What is private label wholesale coffee roasting?

Custom private label bags are a great way to develop your own brand.

Private label wholesale coffee roasting is when coffee roasters take existing coffees from their lineup of offerings and repackage it with custom branding and labels to the customers specifications. There are several situations when private label coffee roasting is appropriate. Ideal candidates can include coffee shops, churches, restaurants, corporate gifting, online e-commerce brands, grocery retailers, and more. Here is some information to consider if you are thinking about hiring a coffee roaster to make coffee for your brand.

In some situations, it makes sense for your business to offer coffee to your customers without having to go through the hassle of becoming a coffee roaster. And in these situations, if you are simply taking your brand and applying it to a product, wholesale private label coffee roasting is perhaps a great way to quickly begin selling without a lot of work. Your expertise is marketing the brand you created. The coffee roaster’s role is to produce, package and in some cases, provide fulfillment services for the products you create.

Coffee roasters, such as Reverie Coffee Roasters, have programs that are designed to make launching your coffee brand simple. You will want to work with the roaster to pick products from their current lineup that are a great fit for your customer. You will ideally want to choose coffees that are generally available year-round, such as a blend. This way you can be assured the product labeling and design will not suddenly become irrelevant or the product becomes unavailable.

The volume and frequency of your orders will determine what pricing you are eligible for. Bulk ordering will generally provide you with discounts off retail pricing, and the more you buy, the better the pricing may be. Wholesale pricing can range from about 20 to 40% off retail pricing (to get a quote, please contact us by email), and with mass customization, you can expect the cost to increase slightly by 5 to 10% over the wholesale price.

When you begin to think about private label coffee, there are a few things you need to think about.

Product or Project Budget: What are you doing with the coffee you are selling? Is it for gifts or are you trying to obtain a margin of profit? It is important to know what you expect to get out of the product before heading into a sales meeting so the conversation can be focused on achieving your desired outcome.

Size Options: retail 12oz bags, 5 pounds, etc.

Custom Labels or Custom Bags: printing labels and using generic bags is most cost effective.

Cobranding or 100% Private: do you wish for your customers to know who produces your product?

Label Design: Who will do your design? Reverie has an in-house designer that can help you with your project. Pricing for custom artwork is priced on a project basis. Contact us below for more information and estimated pricing.

Fulfillment: Will your roaster do the complete fulfillment process (receiving orders and sending them to customer) or will they be sending the order to you to self-fulfill? The more hands on the roasting operation the potential higher cost per project or per unit.

Timeline for Fulfillment: How quickly do you need your project designed and implemented? Every coffee roaster will have an ideal turnaround for large orders. You can expect a week or two for single large orders (250+ units or more). And for regular orders, such as weekly fulfillment, you can expect the lead time to be consistent with normal wholesale orders and delivery after the project is underway. It is wise to plan for at least 30 days minimum from idea to execution if you are just getting started. This will ensure you have ample time to prepare the artwork, negotiate pricing, and cycle your orders into the coffee roastery production.

There are many reasons why you may wish to consider private label wholesale coffee roasting for your business. At Reverie Coffee Roasters, we roast coffee for several brands in the region and across the United States. If you would like to inquire about how this may work for your brand or business, please contact our wholesale roasting team and we will be happy to schedule a conversation to answer your questions.