How to Sell Coffee Online & Make Money Doing It

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The Ultimate Guide To Selling

Coffee Online

(Updated for 2024)

When the founders of Seattle-based BeanBox started selling coffee online, their goal was to share amazing locally roasted beans.

They believed that even within the City of Seattle—known for its great coffee—enjoying coffee was primarily based on how close you were to an excellent coffee shop.

As a result, a majority of Seattlites were not enjoying the great coffee that Seattle was known for!

BeanBox™ came up with a solution.

By curating the best coffee from local roasters and then shipping it out everywhere, they would deliver freshly roasted coffee right to people’s doorstep.

From Tacoma, Washington, to New York City, anyone could enjoy Seattle's most amazing coffee every day.

To get their online coffee business off the ground, Matthew Berk and Ryan Fritzky needed to do several important things:

• Build relationships with local coffee roasters
• Build a website
• Promote their service
• Be efficient in delivering the freshest possible coffee

Because fast delivery was super important to them, the two former tech workers built a software system to ensure that their coffee would be received, packed, and shipped within hours of being roasted.

They offered small-ounce coffee bean bags from a few local roasters and created their first “Bean Box.”  Today, they sell more coffee than ever, offering their customers various flavor profiles from dark to light, from nutty to chocolaty coffees – all super fresh.

How You Can Sell Coffee Online

(Don't Make Rookie Mistakes and Actually Make Money)

While BeanBox™ seems too big to compete with, you can start your own coffee business and still be profitable. Besides, you don’t have to compete with them! Plenty of market share is available to run your online coffee business, too!

Everything BeanBox™ and other successful online coffee retailers have done – you can do it also.  In fact, you can create relationships with coffee roasters in your very own town or region (If that’s the kind of online coffee business you want!) and emulate their business model.

My rule is always to start small, learn, and grow.

Whether you are starting a small coffee shop or a drive-thru coffee stand, you can also apply that advice to selling coffee online.

This article will discuss how you can successfully enter the retail coffee business and sell coffee online. This is exciting to write about because we believe there is so much potential in this online coffee space.

As I write about selling coffee online to a wide audience, I realize that many of you will start from different points. Some of you might be very experienced at selling online, while others will be starting with little or no experience (and that's okay!).

Therefore, I will first try to cast a wide net to be as inclusive as possible. This will help out the beginners who are just getting started.

Challenges of Starting an Online Coffee Business

Let me be clear right from the start… Starting any business takes time. It can be hard. There will be challenges. When you are starting an online coffee business on your own, you will have to wear multiple hats. Each of these entails a certain skill set that you will have to learn.

Selling coffee online, you will take on the following roles:

• website designer
• marketing director
• inventory manager
• customer service representative

When it comes to starting an online business, that’s just the way it often is – you are a one-person band. All of these take some time to get your footing. Start slow, be methodical, and be patient. Try not to get overwhelmed.

 If you hang in there and stick with it, you will have a better chance of reaching your goal!

Why sell coffee online?

Let's talk about some of the benefits of selling coffee online below and why it makes sense to start immediately.

• People love coffee! I love coffee, and the chances are that you love coffee, too! So we are not alone! Nearly 8 out of 10 people drink coffee regularly in the United States. That means your customer base is enormous in the U.S. alone, and that means sales!

• People love to share and give coffee as a gift. Coffee makes a great gift for any occasion. Birthdays, holidays, or just as a “Thank you!” Coffee is an excellent product to promote all year round!

• People love to buy “local” or support local coffee roasters and coffee retailers. With an online coffee business, you are in a unique position to offer wonderful, locally roasted coffee from your locale.

• There’s money in it. You can create a profitable online business by selling coffee (and I’ll show you how).

Of course, there are 101 other reasons why you might want to sell coffee online. Most notably, by first selling your coffee online, you can take the first steps in developing your own local coffee brand and establishing yourself as a future coffee shop business owner (if that is what you want). 

Let's continue and see what it takes to sell coffee online…

How To Sell Coffee Online Successfully

What You Need to Sell Coffee Online:

1. Develop your coffee brand (a logo, slogan).
2. Set up a coffee website.
3. Find a shopping cart service like Payhip or  Shopify.
4. Source your coffee beans.
5. Get your shipping materials, coffee bags, etc.
6. Promote your coffee.
7. Establish your legal business entity.
8. Establish your business goals and stay organized.
9. Deliver great customer service every time.
10. Be innovative.

It’s important to recognize that there is no “right way” to start your online coffee business.

You can probably do most of these steps in the sequence and manner that you choose. For the sake of simplicity, I will address most of them in the following order. 

How To Sell Coffee Online

Step #1: Develop Your Coffee Brand

Your online coffee shop logo and subsequent branding efforts are important to your online coffee business. Especially when people don’t know who you are.

People don’t care if you are a small business or not. However, they do care if you are a dependable business that will deliver every time they order. Your logo and branding will embody that quality and reliability.

You want to create a logo, slogan, and market niche that resonates with your customers. Develop a coffee brand that is clear and memorable. While you definitely want to be creative, your brand needs to be easy to read, spell, and say.  

