Should I offer specialty coffee at my specialty foods store?
It can be a great idea to offer great coffee at your specialty store. You’ve worked hard to create a fun and unique store featuring ice cream, candy, or baked goods and desserts. It’s the best in the region and people come from all over to experience all the fun and goods packed into one store. Specialty goods stores are a great way to draw in customers for a multitude of experiences. And if you are licensed as a food service establishment, you are already set up to serve coffee. And you should make your coffee program that lives up to the expectation you have created with your other fine offerings.
Adding specialty coffee to your existing specialty food store can be simple or it can be elaborate. You can have a simple setup with minimal equipment and offerings all the way to creating your town’s next specialty coffee shop with a full-line of espresso beverages.
Here’s a few things to ponder as you consider adding specialty coffee to your specialty food business:
Menu
How big will your menu be? Do you want to offer the popular basics, or are you hoping to provide the full-service experience with all the bells and whistles? Keep in mind that the more you put on your menu (sizes, flavors, options, etc), the more storage and counterspace you may need. You may be limited physically. Just remember you can always add on later if you aren’t sure how far you want to go in the beginning.
Budget
Coffee equipment isn’t cheap if you want something that will stand up to being used in a commercial setting. If you expect a steak dinner but only have money for a hamburger, you need to do some research on the options to fit within your budget. We find many operators underestimate the cost of their equipment. Here’s a few articles we wrote to help with opening a coffee shop.
Audience
Who is your audience? Do they really want coffee, or do you just want to offer it? It’s so important to know what your customer wants. How do you find out? You just ask them. Surveys, formal or informal, offer a glance into what the customers may want, or be willing to pay for. Just don’t be overwhelmed with excitement thinking customers want coffee so much they will burst down the doors to buy it. They often express their desires at a greater rate then they actually patronize. The reality is that you never know how much a person will spend with you until they do. You just don’t want to depend too much on big success to keep the business from failing. If you find your goals need to be pretty lofty in order for it to work, you may want to reconsider making the investment. It’s always better to err on the side of safety.
In closing, adding specialty coffee to your existing specialty food business can be a great way to add offerings to boost sales and broaden the appeal to your customers. Coffee can create recurring sales for customers seeking a great cup to enjoy with a friend or for on the go. You can even build a loyal following of customers buying coffee to enjoy in their home with branded or private label coffee by the bag. We just want you to consider the challenges of adding a new operation to your existing business.
If you have any interest in adding specialty coffee to your existing specialty food business, please reach out to us. We’re here to help you with equipment specs, menu development, product sales and more. Just shoot us an email!