Member Spotlight: The Flying Saucer

We caught up with Emma Benson – founder and owner of Oxfordshire based coffee horse trailer The Flying Saucer to get the lowdown on what she loves about the independent hospitality sector.

How did you get into hospitality? 

For the last eight years I’d worked in the corporate world. I had worked for a large food company so got some experience in that world, and when Covid hit and changed everything I felt like I wanted to do something a bit different, something more purpose driven and that would be having a positive impact.  

Pre-lockdown, I used to go to this amazing independent café in Abingdon called R&R. I’d get a coffee, sit by the window with my crosswords and just watch the world go by. I was struck by the diverse audience that would come and go, and it really showed just how much coffee brings people together and I love that.

I reached out to the Dark Horse Roastery, told them about my ambition of opening a coffee van and Emily the owner was absolutely incredible – she talked me through everything and eventually I ended up leaving my job and worked with her for six months whilst we converted our own horsebox.

With her support and guidance, I felt more confident in launching The Flying Saucer, I couldn’t be more grateful for all the help she gave me. I’ve always loved working with people, and it was always important to me to add a little sparkle to someone’s day, mostly I’d do that through coffee and pastries – so that’s exactly what I’m trying to do with The Flying Saucer.

Did you work up a specific plan for the business or throw yourself in to learn as you go? 

it was a combination. I always joke that I’m having a bit of a midlife crisis. My original plan was to get a van and do the office rounds – years ago when I was at British Gas, I used to love hearing the coffee van turning up, it became an important part of the day, so that was what I’d envisioned initially. 

Me and my partner started looking at units, it turned out our neighbour’s brother had a horse trailer for sale – a month later, it was on our drive, and we got to work with kitting it out. I took a lot of inspiration from Emily’s unit and tweaked it to really make the unit my own. So, it was coming together, but at this point I was working for Emily and didn’t really know how or where I was going to go.  

Then Emily got asked to move her horsebox to the Botanical Gardens in Oxford, so she very kindly offered her pitch at Milton Park for me to move The Flying Saucer into. It just fell into place so organically!  

Because I’d already worked for her at that pitch, I’d already built up some relationships, so it wasn’t like starting completely from scratch and it was so lovely to see the same people come and support The Flying Saucer. 

How beneficial has that prior experience working with Dark Horse Roastery been? 

It gave me so much confidence with knowing that I can do this, that I can run my own business. There’s more responsibility when it is your own business, but the value of working the machines, making coffee and serving customers was huge. I had a good idea of which machinery to get myself, knew about suppliers to use and overall, it helped me stress so much less about doing it.  

What is something that’s surprised you about running the business? 

It’s incredibly British, but just how impactful the weather can be. That relates entirely to where my pitch is, but it’s tough on rainy and dour days as people are naturally less likely to want to come.  

And the fact of standing there in the cold yourself isn’t fun. One thing I’ve tried to do, to instigate a bit more interest is some fun and engaging things on my Instagram stories – I’m a bit of technology dinosaur so it’s been a real learning curve, the whole social media marketing thing. But I do fun fact Monday, would you rather on Tuesday, random riddle Wednesday, countdown conundrum Thursday – it’s a bit out there but I find it fun, and it starts conversation with and among customers, which is really nice. 

How has running a coffee business affected your relationship with coffee personally? 

I think it made me appreciate specialty coffee a lot more. Everything, from the origins of where it comes from, the farmers that we buy the coffee from, the coffee price, the environment and how that’s been impacting the coffee production. Which then has a knock-on effect on the price and the roasting of the beans. My understanding of coffee as a whole has improved drastically, which is important if you’re going to run a coffee business and gives me confidence when a customer asks about tasting notes or flavour profiles for example. 

It’s given me a much fuller appreciation of all the effort that goes into making each cup of coffee. I feel like there can be a level of expectation from a customer that you, as the owner of a coffee business, have a certain level of knowledge, so to be able to talk about specific machinery, processes, beans and offer suggestions is really important. 

What is special about being an independent? 