Aggressively lean towards offering a quality coffee product and back it up with excellent service. You want people to quickly associate your coffee and uncompromising good service through your coffee brand.

Therefore, developing a high-quality brand and offering high-quality coffee requires an investment in planning. It's only in planning that you offer the best customer service, a good selection of coffee, and fast shipping.

How to Develop Your Coffee Brand Logo

You will need a logo to use on your website, your coffee bags or containers that you sell, any materials that you make for your customers, as well as your social media accounts. Hire an affordable graphic or logo designer using services like UpWork.com. 

How To Sell Coffee Online

Step #2: Your Online Coffee Shop Store

Your website is your place and space for visitors to reach your online coffee business and buy coffee directly from you.

Even if you decide to sell coffee beans on Facebook, Instagram, Etsy, or some other online platform, there is nothing more basic and important than to have your own business securely tied to your own website.

Your website not only sells your coffee and other products, but it tells your story.

People want to read about your service. What can your online coffee business do for them? Can you deliver coffee to their loved ones on a special occasion? Will you deliver interesting coffee profiles for that special gift? Can you ship coffee fast?

Customers will want to see your coffee pictures, videos (if you choose to put them up), read your blog posts, and discover something new. You can do this all from your website and then share it on your social media accounts. You can setup your own store through providers like Payhip and Shopify.

Affordable Online Coffee Store Options:

Online Store Option	Description	Info
	Shopify is an easy-to-use all in one website option which includes a shopping cart.	Learn More
	Allows you to sell coffee online. No cost to setup.	Learn More

Setting Up Your Website Is Easy

Fortunately, creating a website is a lot easier today than ever.

There are quite a few companies and web hosting providers out there that can do a pretty good job of helping you get your coffee website set up. To put it simply, you do have some good options depending on how you want to get started.

Two General Options:

• Use a one-stop website service like Payhip or Shopify.
• Create your own WordPress website by getting a hosting service plan.

 Let’s explain these options a little more:

• Payhip – Payhip is one of the best and most affordable ways to get started. In fact, you can get started for free. They offer a great way to develop your free online presence. And they are especially affordable. I've been using them for awhile now enjoy their e-commerce platform.

• Shopify – Shopify is by far the easiest and most elegant solution to sell coffee or anything else online. It incorporates a seamless, safe, and robust shopping cart and allows you to have a beautiful website and collect payments easily. (You can get your free Shopify trial here)

• WordPress – Creating a WordPress website gets easier every year. WordPress is a robust and free software that you can use to create your own website. However, you will need to pay for your own hosting and domain name. It offers the cheapest and most flexible way to set up your online coffee website.

To have your own WordPress website, you will need:

• A Website Address (Domain Name)
• Website Hosting

Now Let’s Look at Some

Pros and Cons of Each of These:

Pros and Cons of Shopify

Shopify Pros: You can get a beautiful Shopify website up and running fast and easily.

If you have the ability to create your own Facebook profile, you can easily create your own Shopify store (Yes! That’s how easy it is!). Shopify has a secure and easy-to-use shopping cart, which allows you to start making payments right away.

Shopify Cons: There is a monthly charge that starts at $29. If you think of these costs on an annual basis, you can see that it isn’t cheap. Yet, it is the easiest and most elegant option. Additionally, while Shopify provides you with a free theme, it can be pretty restrictive. A free theme may not give you flexibility and the website feel that you are looking for. Buying a custom theme can cost about $60 to $100.

WordPress (Accessible Through Web hosting Providers)

Pros and Cons WordPress

Pros of WordPress: WordPress allows you to do so much affordably. It gives you the freedom to create a variety of website looks. WordPress offers a backend code that is also Google-friendly. This is very helpful when you want your website to be found through organic traffic.

You can also use multiple plugins for various customizations on your website. Also, it is probably the least expensive option.

You can add more websites. If you want multiple websites, you will not have to pay for additional website hosting, as you can add those sites to your hosting package if you purchase the domain address.

Cons of WordPress: WordPress is getting easier all the time, but there are some parts you’ll need to connect. For example, you will need a website hosting plan and your domain name and then connect them. However, most web hosting providers will do this for you almost automatically!

There is no shopping cart, which means you will need to use a WooCommerce plugin, or you can use a third-party site, like Payhip to take and process your orders.

Developing Content For Your Website:

You must generate original content for your website. This includes both the pictures and text for your website.

Whatever you do, don’t copy other people’s content. Simply cutting and pasting from other websites is a direct violation of copyright laws and won't really help you with Google’s ranking anyway.

Suppose you are just starting and don’t have any pictures. Simply go to your local coffee shop or roaster. Order a latte and take pictures of it… drink and repeat!

When you are just starting, you don’t need lots of pictures for your website, but you do need at least some.

How To Sell Coffee Online

Step #3: Your Shopping Cart

When you sell coffee online, you need a way to collect and process orders securely and safely.

All-in-one website services like Payhip or Shopify, will already have a safe and reliable way to collect money via credit cards or using PayPal (or both).

If you decide to set up a WordPress website, you can easily use an e-commerce plugin like WooCommerce to sell and process items.

