You Want A Coffee Provider That Offers:
- Quality Coffee First and foremost, the coffee needs to be excellent. You don’t want to put your name or logo or promote poorly roasted coffee.
- Quick Delivery To get your coffee to your customers, you will need a wholesale coffee supplier responsive to your and your orders.
- Low Minimums You will want to work with a coffee supplier to have low minimum orders. This will help save you money as you start your business.
How To Sell Coffee Online From Home Step #6
Has Your Coffee Won Industry Awards Or Been Independently Reviewed By Coffee Experts
Awards and 90+ point reviews are indications that the coffee is among the top of the crop. In addition to Roast magazines 2016 Macro Roaster of the Year award, Crimson Cup has produced coffees that earned outstanding ratings from The Coffee Review. Our coffee has won a Good Food Award and high rankings in the Americas Best Espresso and Compak Golden Bean competitions.
What Your Online Coffee Shop Website Needs:
- Must look good with any device .
- Load quickly.
- Be able to process orders safely and securely.
- Needs to describe and present your coffee well.
The great news is that it’s easier than ever to create a website with shopping cart features. There are affordable options to create high-quality, secure websites without knowing or understanding any computer techie stuff!
To easily start your online store, we recommend Shopify. Their professional website and secure checkout system make it easy to start selling coffee right away.
To learn more about selling coffee online, visit Shopify.
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Selling Coffee Online Can Generate Revenue
Money is a big motivator for starting any business. Selling coffee online can generate revenue and profits. However, there are essential strategies that you will need to follow through with to be successful, some of which we will discuss below.
Estimating the volume of coffee sales, your overall costs, and your margins will help determine your revenue and profit projections. This will give you some idea of how much money you can make and help you establish your revenue benchmarks.
Note: Starting an online business can be a big challenge. It takes time, diligent work, and innovation. Starting an online coffee business will be no different. However, if you have a solid plan and stick with it, you’ll be on your way to profitability.
Develop Your Brand Image
No matter how delicious your coffee may taste, a poor or underdeveloped brand image can have a negative impact on your sales. A strong brand image is especially important when selling coffee online, as customers will not have a chance to taste your product before they make a purchase.
Your brand image should embody what your coffee is all about and what your company stands for. Perhaps your coffee is intensely strong, sustainably and transparently sourced, or available in unique flavors. Many coffee companies have earned success by articulating specific values through their name, logo, website content, and even their packaging. When you find that special something that distinguishes your coffee, use it to inspire your brand image.
The name and logo of your coffee business will make your customers remember or forget your company. Choose a name that is creative and memorable, as well as a unique logo that embodies what your company is all about. How you package your coffee will also impact how your customers perceive your brand, whether you opt for a bold and bright coffee bag or a classic and timeless design.
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Your Dedicated Wholesale Coffee Suppliers & Distributors
Youll never have to ask can I find coffee distributors near me again! Driven is a proud wholesale coffee distributor serving businesses across the country. We ship our coffee wholesale distributor offerings straight to you and keep you up to date on the latest products and coffee trends.
Whether youre searching for a small coffee shop supplier with minimum orders you can afford or your business is bustling with clients clamoring for single origin coffee, were here for you. Were ready to get our coffee into your hands in the quantities you need, right when you need it.
Driven isnt just your average coffee bean supplier were here to help you move your coffee program to the next level. Take a look through our wholesale offerings or contact a Driven Coffee Roasters wholesale rep to find out how we can help you meet your wholesale, artisan coffee needs today.
Value Your Loyal Customers
Show your loyal customers you value their business by providing incentives that bring them back. Consider creating a loyalty program or producing a monthly newsletter that offers special deals and discounts to customers who subscribe. Use your knowledge of your customers to craft specials they are sure to love. Even a simple thank you will show your customers you are grateful for their purchase and support. Building a loyal customer base will allow your coffee business to continue to grow.
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Bring Samples Of All Your Chosen Baked Goods To The Potential Businesses You Want To Work With So They Can See What You Can Offer
You can talk a great day and sound like you know what you are doing, but ultimately a small business that is considering partnering with you is not going to make a move until they physically see and taste exactly what it is that you can bring to the table.
You can show them exactly why your product is worth selling at their shop by bringing them sample packages. The sample packages will have a few of your best selling items for them to taste.
It is always best to email or call the coffee shop you are interested in partnering with first and make sure there is an interest there.
When putting together your sample package, focus not only on the taste of your products but on the presentation as well.
