Getting started in coffee can be daunting. Ask any coffee professional and they’ll tell you there’s a lot to learn! Even if you’ve started a business before, starting a coffee roastery is a big ask. Just a few of the dozens of crucial questions that you need to ask are:

• What business model am I going to adopt and what is my U.S.P?

• What size roastery will I need - not just today but in a few years?

• What size roaster do I need?

• How much space and labour do I need for green storage and roasted coffee packing and storing? And how do I store and move coffee?

• What about installation, ducting and emissions and what are the regulations?

• My start-up costs - what can I really expect?

• What ancillary kit do I need and crucially what don’t I need?

• What should my margins and running costs be and how do I keep my all important cost per kilo costs down?

• Above all - CASH FLOW. You need to manage cash flow in a highly cash flow negative business. Working capital becomes more important than ever. What does that mean? 

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To give yourself the best chance, these are are a few of the most obvious questions you'll need to understand and answer. That's before you’ve begun to source, roast and profile for your client base and fine tune your extraction techniques! At Rubiaceae Consulting, we can help you navigate these steps, save lots of money, lots of time and perhaps your business.

 

A first step is to book a two-day, 'How to start a roastery' course we run with London School of Coffee in Fulham, London. This takes a detailed look under the bonnet of the business of how to start a coffee roastery. What are the business models? How much do they cost to get up and running? How do I sell coffee? If you’ve not thought about how you’re going to sell it, then you’re just at square one - whatever else you have planned. Your access to market and U.S.P are the key to success.

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Rubiaceae Consulting also offer one-to-one consulting. From advising about all aspects of start-up, to helping people get roasting with toll and slot-roasting and generate some revenues before investing in a fully (or not) kitted out roastery.

 

Finally, we can also support you with financing your roaster. For all start-ups its crucial to have as much working capital in the bank as possible, it's what facilitates and so drives growth. That's why we believe that leasing or renting can be the smart option to help your business grow quickly. .

 

Get in touch and we’ll help you make the right first steps for you.