coffee varieties

[nateb]

I am looking to start a business selling gourmet coffee online, and to wholesale accounts. My question is about the number of coffees to offer. I think it would be best to carry a smaller line, rather than "drown" my customers with too many varieties. Any thoughts on this approach? Also, what would you consider to be a good offering? I am in the process of finding a roaster, preferably in Wisonsin/Midwest area. Everything will be private label. If you are a roaster, or know a roaster who would work with me, that info would also be appreciated. Thanks for you time and valuable insight.

 

[Comfy Place]

Selling Coffee Online

I think that in order to answer your question, you need to figure out who your target market really is going to be. If you are going after consumers, you'll have a different make-up of coffee varieties than if you were to do wholesale/commercial accounts. It sounds like you are leaning towards the retail end of it?

Where will you ship to? Regionally? Nationally? Internationally? Have you setup any contracts with shipping companies (FedEx, UPS, etc.) so that you have competitive rates on shipping? What about your prices and gross margins? Will you house the beans yourself, or just pass along the orders for the roaster to drop-ship? There are a number of questions to be asked, and each of them will give you a small hint as to what varieties you should have. Without knowing/seeing what you have already done with your plan, I can't really be more specific than this. I'd be happy to help you out however; just drop me a note via our website, www.thecomfyplacecoffeehouse.com, or through the forums.

 

[richnks]

Online business

Darren,
I too, like Nate, would like to start my own online coffee business. You bring up alot of good questions that need to be answered before starting up. So, thanks. I would like to know more about the process of making flavored coffee. Where does one get the syrup for the beans? When do you apply the syrup to the beans? How much to use? The process for flavored ground coffee... I have alot of questions! BTW- your website looks great! :grin:

Rich

 

[Comfy Place]

richnks,

Unfortunately, the questions you have are more specific, which is good, but I just don't have the information to answer them, which is bad. Perhaps you have a roaster within an hour or 2 of your location that you could go and talk with to get some answers. Internet searches may also yield what you are looking for.

The little that I do understand about flavored coffee is that the flavoring is added externally, meaning on the surface of the bean. When you grind the beans, it should all mix through to provide the flavor for the cup of coffee. Experimentation is definitely going to be a source of expense for you at first to make sure that you are adding enough flavor to your beans.

I'll try to help out as much as I can, but please keep in mind that I am approaching things from a retailer's perspective, one who could potentially purchase your beans for use/sale in my shop. And thank you for your complements on our website. I coded it myself, so I know that its nothing fancy, but hopefully it does the job of conveying information. Cheers!