Ultimately, the eating experience starts with the eyes. No one will buy your products if it does not look like it is going to taste good. Make sure you present your product in a beautiful way and, of course, that it tastes just as good as it looks.
Even if the business that you send your samples too is not interested in creating a working relationship, you will still be bringing awareness to your bakery and putting your products in front of more eyes which can drone up potential individual future business.
How To Price Your Coffee For Grocery Retail
Pricing tends to feel more complicated than it is. Lets keep it simple.
Grocery stores generally sell coffee at a 50% markup. That means, if the retail price of the bag is $16.00, they will want to buy that bag from you for $8.00. The markup percentage will vary slightly from store to store, with some stores offering as low as a 40% markup.
The question only you can answer is this: What profit margin do you need to earn to make it worth it?
Example: Lets say you add up your COGS, packaging and supplies, shipping, and operating costs and land around $6.75 for each 12-ounce bag of coffee beans. Selling to grocery stores at $8.00 per bag generates $1.25 in profit per sale .
Is that profit margin worth it for your business? Its not quite as high as youd earn selling coffee to customers in a cafe, but you can expect sales to be predictable.
These numbers will be heavily dependent on your operation, so make sure you have a realistic idea of your target wholesale price and profit margin before reaching out to stores.
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Decide What Coffee Products You Want To Sell
After you know your target audience, you can determine what type of coffee to sell that will best suit their needs. Determine if you want to offer cups for Keurig, pods for Nespresso, coffee beans, or a combination. According to the NCA, 41% of coffee drinkers own a single-cup machine, while 63% of home coffee drinkers use a drip-brew machine.
When deciding what products you want to sell, be sure to look at what your competitors have on their shelves and online. You will want to offer products that set your business apart, while keeping up with current coffee trends.
Private Label Coffee Dropshippers
Here are six private label coffee roasters to help you on your way to launching your own online coffee business.
Temecula Coffee Roasters
The Temecula Coffee Roasters have no minimum order requirements. They do not provide labels so you will need to have yours designed. You can choose from 39 offerings of single origin blended and flavored coffees. There are no monthly fees and minimal start-up costs.
- URL:
Aroma Ridge
This coffee roaster has been in the coffee business for more than twenty years. What is great about Aroma Ridge is that they offer wholesale pricing as well as bags. You will need to supply your own labels but they do offer to print your labels for an additional fee.
There is a non-refundable starting cost of $100 and there is a a service charge of $3.25 per order. You will need to create your own roast as they do not allow reselling of their signature blends or special flavored coffees.
- URL:
Old Chicago Coffee Co.
Wholesale pricing is offered with Old Chicago Coffee Co. They can print your labels in black & white or you can send in your labels. They do have a $35 set-up fee but no dropshipping fee. There is a monthly fee of $10.
There is no minimum order requirement and they offer a wide variety of private label coffee options including bag sizes.
- URL:
Dripshipper
- URL:
Blessed Bean Coffee
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Branding And Marketing Your Coffee Store
Starting a coffee business begins with creating your own brand. This is particularly important if you want to start a private label coffee business.
You should likely already have an idea of who you want to sell to. Knowing this will also provide you with some brainstorming ideas for choosing a company name.
Once you have these hashed out, you can have a logo created as well as have your bags and labels designed.
If youre on a budget, you can have a logo designed for a good price on Fiverr. If you want a more professional logo and have a bit more money to spend, you can choose 99designs.
Youll want to use your logo on all of your social media accounts, online store, packaging, business cards, stationery, etc. Therefore, it is important that you are happy with it.
Infinite Possibilities With Intelligent Blends Private Label Coffee
Intelligent Blends is proud to offer high-quality private label coffee and exceptional service. Well help you gain notoriety for your brand, while taking the complexity out of private label wholesale coffee.
For the better part of the last decade, Intelligent Blends has been innovating and refining our services to become a leader in manufacturing, coffee research and development, and fulfilment services. Whether youre striving to grow your brand by improving distribution, expanding your product line, or elevating the quality of your blends, were the private label coffee partner for you.
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Selling Coffee Online You Will Take On The Following Roles:
- website designer
- inventory manager
- customer service representative
When it comes to starting an online business, thats just the way it often is you are a one-person band. All of these take some time to get your footing. Start slow, be methodical, and patient. Try not to get overwhelmed.
If you hang in there and stick with it, you will have a better chance of reaching your goal!
