Founded by Éric Vool, Tip Top Coffee specializes in coffee roasting and sales, serving professionals (HoReCa, businesses, sports clubs) and individuals through its shop in Sombreffe. The company is fundamentally a family venture, with each member contributing: Éric Vool handles administrative aspects, his wife Martine manages the shop, their eldest son Julien oversees technical services and communication, and the younger son Antoine manages the website and roasting. The youngest generation, Éric Vool's granddaughter, helps out on Saturdays as a student worker, continuing this story of transmission.
Tip Top Coffee's uniqueness lies in its rigorous and passionate approach to the product. The company offers quality and specialty coffees, emphasizing customer advice and transparency. It is committed to ensuring fair remuneration for producers, sometimes working directly with coffee farmers to guarantee the origin and fair pay for those who cultivate them.
Initially a construction manager, Éric Vool shifted to repairing professional machinery before developing a true passion for coffee. After a first entrepreneurial experience, he founded Tip Top Coffee in 2005 in Brussels with his wife. The ambition to control the entire production process led them to relocate to Sombreffe in 2018, after acquiring the building and undertaking renovations.
To build local recognition, the company participates in regional markets and events. The growing success of the shop led to the transformation of its storefront into an e-commerce site in 2023, directly linked to inventory and checkout. The goal is to expand the delivery area while maintaining controlled management and favoring local shops for its resale network.
Tip Top Coffee has benefited from regional support for its development. An investment in a second roaster, backed by investment aid from Wallonia through SPW Économie, strengthened the reliability of its production tools. Employment aid also facilitated the hiring of its first employee.
In the longer term, Éric Vool is preparing for the gradual transfer of the business to his children, considering support through a Walloon 'chèque-entreprise' (business voucher) via SPW Économie to structure this crucial step. Tip Top Coffee's main asset is its deep product knowledge, quality service, expertise, and customer trust. The company plans to train a new employee internally to gradually pass on the trade and company codes.
Éric Vool advises entrepreneurs to be lucid, customer-focused, and to 'keep their feet on the ground.' His journey exemplifies Walloon entrepreneurship: demanding, prudent, human, and deeply passionate.
