How do you sell your coffee

[sae]

I wasn't sure if I should post this in the roasting section or one of the other sections...

Up to now I've been selling my coffee primarily whole bean (maybe 1% is ground) either in 1, 5 or 15lb bags. I'm looking to expanding my business and while I'd love to do it by selling bulk whole bean it seems like if I want growth I might have to get into supplying restaurants. This means that generally I'd have to provide equipment and coffee in portion packs. It seems like I'd have to invest quite a bit of money into a portioning and bag sealing machine to get into that business as well as put up quite a bit of cash up front to buy brewing equipment. Now my question, how do you sell your beans?

 

[eldub]

We sell whole beans (wholesale) to restaurants, coffee shops and upscale/organic markets. We sell whole beans retail through an online food coop, through our website and to walk in customers.

 

[sae]

To the restaurants that you sell whole bean, do they have their own grinders and brewers? I find most around this area are using portion packs.

 

[eldub]

Those using portion packs aren't in the same league as the restaurants we target.

 

[sae]

That's really cool that you have restaurants that care enough!

 

[eldub]

Many upscale restaurants have espresso machines.

Btw, a restaurant that invests in a commercial grinder stands to save a bunch of money in the long run by not purchasing portion packs and will be serving better coffee as well.

 

[sae]

I agree that the ROI makes sense for a restaurant to purchase their own brewing and grinding equipment, however it's a cash flow issue for most.

 

[Seth]

Hey SAE,

I'm with a company that helps retailers discover coffee roasters. Coffee roasters can share their story and input the different package sizes that they would like to sell. If your looking to expand your business you can check us out and see if we can help provide the value your looking for

thefingo.com


Seth (at) thefingo.com

 

[CoffeeJunky]

In my past experience, few years ago most of the restaurants could careless about their coffee. Most of the people did not really care about the quality of their coffee being served at the restaurants. But now days, people demand better coffee or better food from the even at the mid scale restaurant. Not just high end. But still there are plenty of restaurants still do not really care to spend money on the equipment or their quality. I know of one restaurant i have been targeting for past few months. They buy about 15-25 pounds of coffee per day. They purchase pre-ground coffee and individually packed but the owner do not want to change the way they do coffee or anything.

So I concluded most of the owners are either scared to change or don't want to be bother by it. I offered free coffee grinder and coffee machine to carry my coffee but he is still thinking.....

 

[Seth]

what type of coffee is he buying?

 

[eldub]

And how do I go about contacting him?

Seth

 

[danalcasey]

New Distributors Sought

I am new to this business of coffee roasters and have the opportunity to market a high-quality, Italian coffee brand. The owners want to start with wholesale distribution to high-end restaurants and hotels. Anyone have ideas on how to find distributors for this in Michigan?

 

[eldub]

It sounds like they want you to be the distributor, no?

It also sounds like the coffee is being roasted in Italy? If so, will those quality beans still be fresh when they reach the end users?

I'm guessing its time to get samples and start cold-calling targeted restaurants in the area.

 

[PinkRose]

Hello "danalcasey"

Welcome to the Coffee Forums website.

It would be helpful if you could clarify what the owners are looking for. Is the "high quality Italian coffee brand" being roasted in Italy and shipped to the United States, or will it be shipped here and then roasted and distributed in the Michigan area?


Rose

 

[Seth]

we have a message system where you can communicate through the platform. Phone calls and in person work too.

One of our goals is to make the operations around the transaction simple...so making the order exactly known, recurring purchases, exact delivery time, etc.

You can email me at seth (at) thefingo.com