How Does A Coffee Roaster Achieve Success?

In this tough market it becomes increasingly important that coffee roasters try to navigate the problems that they might face before they become overwhelmed. In practice, there are a number of problems that a roasting business must overcome in order to be successful.

Here are the top 5 challenges that are faced by roasters today, and my proposed solutions.

# 1– Differentiation can be difficult to achieve. Most coffee traders cannot offer exclusivity in their green offerings. Or what they offer to one roaster is also offered to multiple others, so the entire community of roasters become homogenous. If you buy off a stock list, what’s to say the roaster next door isn’t carrying the same coffee?

# 2 – Engaging in true ‘direct trade’ can be extremely costly, requiring a roaster to tie up funds for many months before a coffee arrives on our shores. Often roasters do not have the true connection with the producers that can build into long term relationships.

# 3 – World coffee prices are generally governed by the interaction of the commodities markets on the NY stock exchange and foreign exchange rates fluctuations. Entering the markets at the wrong time or buying when the exchange rates are not in your favor can become a very costly exercise.

# 4 – In the past, it may have been possible for a roaster to just produce coffee for their own requirements only, but the competitive nature of the industry means that wholesaling is becoming a requirement. Wholesaling requires a different set of competencies compared with running a café. You need systems, logistics, staff, salespeople, capital and cost efficiency.

# 5 – sourcing coffee requires a lot of relationship maintenance with farmers, logistics and warehousing businesses. As a coffee roaster, this takes time away from the service you could be providing to YOUR customers

The short answer to all these challenges is to work towards becoming sustainably unique. Here’s how:

STRATEGY:  Sit down with your team and discuss your strategy. What do you hope to achieve? How will you achieve it? It’s best to plan 3, 6 and 12 months ahead.

The business of wholesaling requires a different set of competencies such as greater strategic planning, systems, procedures, staff and a reliable supplier that can help you navigate these challenges. It is infinitely harder to play catch up than to implement them ahead of when they are required.

THE SOLUTIONS:  The solution is to partner with a well-resourced buying team. you will make use of their resources to engage with producers, ship coffees from origin, warehouse them, and then deliver to your door. This partnership allows roasters to engage in ‘true direct trade’ without the risk of tying up precious capital for long periods of time.

Be present at origin. If not physically, at least by trading directly with farmers that guarantees that you get exclusivity.

Connecting with International Coffee Traders will give you access to our business expertise through exclusive coffees, footprint at origin by meeting your producers, blend creation and profiling, and all the industry knowledge to make your brand stand out!