For me, it’s being able to put my own sparkle on the service and experience that I give my customers. I’ve got complete autonomy on what I serve when I serve it, how I serve it, and actually if I want to do something different on a Monday I can, if I want to take slightly longer because actually I want to have that conversation with the customer that’s entirely up to me.  

Being an independent gives you freedom to really give your customer the most amazing experience, because they’re investing time to come and see you. It’s far more than just buying a cup of coffee or something to eat, you’re able to give a bit of yourself to them, to give them an amazing product or smile or service or conversation. The ability to create and foster that connection I think is really special, and unique to independents.

How are independents important to local communities? 

They are huge and should not be underestimated. For me, it’s like investing in the local community, so I’m a massive believer in supporting fellow independents. All of the products I have at The Flying Saucer are from local bakeries or producers.  

I know how grateful I am when customers come and spend with me, so equally I find it so important to be able to give back to those that are in your community. By supporting independents, you can make a difference, factors like the environment for example, independents work so hard to reduce carbon footprint and approach business with a conscience that benefits everyone. 

Your favourite fellow independent businesses and what you like about them? 

Abingdon Bakeries are amazing, they supply a lot of my produce and they go down an absolute storm – people love them. Natural Bread do all my pastries in the morning and the most incredible gingerbreads. At Christmas and Easter they do themed gingerbreads that I absolutely love.  

Then there’s Jolly Good Brownies just down the road from me, they provide all of my gluten free brownies that are always fantastic. I’ve just started working with Lou’s Fit  Kitchen too who do these yum balls that are made entirely from natural ingredients with a high protein content in a few different flavours which is great because I’m not too far from a gym, so I have something appropriate for that audience too. I’ve already mentioned them but Dark Horse Roastery where we get all of our speciality coffee beans from. 

R&R coffee shop in Abingdon too, like I say a lot of my inspiration came from spending time there and originally, I wanted to open my own coffee shop because of the way Rob runs it. I spoke with him about my aspirations and he was so helpful talking quite honestly to me about what it’s like for him to run that shop.  

Another example in Milton Park is Dress’d, which is a very smart shipping container that serves really healthy and beautiful salads / stews. Ed, the owner, has been such a great sounding board for me since I opened – he’s been open longer than me and it’s just nice to have that reassurance that someone else is experiencing what you’re experiencing.  

I can’t speak highly enough of building a community around you with other independents, because we’re all in it together at the end of the day and can come together to all support local business. 

An important lesson you’ve learned so far with the business? 

Don’t assume everything, because I think I did go into it feeling quite confident from the experience I had gained, but quickly I found there was a lot I still didn’t know. You have to accept that there’s probably more you don’t know than do, but that’s okay and trust yourself to pick it up as you go. You learn so much more through doing it, the day to day and problem solving.  

Also, do not be afraid to ask for help – asking for help is not a failure or an embarrassment, we all need help sometimes and people are empathetic and so willing to help out, just like you would be if someone asked you.  

Don’t be overly critical of yourself too, so for example there’s times I’ve worried that I messed up and made someone a terrible coffee and you see them walk by and not come over the next day and you can think the worst of it but ultimately there can be a million reasons influencing someone’s decision to come to you or not. Just breathe! 

What song best summarises your business? 

S Club 7 – Reach. It is my go-to song, you ask any of my friends and they’ll tell you that straight away! We only get one life and you just need to reach as high as you can and then you will get there!  

What does success look like for you? 

For customers, on their way to work, to think ‘oh my god, I can’t start my day without going to The Flying Saucer for a cuppa and a natter’. It sounds simple but that would mean so much to me! 

What are your plans for the future? 

My dream is that I just continue to grow my customer base, keep getting my regulars coming back and gain more and more regulars.  

I’d love to be known around Oxfordshire as the go-to ray of sunshine coffee place and just keep creating those wonderful moments. 

If you’re in the area, please do pop by / follow us on @the_flying_saucer_coffee / www.linkedin.com/in/emma-b-theflyingsaucer