Building Your Coffee Wholesale Program
Coffee is an industry of change. I think that’s one of the things that attracts so many of us to coffee; there’s always more to learn, always a new way to grow. In the wholesale roasted coffee market, roasters are faced with intense competition and must constantly work to differentiate themselves and effectively reach their market.
How does a roaster go about building their wholesale program? Before we can get too far, we will take a step back and look at some basics of the business itself.
One of the first steps in establishing a business is often missed by owners: company mission and core values. Your mission statement defines your aim for the company. It’s a vital component of your company structure, and it’s not “We have the best coffee.” That’s not enough, and it’s the same thing your competitors will say. Every roaster will say they have the best coffee and service, so dig deeper.
What’s really important to you as a business owner? Community, education, professional growth, sustainability, transparency. . .these are just a few examples of what might be valuable to you. Your mission statement should encompass your “why” for doing business and what you provide for customers, employees, and the community.
Be creative, be honest, and spend dedicated time working on your company’s mission statement. For example, if you prioritize sustainability, what does that mean to you? It could mean transparent green coffee buying, compost-able materials, donating to funds that support the environment, or any other number of ideas. Again, review your “why” for doing business and let it guide your mission statement composition.
Once you’ve established your mission statement, core values will be your next focus. Core values are the beliefs that steer your business and its practices. They’re also what will help you shape your company culture and find employees and customers that align with your brand. If you don’t have core values described within your business, review the values that inform how you live your life. It’s likely that there is some overlap in your personal life and how you run your business that will help you begin to define your core values.
Writing your core values is a great opportunity to delineate what your company strengths and weaknesses are. If you decide to include other individuals in this process, it’s key to make sure that they understand that there are no right or wrong answers in this process.
Some discussion points you can include:
- How would you describe the company?
- Why do we have a coffee roasting company?
- What are some of our goals? Long-term vs. short term?
- What impact do we hope to have on the coffee industry?
- What behaviors or personality traits do successful employees of this company have?
Take the answers to these questions and reflect. Your core values should highlight your strengths and the services you provide while reinforcing your mission statement.
Now that we’ve settled on our company mission and values, let’s review product lineup. The products you’re offering need to align with your values and target market. If you’re committed to transparency or sustainability, your coffee can reflect that through the farm/producer background and care given throughout the entire supply chain.
Reviewing your product lineup will also include a review of what your competitors are offering and what the local market is missing. It may be worth the time, money, and storage space required to carry allied products (tea, syrups, cups, etc.). This is going to depend on what resources are available for your customers and leads in this area and if you can logistically handle fulfillment and delivery in a way that benefits your bottom line.
Equipment is also a major factor in this industry. In Portland, we’ve seen many roasters move away from loaning espresso equipment and instead refer customers to an equipment service company that can sell, install, and maintain the equipment. This does mean that a potential customer may be influenced by a roaster who is offering to give espresso equipment at no charge, but reviewing your bottom line is imperative. If you loan espresso equipment at no charge, how would that change the sale price of your coffee in order for you to make money (or break even)? If you don’t want to get into equipment and allied products, you could put together a resource packet for customers so they can find all of the gear they’re looking for. Thus, you’ve solved their problems while providing them delicious coffee.
From here, let’s talk about your sales team. Your sales staff (and all of your team) needs to be hired to fit the company culture and values. We can train anyone on coffee, but we can’t train for the right personality and values. If you hire someone who fits your company’s core values, you’re going to end up with an employee who is more engaged, works for the betterment of their team and the company, and likely stays with your company for a longer tenure.
Where do you find employees? This is an excellent opportunity to check the job posting sites for your region. If there are food and beverage-focused sites, they can be an easy way to find people with prior coffee or sales experience. Professional networking sites can be effective, but I’d encourage you not to blindly send form emails to everyone who’s ever had any sales experience in your region.
Another way to recruit employees and engage in your coffee community is through local coffee organizations. Is there a “coffee club” for your area where you can meet other coffee professionals or post jobs? Not only can this help you find new employees, but it can help strengthen your coffee community.
Our next step is training. You need a structured training program in place for all staff that includes an explanation of the company mission, values, and product lineup. As one of their functions is to help customers find the perfect products to suit their businesses, your sales staff will taste every coffee, be familiar with every product you carry, and be able to concisely communicate about them.
In building your sales team, you will need a compensation structure that works for your bottom line and growth. Compensation programs for sales staff can vary greatly depending on the level of experience you require. Whether you’re entertaining a lower base salary with unlimited commissions or a higher base salary with more sales required to receive commissions, bonuses or commission structures are an asset to a sales position. It encourages sales staff to continue acquiring new business and rewards them for their work.
Part of a commission or bonus structure is that it requires accountability and tracking. It’s important that your sales team is tracking how many calls they’re making, what kind of follow-up is in order, and what tools they require to be successful. This is information that is helpful for owner/operators to have access to, as it can aid in planning, purchasing, and goal-setting for the business.
From here, let’s look at your potential customer base and how you can support them. Questions to think about when reviewing your target market:
- What volume of customer fits your roasting operation?
- What kinds of coffees and roast styles are popular? What coffees aren’t represented?
- How does order fulfillment work?
- What kind of geographic range will you cover?
- What is your onboarding/training process for customers?
- What does your equipment support/referral program look like?
- What kind of knowledge and support can you provide? (for example: menu planning, cost of goods support, layout and design feedback)
Your approach to potential customers should be thoughtful: if it’s a first visit, you won’t be very familiar with their program, so do some research online or visit as a customer. From there, you can come back to connect with a decision maker with coffee and brewing gear at the ready. I’m not a proponent of leaving samples without making a connection with someone in authority. There’s no way to know if those samples actually make it to the decision maker, so I prefer to build the relationship through brewing and tasting coffee with them.
You can also take time to review marketing and communication strategy. Your sales team will need materials to showcase your product lineup and company information, and you’ll have to consider your social media presence. Focus and voice should be cohesive through your marketing channels to support your company values and mission. This is also another occasion in which being active in your local coffee community can be beneficial. If you’ve got space to hold events, you could put together some educational, competitive, or networking events to build your presence in the community and offer space to other coffee professionals for growth.
While it may be daunting, building a wholesale coffee program can be an excellent way to grow your business, skills, and community. In committing to your mission and staying aligned with your values in daily operations and customer conversion, you could see incredible things come of it.
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About Jen Hurd — Jen is the West Coast Regional Partnership Manager for Genuine Origin, an importing arm of Volcafe Specialty Coffee. Having worked in specialty coffee for over 20 years, Jen has had the chance to observe and learn from many aspects of the industry. In addition to her work in green coffee sales and support, she serves as the Vice President of the Oregon Coffee Board and is a Category Judge for Golden Bean North America. She is based in Portland, Oregon, where she lives with her husband (an avid coffee lover) and two cats.
