CLEVELAND — A trip to Spain changed the way Cleveland native Aleksandra Brankov viewed coffee and the experience of drinking it.
“I was immersed in this type of neighborhood where it was all about the local business scene and I enjoyed that and making those relationships in the community,” Brankov said.
So when she returned home, she decided she wanted every Cleveland coffee drinker to have a special connection to their local coffee shops.
She created Cafilia, a coffee and coffee shop-focused subscription service.
“Go on the Cafilia website and then you choose between which kind of monthly coffee plan you want . . . how many cups of coffee do you want per month between 10, 15 or 20 cups,” Brankov said.
Whether it’s 10, 15, or 20 cups per month, each choice allows coffee lovers the opportunity to explore local coffee shops that have partnered with Cafilia to get the drink of their choice, poured right into their Cafilia cup.
Each cup has a unique digital I.D. number on it, which shop owners use to access subscription information.
“I’ve taken this mug that used to be just a vessel that carried liquid and transformed it into something of monetary value,” Brankov said.
Brankov said the reusable Cafilia cups allow subscribers and shops to be more sustainable.
“If you go out two times a week for coffee which is very, it’s easy to do. Over the course of a year, you throw away over 100 cups for just a 15-minute use,” Brankov said.
Brankov said pouring support into local shops is her main mission, especially since these small businesses have been greatly impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.
“They need that visibility throughout the community and it’s hard to get that unless you do have a bigger marketing budget. Cafilia really helps drive that foot traffic and the sales to local coffee shops by providing that visibility,” Brankov said.
Brankov said she would like to see Cafilia grow to be a regional and even nationwide movement.
“My goal is to have hopefully every single local coffee shop in the city join and then from here on out, from Cleveland, take this concept of supporting local and sustainability to the next city followed by the next and the next,” Brankov said.
