I want to start my coffee brand

[legacy]

very interesting

[Ads]

[Omerta]

Anyway, we are also in the process of developing our own brand of coffee. However our initial bean order was only 1,100 Lbs. Of that amount, 260 lbs. were from Ethiopia. We plan on building our brand locally first, with a wholesale and retail focus along with an internet presence.

Maybe you could refere me to a producer in Ethiopia via a private message?

[Omerta]

If you do not have the money to travel to Ethiopia, then how are you going to import coffee beans from destination ? I mean, you need to bring in 1/2 container or about 20,000 lbs to make it economical. Then there is that e commerce thing.

Exactly, Ecommerce.

[Omerta]

Omerta you state that you can roast the coffee beans yourself. What size of roaster do you have? What amount of production do you expect each week/month? This will give you a better idea of where to go to source green beans.
Brian

Hmm, I don't know if I can handle this roasting thing myself, maybe it would be better if I find a roaster instead. Let's say for starting I would expect about 300 lbs of coffee each month.

[dstrand]

Hmm, I don't know if I can handle this roasting thing myself, maybe it would be better if I find a roaster instead. Let's say for starting I would expect about 300 lbs of coffee each month.

Have you done research? On what are you basing your 300 pound estimate? What happens if you order 300 pounds and you only sell 20? That can add up quick.

Seriously, look into toll roasting. That way (in essence), you only pay for the coffee you sell, as you sell it. Once you're established, you can look into a different relationship. There's enough to do right now, figuring out how to market your product online, how to attract customers, etc...

[eldub]

omerta: We don't deal with producers yet. The beans I mention buying above came from Royal Coffee Importers out of Oakland, Ca. We will be working with importers until we're established enough to develop direct relationships with producers by traveling to their countries.

I do have the name and contact information for a guy importing nothing but Ethiopian beans, but I have no idea of the quality. And that's a big reason to start out by doing business with a well established importer, imo.

[TheCoffeeLocator]

Hi Omerta.
I dont know much about sourcing b ut if and when you do get set up, be sure to try out our website - it is designed especially for small roasters like yourself and allows you to set up your own coffee ecommerce store for free - The Coffee Locator .
When finished, your store should look something like this example - Caffè Bonani, Italy - TheCoffeeLocator
All pages are optimized for search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing, helping boost website traffic.
It is a great way to start out your online business.
Best of luck!

[CoffeeJunky]

Omerta,

There are few producers are selling on Ebay. It really doesn't mean they are cheaper but they are there to sell their beans and sometimes it is cheaper.
If you are looking to start small, check out those people and some of the green bean sellers like Sweet Marias, Bodhi leaf coffee, or some of others. You won't get great price but you can start your own brand without much of your capitol commitment.

I don't know if you know much about ecommerce. But it is not walk in the park. There are many thousands of sellers and millions buyers.

Good luck with your business.....

[TheCoffeeLocator]

Ecommerce is good if you look after your brand. Like any shop on a high street, online sellers need to be look after there shop. Keep it up-to-date, well advertised, and clients must be treated well - welcomes, reviews encouraged, and feedback always responded to immediately, to build up the company image. A little like hotels are now doing with sites like last-minute, tripadvisor and airbnb (they are bending over backwards to get good/keep good reviews).

[thebankercr]

Hello Omerta;

I wanted to follow-up with your email, I am from Costa Rica, we are working on a project to sell coffee via internet as you are trying, we have a brand Kabekcoffee.com it mean coffee bean on costa rica native language. If you are interested we can help each other, you can help being like a distributor in your country, I can be your supplier, and we can split the earnings, if you are interested we can have a conference call.

Regards