Coffee Roasters Counter Disruption

ALEXANDRIA, Va.—The coffee industry continues to fuel mornings for Americans even as countless restaurants and coffee shops across the country remain shuttered. The fallout has forced coffee roasters and suppliers to scramble to switch up ways of reaching customers—and pick up new ones along the way as homebound consumers brew up their own java.  

Dean’s Beans Organic Coffee in Orange, Massachusetts, has seen its wholesale business to restaurants and coffee shops plunge 70% as shops have closed or limited business to takeout, founder and CEO Dean Cycon told Mass Live. Online orders, however, have tripled at the coffee roaster as consumers in areas of now-shuttered cafes have searched out their standby coffee to brew at home. “Web orders have been off the charts for us," Cycon told the news outlet. “Maybe it’s the way of the future.”

In Olympia, Washington, Brendan Smith is sales and outreach coordinator at Batdorf & Bronson Coffee Roasters. Normally he is out on the road networking with clients and hosting training events. Now he’s livestreaming coffee-brewing tutorials for people who are now ordering coffee online and making it at home.

“Even though wholesale sales are lower, at-home coffee is growing,” Smith told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. He estimates that consumer sales have jumped threefold. “Find out where your customers are,” he said. “Find out what they need. Find out what you can learn.”

Bellwether Coffee, based in Berkley, California, is another roaster adapting to the new demands of doing business amid the pandemic. “The coffee industry, and the sense of community it’s known for, will survive this. The key is staying nimble and making shifts to meet the needs of coffee’s beloved customers and the new state of our world,” founder Ricardo Lopez shared with QSR Magazine.

Lopez outlined three key differentiators of good coffee retailers:

1. Adopt Contactless Sales

Implement social distancing inside stores to create safe indoor environments. For physical cafes where it’s been mandated that non-essential businesses close for on-site business, switch to carry out and delivery or focus on drive-thru only.

2. On-site Roasting Is Key

Those who roast coffee beans on site encourage brand loyalty. These roasters and businesses also don’t have to rely on a delayed supply chain or third parties in order to get their products. They can adapt to selling beans for home and can even move business to online ordering.

3. E-Commerce Is King

Focusing on e-commerce for coffee sales may be more important than ever before. This includes having a social media presence and a shoppable website with beans and merchandise as physical stores are unable to operate as usual.

4. Clean and Sanitize

To encourage customers to come back once the doors reopen, coffee shop owners will need to make safety and sanitation a priority. This includes cleaning counter surfaces, coffee machines and other high-touch surfaces, plus providing protective wear for employees. As additional, new standards of cleanliness arise, cafes will need to adopt new procedures and make intentional choices when it comes to opening back up.

Starbucks last week began reopening its locations in North America. For the majority of stores, customers can’t go inside so they pick up their pre-ordered drinks at an “entryway hand-off” area or at the drive-thru. Later this summer, Starbucks will add curbside service at stores where parking is available.

For a c-store specific look at trends in coffee programs, see “Not Your Average Joe” in the May issue of NACS Magazine.

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