Build Your Brand Online And Offline
Building your brands social media presence is another excellent digital marketing strategy to drive traffic to your site and increase sales. Social media sites like Facebook and Instagram also allow you to connect with your customers and build a stronger network. Having a large social media following also benefits your brand by making it appear more reputable and trustworthy.
Facebook is a great way to reach a large audience, as it currently has 2.23 billion active monthly users worldwide, and in the U.S., . By creating a Facebook page or group for your online coffee business, you can build deeper relationships with customers and have conversations with them directly in comments on your posts.
Because of its visual focus, Instagram is an excellent site for showcasing your products, as well as reaching a younger demographic. According to the Pew Research Center, 71% of people in the U.S. between the age of 18 and 24 are Instagram users. This demographic also loves coffee and has driven the growth in gourmet coffee consumption in recent years. Instagram allows your company to connect with people through branded and popular hashtags and is an excellent way to show the personality of your company.
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Get A Handle On Your Cash Flow
Coffee might flow through your veins but cash keeps it pumping. You might be surprised by the number of organisations who dont have a grasp of their incomings and outgoings, as its so easy to miss little problems on the balance sheet when a business grows. But these little problems mount up.
If you can put together an automated system that accurately tracks all of your expenses and all of your income, youll be able to very quickly see which aspects of the business are costing too much, what products arent generating enough sales, and other potential red flags that could be easily remedied.
But how do you get such a grasp on cash flow?
That old Excel spreadsheet wont take you far. A modern coffee business needs modern coffee software, designed to work for your industry. Look for an inventory management system that can capture all of your costs, easily track which products came from which supplier or were sold to whom, and stores it all in an easy-to-use user interface.
Finding Local Coffee Roasters
Sourcing from local coffee roaster is ideal as you can get the freshest roasted coffee possible to sell in your store. First, you will need to visit local roasters and inquire about buying beans wholesale.
Many coffee roasters do sell beans wholesale. The benefit to sourcing locally is that you can get your beans fresh and possibly set up an arrangement for how much and how often you will reorder.
Keep in mind that you will be selling beans by other coffee roasters which means youll be selling their brand. Dont be discouraged if you want to still focus on building your own brand.
You can focus on selling local coffee from your area in your store. For example, if you are based in Los Angeles, then your niche could be selling the best coffee beans roasted in LA.
One way to sell coffee beans under your own brand is by private labeling which I discuss below.
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Setting Up Your Website Is Easy
Fortunately, creating a website is a lot easier today than ever.
There are quite a few companies and web hosting providers out there that can do a pretty good job of helping you get your coffee website setup. To put it simply, you do have some good options depending on how you want to get started.
Two General Options:
- Use a one-stop website service like Shopify.
- Create your own WordPress website by getting a hosting service plan through companies like Bluehost.
Create The Perfect Coffee Blend
Once youve familiarized yourself with your target market, you can start creating your product. When you embark on the journey to the perfect coffee, youll need to focus on three main details sourcing, sampling, and testing your coffee beans. Below, youll discover how to navigate each of these steps.
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Make Money Selling Coffee With Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing offers another way to sell coffee and make money while working from home. No inventory, no returns and no dealing with customers.
As a coffee affiliate you would get a commission for referring people that make a purchase. You would be selling coffee indirectly.
The way affiliate marketing works is that you would promote coffee on your website and through social media. When a person makes a purchase from your referral on another companies website you get paid a commission.
There are coffee companies that will pay you a commission just for referring people because it is a cost effective way for them to advertise. That pay when the refferal converts into a sale.
Be Patient When Price Is An Issue
If that new restaurant decides on another coffee roaster with prices, quality, and service similar to yours, well, it happens to all of us. For every aspect of closing a sale that is under our control, there are a dozen things that are not under our control. Move on. But if you lose the account to a roaster with prices significantly lower than yours , its likely that coffee is on a list of things we can fix later, like the wrong shade of paint in the restrooms. Dont be pushy, of course, but drop coffee off when there is a reason, like holidays or the anniversary of their opening, stay in touch with the aforementioned bartender, and eat at the restaurant occasionally.
Everyone involved in opening a new restaurant is in an anxiety-filled free fall for months, waiting to see if they are among the 40% that fly or the 60% that splat. There will be panicked changes to the menu and shake-ups in the kitchen, but eventually, if/when things stabilize, the fine tuning will begin. The bathrooms will be repainted, the wait staff will stop wearing ties and start wearing jeans, and one day somebody will say, Hey, dont you think our coffee should be as good as our desserts?
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