Those who dream of opening a coffee shop may feel discouraged by the initial startup costs that come with it. These costs include purchasing equipment, securing a brick and mortar location, and hiring wait staff. However, selling coffee beans wholesale, such as through a dropshipping coffee business, is a less-expensive alternative.
Selling wholesale coffee beans or retail coffee online may lead to great success. This is especially true if you have a passion for coffee and an interest in becoming an entrepreneur. There is less risk associated with this kind of eCommerce business when compared to opening a café. However, to start, you must obtain a proper wholesale license.
This article covers everything you need to know about getting into the wholesale coffee beans and wholesale coffee distribution business. Keep reading to understand what it takes to get your business up and running.
Coffee Beans Wholesale: Selling Coffee Beans Wholesale
Most coffee bean wholesalers and wholesale food distributors will sell their products to restaurants and coffee shops. The ideal buyer, in this case, is a business owner who is just opening a restaurant, opening a bakery, or a café.
As a wholesaler, you want to secure a few fine dining restaurants as your buyers, along with a few small and regular-sized businesses. The reason for this is the exposure and sales it could bring your business.
Businesses that sell coffee beans wholesale tend to have two types of customers. These include individual buyers and local coffee shops and businesses. Understanding your target audience or niche market will allow you to choose the right type of coffee to sell.
Cafés may prefer to purchase roasted coffee beans wholesale in order to freshly grind them each day. On the other hand, busy restaurants may prefer to purchase ground coffee in order to quickly brew coffee as needed. Individual buyers may look into purchasing raw or roasted coffee beans or ground coffee, based on their taste preferences.
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Decide on Your Coffee Products
Since coffee comes in different flavors, qualities, origins, and roasts, appealing to everyone may be tricky. When choosing a niche market, it’s crucial to narrow down your customer base by grouping them together.
Providing customers with too many options leads to confusion. That’s why it’s best to start out with a limited number of products. It's possible to expand your business offerings in the future based on buyer interests and preferences.
It’s best to consider your competition and their coffee product offerings in order to differentiate your business. Determine if you should offer coffee bean subscription boxes, keep up with coffee industry trends, utilize modern coffee marketing efforts, and develop a coffee eCommerce website. You'll have the option to create the best coffee subscription box for your customers.
Finding a Wholesale Coffee Supplier
Running a wholesale business and successfully means that you need to have the right wholesale food distribution supplier. Your coffee beans wholesale supplier will determine the taste of your coffee and impact the quality of service you provide. It's also crucial to consider whether you want private label coffee or white label coffee.
Here are four factors to consider when choosing a wholesale coffee beans supplier:
- Great coffee quality. Quality coffee tastes good and in order for coffee to sell, it must taste good. The supplier you choose should provide quality coffee products that fit your flavor and roasting specifications. With quality coffee, it’s possible for you to become one of the best coffee roasters in your area.
- Low MOQ. In order for you to afford to get your wholesale coffee business up and running without coughing up excess amounts of cash, your supplier should offer low minimums. This refers to the minimum order quantity (MOQ) or the minimum amount of product you may order from them. Be sure to familiarize yourself with economic order quantity (EOQ) too as it will help your business minimize costs.
- Quick turnaround time. Providing your customers with quick deliveries will improve customer satisfaction. However, in order to do this, your supplier must have quick turnaround times. This includes having a good fill rate.
- Excellent service. Looking for high-quality customer service from your supplier is essential. It’s ideal for your wholesale coffee beans supplier to adjust to your business needs.
Marketing Strategy for Wholesale Coffee Beans
After establishing the wholesale coffee products you’re going to sell and finding a supplier, it’s time to talk about marketing strategy. This strategy should be outlined when you write a business plan for your wholesale coffee beans business.
Thefour factors to consider for a wholesale coffee beans business marketing strategy include:
- Brand image
- Online marketplace and platform
- Creating content
- Valuing your customers
1. Brand Image
Establishing a strong brand image is crucial when starting an eCommerce business. When selling raw or roasted coffee beans wholesale through an online platform, customers won’t get to taste your product before they buy.
