The Osceola Chamber and Travel + Leisure Co. have named Nelson Mendez of Rico Foods, a.k.a. Mr. Cappuccino, as the “Champion Award for Supplier Diversity” winner. The award recognizes a Certified Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) company that has been in business at least three years and is a member of The Osceola Chamber.
Chamber President & CEO John Newstreet stressed the importance of partners like Travel + Leisure and the collective work that is accomplished by all members of The Osceola Chamber.
“Our tagline is ‘Business Works Better Together’ and this award is a clear example,” said Newstreet. “We appreciate Travel + Leisure’s sponsorship and we are proud of Nelson and all he has accomplished. We look forward to supporting him to even greater success.”
Added Jose Nido, Vice President, Global Supplier Diversity at Travel + Leisure Co., “Supplier Diversity is in our DNA at Travel & Leisure. Mr. Cappuccino is a perfect example of the needs and the benefits of having a focus on supplier diversity. In fact, he has one of his machines on our executive floor just outside of the CEO’s office.
Nido also highlighted additional examples of the Travel + Leisure commitment to supplier diversity before presenting the trophy to Mendez. Mr. Mendez, also known as “Mr. Cappuccino,” has spent thirty years in the hotel and restaurant industry. Mr. Cappuccino founded family-and minority-owned Rico Foods in 2004. He spent 13 years in the coffee industry where he recognized that commercial coffee service (in shops, restaurants, and offices) and premium coffee vending was an emerging trend with great potential for growth. Using state of the art automatic Italian espresso coffee and cappuccino “Bean to Cup” machines, combined with unique European flavors imported straight from Italy, Mr. Cappuccino discovered the market potential for this business both in the states and abroad. To date, he has placed more than 1,000 premium coffee machines in Venezuela alone.
“I am very grateful to The Osceola Chamber and Travel + Leisure for this recognition. Mr. Cappuccino is an SBA-approved franchise with a huge market potential and a much smaller initial investment than most businesses,” Mendez said. “As a minority small business owner, I want to offer the same opportunity that I have experienced to others. This award will help amplify my efforts.”
