent| BHJ Holdings
Website| www.insomnia.ie

Insomnia Coffee Company is an Irish chain of coffee shops, with headquarters in Dublin.[3] Its first location opened in the back of a Galway bookshop in August 1997. The company has over 150 cafés and over 400 self-service units in operation around Ireland.[4] Insomnia outlets serve both hot and cold drinks, coffee, sandwiches, salads, soups, snacks, cakes, and pastries.

## History

[edit]

Insomnia has grown from a single location in an Eason & Son bookshop in Galway in 1997 to an estate of over 150 coffee shops [5] with both directly-owned and franchised outlets, and through partnerships with SPAR/Eurospar, Mace and Londis as well as other Irish retailers such as Eason & Son, Fresh, Meadows & Byrne, Maxol and Penneys.[6]

In 2003, the company merged with the sandwich company Bendini & Shaw.[7] In 2005, Insomnia acquired the Perk coffee chain.[8]

From 2006-2017, the company was equally owned by chairman Bobby Kerr, CEO Harry O’Kelly, and John Clohisey. In 2010, O'Kelly was appointed CEO and Kerr became chairman.[9] In December 2017, Kerr left the business and sold his shares to the other shareholders.[10] That same month, Clohisey became chairman, CFO Barry Kehoe joined the Board of Directors, and Dara O'Flynn joined as COO.[11][12]

In April 2012, the Insomnia high street franchise was launched. The first franchise café opened in 2013 in St Stephen's Green Shopping Centre, Dublin. In 2015, the company announced a new partnership with Primark, an Irish-based retail chain, which trades in Ireland as Penneys. In 2015, three Insomnia concession cafés were rolled out at Penneys in Waterford, Swords and Athlone, with Liffey Valley opening in 2016.

In 2015, Insomnia expanded to the United Kingdom, with a café opening in Market Harborough. It continued to expand in 2016, opening three more UK cafés in Calver, Laceby and Bromley, which was the first of seven cafés in partnership with Primark. As of September 2022, Insomnia has over 100 cafés in the UK,[13] having most recently opened an outlet in Eastham, Wirral in 2022, in partnership with the Central England Co-operative.[14]

In 2016, a new franchise partnership developed between Insomnia and Maxol, which saw the first outlet opening in Mulhuddart Service Station in April 2016. In 2018, Insomnia's first coffee drive-thru opened in partnership with Maxol at Maxol Ballycoolin in the heart of the Dublin Enterprise Zone.

## Products

[edit]

Insomnia offers a range of beverages, including tea, coffee and hot chocolate.[15][16][17] It also offers food options, including sandwiches, filled baguettes, panini, focaccia, flatbreads, wraps, ciabattas, salads and soups.[18]

## See also

[edit]

* Coffee portal

* List of coffeehouse chains

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Deegan, Gordon. "Insomnia coffee chain 'severely disrupted' by pandemic after profits rose in 2019". The Irish Times. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
2. ^ "Operating Profits at Insomnia Soared to €4m Last Year".
3. ^ "The best coffee gets a good roasting every week". Independent.ie. 10 May 2015. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
4. ^ "Despite stiff competition, coffee chain Insomnia has plans to double in size". Fora.ie. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
5. ^ Paul, Mark (21 March 2013). "Meet the mentor: Bobby Kerr of Insomnia Coffee Company". Irish Times. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
6. ^ "Company History | Insomnia Coffee Company". www.insomniacoffee.co.uk. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
7. ^ Brennan, Ciaran. "Insomnia pays €2m for Bendini & Shaw". The Irish Times. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
8. ^ "Insomnia Coffee Company pays ?1m for Perk chain". independent. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
9. ^ Staff, Fora. "'My cancer gave me a life check': Bobby Kerr on why he left Insomnia Coffee". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
10. ^ Taylor, Charlie. "End of an era as Bobby Kerr moves on from Insomnia". The Irish Times. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
11. ^ "Bobby Kerr will depart Insomnia Coffee Company". Business & Finance. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
12. ^ "Bobby Kerr exits Insomnia Coffee Company". Shelflife Magazine. 15 December 2017. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
13. ^ "Find Your Insomnia | Insomnia Coffee Company". www.insomniacoffee.co.uk. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
14. ^ Insomnia Coffee Company Littleover, retrieved 27 July 2022
15. ^ "Insomnia provides 100% Fairtrade certified coffee at all outlets from today".
16. ^ "Insomnia Launches Voyager Coffee Programme". 18 May 2018.
17. ^ "Let us tempt you with our most indulgent Hot Chocolates yet! | Insomnia Coffee Company". www.insomniacoffee.co.uk. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
18. ^ "COMPETITION: Win a weekly lunch at Insomnia for you and a friend for six months".

## Further reading

[edit]

* O'Connell, Hugh (10 May 2015). "Insomnia to open 15 new franchises and create 100 new jobs". Business ETC. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
* Tuesday (18 January 2011). "Coffee shop displays calorie content of hot drinks and snacks in trial". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 10 May 2015.

* v
* t
* e

List of restaurant chains in Ireland

Coffeehouse|

* AMT Coffee
* Butlers Chocolate Café
* Caffè Nero
* Caffè Ritazza
* Costa Coffee
* Esquires
* Gloria Jean's Coffees
* Insomnia Coffee Company
* Starbucks

Fast food restaurants|

* Abrakebabra
* Apache Pizza
* Boojum
* Burger King
* Domino's
* Freshly Chopped
* Four Star Pizza
* KFC
* McDonald's
* Supermac's
* Zambrero

Casual dining|

* The Counter
* Eddie Rocket's
* Gourmet Burger Kitchen
* Hard Rock Café
* Harry Ramsden's
* Leo Burdock
* MAO
* Milano
* Nando's
* Pizza Hut
* TGI Fridays
* Wagamama
* Zaytoon
* Zizzi

Sandwich shops|

* O'Briens
* Quiznos
* Subway
* Upper Crust

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