Summary
- Importance of Brand Awareness: Emphasizes the significance of focusing on brand awareness for coffee businesses at all stages, from development to established operations.
- Challenges with Roaster Branding: Discusses the potential issues and drawbacks of prominently displaying a roaster’s name and logo on coffee bags, leading to a diluted brand perception for the business.
- Recommendations for Promoting Your Brand: Provides insights and recommendations based on personal experience, suggesting the creation of unique blend names and the promotion of the business’s brand to avoid becoming subsidiary to the roaster.
Wholesale Roasted Coffee Under Your Brand Name
Promoting your unique coffee brand whether you are still in the development stage, preparing to open, or have been in business for some time, it is important to focus on your brand awareness, especially when it comes to your coffee. As your business grows, it is crucial to ensure that your brand, including your logo and blend names, remains the center of attention. When a customer walks through your doors, they should only associate your coffee with your brand.
Although most coffee roasters have good intentions when delivering coffee, they typically provide it in 5 lb bags, often with their own name and logo prominently displayed. This can create the perception in your customer’s mind that you are selling another company’s coffee. Even though most people are aware that many cafes and drive-throughs do not roast their own coffee, constantly being reminded of another brand can weaken your own brand’s power.
This can be especially problematic if your coffee roaster also supplies 1 lb or 12 oz. bags to other stores in your area or has an active online presence. In this scenario, your roaster becomes your direct competitor. When I faced this issue several years ago, I realized that I was essentially marketing for my roaster instead of myself. It was a tricky situation because, on one hand, the roaster had a good reputation and it gave my business some credibility to serve their coffee. However, this only matters if your roaster is local to your area. If they are an hour away or more, the majority of your customers will not be familiar with their brand, so why advertise it? While I had a great relationship with my roaster and they did good work, I found that my customers could easily purchase whole bean coffee directly from them instead of from me. Essentially, I became a subsidiary of my roaster.
Based on my experience, I would recommend creating your own unique blend names to promote your own brand and, by extension, your blends. At Pool Six, we will never treat our wholesale customers as subsidiaries.
Our goal is to establish a mutually beneficial relationship, rather than solely benefiting ourselves. We have no intention of directly competing with our customers and we only sell coffee in 5 lb bags, so anyone wanting to purchase smaller quantities must do so through one of our retail partners. We will only deliver coffee in plain kraft bags, or in your own branded bags if you provide them to us, and we will always include your blend names. This way, when your customers visit your business, they see your brand, your name, your blends, and your marketing front and center.
Who We Serve
- Coffee Houses/Cafes
- Coffee Drive Throughs
- Coffee Pop-ups
- Wholesale Consumers
- Hotels and Lodging
- Health Care
- Specialty Stores
- Delis/Bagel Shops
- Gas & Convenience
- Office Coffee
- Catering
- Churches
- Distributors (Coffee and Broadline)