The brand image for your business should resemble what your coffee is about and what your company believes in. It’s possible for your coffee products to be strong, sustainable, and locally sourced. This should be incorporated into your brand image.
It’s also possible to articulate company values into the logo, name, packaging, and website. Use whatever distinguishes your coffee to create a brand image that stands out and appeals to customers. The logo and name of your business will be something that your customers remember.
2. Online Marketplace and Platform
Finding the right B2B eCommerce platform or online marketplace to sell your wholesale coffee beans are essential to the success of your business. The ideal site will have a shopping cart feature that allows customers to select the products they desire and pay for them.
Working with payment processing companies and payment gateway providers will allow you to securely accept payments online. This will provide peace of mind to your customers and ensure that they feel safe shopping from your business.
Your eCommerce website design is crucial since it will act as your storefront. It should be easy to use and appealing. This will allow customers to enjoy their shopping experience on your website. It’s also essential for it to be professional, so customers feel secure and confident about shopping at your business. Be sure to consider the best eCommerce platform for SEO as it may help you increase traffic to your site.
3. Creating Content
eCommerce content marketing is crucial for any online business. Having the right content will streamline the ordering process for your customers and motivate them to come back.
The types of content to include on your eCommerce website are:
- Written content. This includes blog posts and sales copy which will share your company’s story and establish your brand voice. Interesting and compelling content will allow you to connect with your customers and in turn, lead to more sales. It builds trust between the customer and the business.
- High-quality photos. eCommerce marketplaces should have a digital catalog of their product offerings. The wholesale catalog for your coffee bean business should include high-quality photos of each product. There are many eCommerce product catalog design methods, and you can also use a catalog creator to simplify the process. The product photos should showcase different angles of your packaging, coffee beans, and people enjoying your products.
- Product descriptions. Having detailed product descriptions is essential for coffee products. They should describe the flavor notes of each product to help customers choose the right coffee for their taste preferences and needs.
- Use of the best SEO practices. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, and proper use of it ranks your website higher in the search results. These practices increase your chances of getting your brand discovered and increase website traffic. This includes using strong internal linking strategies, relevant keywords, creating fresh website content, and adding high-quality images.
4. Valuing Your Customers
Establishing a loyal customer base for your wholesale coffee beans business is a key factor for success. Repeat customers are a powerful marketing tool, and they provide reliable revenue. Customers that enjoy your products tell their peers, which is known as word-of-mouth marketing.
It’s crucial to show your customers that you value them. One way to do so is by offering a loyalty program. This is similar to a restaurant loyalty program that offers incentives and keeps customers coming back. Consider offering special discounts or tailoring new product offerings to their needs and interests.
Proving that you value your customers is also possible during the shipping and handling process. When selling coffee beans wholesale, you have the option to also print shipping labels from your home. Learn how to print shipping labels from home to get a head start on the process.
Frequently Asked Questions About Coffee Beans Wholesale
Is Selling Wholesale Coffee Beans Profitable?
Selling wholesale coffee beans can be a profitable business. In order for it to be profitable, it’s essential to have a strong brand with a solid marketing strategy in place. Coffee is a widely consumed product that is available practically everywhere. However, the high competition shouldn’t discourage you from starting a similar business as there is a high volume of customers. Learn how to calculate inventory turnover so you can determine how much product you're moving.
How Do I Find a Wholesale Coffee Supplier?
In order to find a wholesale coffee supplier, you must do the following research:
- Interview several suppliers
- Look into supplier references or testimonials
- Taste product samples
- Search locally
- Visit their manufacturing and warehousing facilities if possible
- Learn about their product offerings
What Should My Coffee Beans Wholesale Marketing Strategy Include?
A coffee beans wholesale marketing strategy should include the following:
- A strong brand image
- Reliable online marketplace or eCommerce platform
- Quality content
- A plan that shows customers you value their business