“Generosity is a big deal for me because it all comes down to trust.”-Erik Modahl
“It’s so good to see you!”
“You’re awesome!”
If you hang with Erik Modahl for a day, you’ll hear these words. His glee is contagious.
And you’ll realize he’s not just about coffee. I mean, he’s rocking coffee for sure. But his life motto is “to build community” everywhere he goes. And he uses coffee as a catalyst to do so.
“From the minute Erik became a part of our community, he prided himself on understanding and memorizing [our] values. He has always maintained that the goal…[is] to foster community. This is very important to Greentown Labs because our community is what makes us unique and it’s why employees are excited to go to work everyday.” -Cayman Somerville, Greentown Labs
Erik’s coffee roots run through BostonbeaN
Erik has worked for over 30 years in the coffee industry. He’s a veteran of the BostonbeaN Coffee Company, which has served coffee in Boston’s corporate workplace for 50 years.
Basically, if you’ve had coffee at work, BostonbeaN Coffee Company supplies it. Which means, you’ve probably seen Erik at some point. He worked every route, conversing with every customer.
Plus, he isn’t just the “coffee delivery guy.” He’s Erik. He’s the person who’s happy to see you. The one who knows a lot about coffee so he can give you exactly what you want.
Giving customers an experience fuels his creativity. It’s a pretty common sight to see Erik do things like serve nitro-cold brew coffee from a backpack at an elevator. Or walk around the office refilling your coffee mug via a french press. This experimental nature is the key to Erik’s customer-centric approach.
Building on curated coffee with beantrust
Erik felt inspired by a growing demand for curated coffee programs in the workplace, so he started beantrust about a year ago. With beantrust, Erik runs 200-person coffee events, caters intimate coffee tastings, and provides weekly coffee servicing. And companies like HubSpot tap Erik to build in-house coffee bar programs.
Need a cold brew coffee for your office? Erik was the first to market cold brew to the workplace. He draws on his relationships with coffee farmers, roasters, manufacturers, and service delivery companies like LeanBox to craft a completely curated program for your community’s needs. LeanBox is working with Erik on cold brew kegs for the office!
“Since beantrust partnered with Greentown Labs, we have seen consumption of coffee nearly triple. Every day, a different member company lets Greentown or Erik know how much they appreciate the new set-up. The coffee is fresher, thanks to biweekly deliveries and frequent on-site grinding, and much better, thanks to Erik’s connections.” -Cayman Somerville, Greentown Labs
Erik also created and manages a zero-waste program for the CIC, his signature cost reduction method where the coffee bean waste is dropped off at a pig farm in New England.
Coffee programs promote thriving workplaces
Building workplace community is tough. What activity should you prioritize? Will people enjoy themselves? How will you know it works? If you’re in charge of building workplace community, you need a win.
This is what a workplace coffee program allows you to do. Coffee allows you to be generous to your employees. It enables you to add a personal touch to the workplace that make people feel taken care of. Which builds trust. And trust builds an engaged workforce.
“Leading with generosity is the formula for building workplace community” -Erik Modahl
