In partnership with the ECS+COHO Expo 2025, 24-26 November at the JW Marriott in Berlin, World Coffee Portal presents an exclusive series of interviews with influential voices in Europe’s coffee and hospitality industries
Founded by Frank Epping in January 2020, Latte Art Factory was born from a vision to craft the perfect latte milk foam without the need for extensive barista training. It has since grown into a leading innovator in its field, with a presence across more than 60 markets globally and clients ranging from prestigious US specialty coffee roaster Onyx Coffee Lab to scaled European coffee chain 5 to go.
The brand’s automated milk frother uses patented air flow technology to ensure optimum milk foam quality for baristas across dairy, plant-based, hot and cold beverages. The technology has won three SCA Best New Product Awards, as well as the 2023 Innovation Smart Label Award by Host Milano.
Based in Hövelhof, Germany, Latte Art Factory is fully owned by premium coffee solutions provider CUP&CINO. Sven Keysers has served as CUP&CINO’s Chief Business Development Officer since July 2021 and Latte Art Factory’s CEO since January 2022.
What has been your biggest learning as a business leader in the coffee industry?
Everything begins and ends with the customer’s experience. Hospitality in that sense is very similar to digital business. When the workflow is calmer, the conversation grows longer; when temperature and texture are consistent, creativity gains more space. Technology in coffee should deepen the craft rather than substitute it.
What advice would you give your younger self when starting out in this industry?
To put people before cleverness. Fall in love with the shared problem. Spend time beside your teammate, the barista and the operator. When you really care about experience, you’re willing to let an idea go and build a better one together. With teamwork, turn iterations into something magical. Listen, adjust, and keep moving until the problem is lighter for everyone. It’s a learning experience, trying to get better day by day.
“We obsess over incremental wins to give baristas more freedom to connect with guests”
How do you stay entrepreneurial in an increasingly competitive and corporate environment?
We keep an entrepreneurial edge with lean, agile teams running a constant loop: observe, pilot, ship, learn, repeat. AI is leveraged in two directions – on the inside, it helps with improving processes and freeing up time for meaningful work or surfacing bottlenecks; outside, it helps us scale consistent quality to more locations and channels and support partners.
On the hot-beverage side, we obsess over incremental wins to give baristas more freedom to connect with guests.
When we built cold-foam capability, it wasn’t just a cooler version of the latte; it unlocked entirely new formats – layered nitro-cold-brew lattes and the latest hit Espresso Martinis straight from the Latte Art Factory.
What are the biggest challenges in scaling your brand?
Our biggest risk is unmanaged complexity. We grew from a strong base in Germany to more than 60 countries in just a few years, and every new market adds layers – different ways people use our products, electrical standards, import rules, currencies, languages, taste preferences. Each layer increases the chance that a guest might receive a less-than-perfect experience.
Staying premium means adapting and learning locally while enforcing the core standards that define us. If we don’t tame that complexity – logistics, compliance, culture, support – quality erodes, costs creep, and the human touch we were built on starts to fade.
Which segments in the coffee & hospitality space are primed for significant investment?
Equipment manufacturers have already seen significant consolidation, and I think roasters are poised for greater investment and M&A activity. Macro pressures, such as financing costs and volatile green coffee prices, are increasingly squeezing margins. The stronger players are using their balance sheet and distribution reach to acquire distressed or niche players.
Join Latte Art Factory at ECS+COHO Expo 2025, 24-26 November, JW Marriott Berlin.
Since 2008, the Allegra European Coffee Symposium (ECS) has been a beacon of thought leadership, fostering meaningful dialogue and progressive ideas within the European coffee and hospitality landscape.
In 2025, ECS and COHO Expo – The Coffee Hospitality Expo – join forces with the World Coffee Portal to present a new interview series designed to inspire, challenge, and connect the brightest minds in our industry.
As the sector faces rapid technological, environmental, economic, and cultural shifts, this collaboration is united by a shared mission: to drive transformation through connection and the power of knowledge.
This interview is proudly presented by ECS+COHO Expo 2025, taking place from 24-26 November at the JW Marriott Berlin.
Super Early Bird Tickets are now available online! Use the code EARLYBIRD20 at checkout to enjoy 20% off your event experience. Don’t miss this opportunity to immerse yourself in Europe’s premier coffee and hospitality gathering.
