How to sell imported coffee wholesale in the U.S and as a private small brand

[darkroast13]

Hi,

I am new to Coffee Forum and have been thinking about starting a new business for quite some time. One of the ideas I came up with was to import coffee in the U.S. , in New York. I found a possible connection in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in an area that is not going through war or has any rebel armies there. There are some small farmers there that would like to export their coffee beans, something they have never done.

Any suggestions, ideas or experiences anyone has had that could be helpful to me would be much appreciated.

I know nothing about the coffee market.

Thank you so much!

Victoria

 

[eldub]

I have found that it's wise to know a bit about an industry before starting a business in said industry. With no knowledge of importing agricultural items, no connections in the coffee industry and no idea on what constitutes good or bad coffee beans or pricing, I think you might want to walk this idea back a bit.

 

[PinkRose]

Welcome "darkroast13" (Victoria)

What is your "possible connection" in the Democratic Republic of the Congo? Have you visited there and discussed your idea with the farmers?

How much research into this adventure have you done already? Is this a project you've been working on for a while, or are you just getting started?

It seems that you're thinking about jumping into something that's bigger than you think. When you wrote that you know nothing about the coffee market, I automatically knew that you're going to need a lot of help. Do you have a partner, or are you planning to do it alone?

Rose

 

[darkroast13]

Hi PinkRose,

Thank you for your response. I love coffee and I am definitely a coffee drinker- that much I know. Other than that I have done some casual reading on the web. I do not have a partner and will be working solo but know someone from the Democratic Republic of the Congo that knows farmers there. He is visiting his county next month and will send me a sample of the coffee.

What could I be getting myself into? Can I make money (I'm sure this is very hard work) and help the farmers make a living?? I am not sure...

 

[darkroast13]

Hi eldub,

Thank you for replying to my post. I know someone from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and this person knows farmers that have never exported coffee before. I would be working alone ( I have no partner) and have only done some casual reading on the web about coffee importing/exporting. I love coffee, I am a big coffee drinker and have been thinking for a few years what type of business I could start that would not only make me money but help someone else.

Any advise would be appreciated.

Thank you!

 

[PinkRose]

Hi again, "Darkroast13" (Victoria)

I guess you need to wait for your friend to visit the farmers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and see what they say. You mentioned that they've never exported coffee before. That may be a challenge all by itself.

Rose

 

[eldub]

Imo, the last piece of the puzzle that needs to be put in place would be the actual coffee. There are farmers in most every coffee producing country who would like to develop export connections. Many are in countries with a better coffee quality reputation and most of them are in countries more stable than the DRC.

How are you going to grade the beans? By sampling a small batch sent to you from Africa?

How are you going to transport, store and sell the product?

No offense, but with your real lack of importing knowledge, coffee knowledge and coffee market knowledge or connections I don't see how this venture can succeed. If you have money it's fairly easy to buy something. Selling it is another story.

lw

 

[smalltowngirl13]

Welcome aboard Victoria...

 

[eldub]

..... about time.

I was beginning to think a wheel had fallen off the welcome wagon.

 

[CoffeeJunky]

lol Eldub... We go through few times a month about people thinking of making money in coffee importing business.
I can give you few advise on this but that alone will not make any business viable.

Victoria,

If you have not been in coffee industry, please don't think this is developing industry and there are many easy way to make money.
Coffee is 2nd most traded commodity in the WORLD. And there are many big players in this industry. That alone should discourage you from posting the thread but if you insist on this.
Here are few things you need to consider before going forward with this.

1. Who are you dealing with in Congo and are they reliable.
2. If they are reliable and will be able to follow through with their words
3. How much coffee can they truly supply a year.
4. Can they also supply details of their beans
5. Are they currently selling to wholesaler?
6. Why are they looking for different source of buyer
7. What is the price are they getting.

These are few questions you should ask.
Also you should ask what is going to be your fair cut from this venture. 5 cents a pound? 10 cents a pound? Do you truly thought you could make a dollar a pound of coffee? Think again.

The coffee wholesale business is very competitive and there isn't very much money to be made there......

Good LUck

 

[darkroast13]

Hi PinkRose,

My friend is going there in October and will send a roasted sample back to me. I will do some on line reading in the meantime to see if this is even a viable business idea...Thank you so much!

 

[darkroast13]

Hi eldub,

The connection I know is going there in October and will send roasted coffee samples to me. I have to speak with my friend as to what type of transportation is available in that area (he told me they DHL but I don't know what else). I would have to find storage, possibly in my building or I can rent a small space for that.

I am not offended by the way! I want to start a business and want to see if this is viable. Where do you suggest I find out everything about becoming an importer and the coffee business??

Thank you!

 

[darkroast13]

Hi CoffeeJunky,

Thank you for the wake up call! This could just be a little fantasy in my mind after all...It seems much tougher than I expected, thank you for the feedback. I will have a lot of thinking and praying to do!

 

[eldub]

There was a thread awhile back with a lot of info concerning specifics on importing coffee beans. Maybe rose can help find it?

I know you like coffee, but enjoying a cup is a far cry from developing a working knowledge about identifying and procuring quality green bean.

You also need connections to sell those beans once they manage to clear customs. And then there is the logistics of storing bags of beans weighing over 130 lbs. each. Economy of scale means one generally pays less per pound for shipping larger quantities of a product than smaller loads. You will be competing with importers who ship full containers of beans (300 bags).

If you pay a fair price to the producers, (do you have any idea what constitutes a fair price?) for a quality bean (how are you going to evaluate the beans?) you still have to incur shipping and storage costs and navigate the complex world of importation laws and practices.

Now you have to store, sell and ship the beans. Your price had better be competitive and quality high to sell in the specialty market. You are competing with companies with decades of experience in the industry and might be stuck with a product that cups marginally at best and must be roasted to the darkest levels just to hide its flaws.

My recommendation would be to go to work in a coffee shop or with a roaster to learn a lot more about the difference between a good and bad bean or to go to work for an importer to learn the ropes and develop skills, knowledge and connections. Otherwise you are just setting yourself up for headaches and failure, imo.

 

[eldub]

Btw, Victoria..... As an importer, you are going to want samples of green beans rather than roasted. The green samples need to be graded for quality as there are many defects that could affect the value of the beans. You will want to roast the samples yourself before cupping.

Are you familiar with the process of grading green beans or roasting/cupping samples?