Or you can use a hybrid of options. For example, you can have your own WordPress website and use Shopify as a shopping cart.

Additionally, Shopify allows you to embed a small code on your WordPress site so that customers can order directly on your website!

Affordable Online Coffee Store Options:

Online Store Option	Description	Info
	Shopify is an easy-to-use all in one website option which includes a shopping cart.	Learn More
	Allows you to sell coffee online. No cost to setup.	Learn More

How To Sell Coffee Online

Step #4:  Getting Your Coffee Inventory

Where will you get your coffee beans?

You can either roast your own coffee beans or you can buy them wholesale from a local roaster.

Leveraging the roasting expertise and convenience of having an established coffee roaster (or multiple roasters) provide you your coffee inventory is very appealing.

If you intend to sell or curate locally roasted coffee beans, I will visit 6 to 10 local coffee roasters and cafes in your area. Try out their coffee and see if you can meet with them to discuss opening a wholesale account. 

Keep in mind that before coffee roasters sell coffee to you, you might need a reseller’s license.

Local coffee roasters are interested in two things: Sharing their coffee and making a profit. This means that they will most likely be willing to meet with you and talk to you about creating a wholesale account.

My recommendation is that before you approach a coffee roaster about selling your coffee, you should be aware of what kind of business you are doing, and you should have your website up and running already!

Additionally, you might also want to have business cards with your logo and information. Nobody likes their time wasted. By having an established website, logo, business plan, and social media accounts with engaged followers, your local coffee roaster would take you more seriously.

Roasting Your Own Coffee Beans

The process of roasting your own coffee isn’t the scope of this article. However, if you decide to roast your own coffee beans, you will need to have a couple of things:

• A supply of green coffee beans
• A coffee roaster (and location to roast)
• Coffee roasting knowledge

Getting Started with Green Coffee Beans

Green coffee beans are coffee beans that have not yet been roasted. If you are just starting, you can order green coffee beans from Sweet Maria's and experiment with different coffee origins and profiles.

There are plenty of other places you can get green coffee beans, but some of the green coffee retailers are also out to want to make a profit so, you need to be aware of your costs.

Larger coffee brokers exist, but they often will want you to order a larger volume of coffee. Shipping costs can also add to your overhead as well.

A coffee roaster – there are some excellent table coffee roasters available if you want to make a hefty investment. For example, a Diedrich table coffee roaster (the IR-1) can cost up to $3500 and up. It’s capable of 1 Kg batches at about 3-5 roasts per hour.

For a much larger roaster, the costs go up considerably. You will also have to figure the costs of transporting, setting up your roaster, and having all the amenities it requires, such as gas and power.

You can also get a much smaller roaster on Amazon, but if you are planning on steady growth and more commercial clients and online sales, you may want to pick up a larger commercial roaster made by companies such as a Diedrich or Probat roaster.

Additionally, you will need to check with your local health and building departments to ensure that you are up to “health and building codes” in the space you are roasting in.

Again, my recommendation is first to know what you want, start small, and plan for growth.

How To Sell Coffee Online

Step #5: Getting Your Shipping Materials & Coffee Bags

Packaging and shipping will be an important part of your online coffee business. You will have to pack and ship every order you receive fast and affordably – every time.  

Shipping materials (boxes, tape, & coffee bags), your time, and your postage can be a large ongoing expense. So, efficiency is important for making a profit.

Offering a novel and sensory experience should be a priority. Since your packaging will be a part of your offering, spend a lot of time researching and perfecting your customer’s unboxing experience.

My recommendation is that you experiment a little. Maybe you want to package your coffee beans in small bags, glass jars, or tin containers. Determine what’s easier and affordable and affirms your coffee brand as the best.

At the end of this article, you will find the list of the best drop shipping companies in the US.

How To Sell Coffee Online

Step #6: Marketing & Promotion

Promoting your online coffee business will be vitally important for your online coffee business' success.

The first step in promoting your website is to ensure that your website is worthy for people to visit. This means having unique, original, and valuable content for visitors. This includes pictures, descriptions of your coffee profiles, pictures, and maybe videos.  

Next, you will want to be accessible on the internet.

To be found on Google, you need to address your Search Engine Optimization or SEO. Your SEO is basically the practice and art of ranking high on Google’s search engine (or any other search engine).

Millions of websites talk about coffee. Allowing Google to determine that you have an e-commerce coffee business website that ranks high for people to find is made possible by ensuring your website is optimized for Google’s search spiders.

SEO requires you to have well-written information on your websites, such as your home page, blog posts, and product pages. There are a lot of great YouTube videos on the subject of SEO. Check them out to learn the basics before starting.

Utilizing social media. With tools such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest, you will generate brand awareness.

Ultimately, your customers will be your biggest promoters. Utilize an email marketing campaign and coupons to earn repeat business.

How To Sell Coffee Online

Step #7: Establish Your Coffee Business Structure

Just like any other business, an online coffee business needs to establish itself as a legal entity.  This will help open up some important doors and provide you with the legal protection you want.

Additionally, it will help you establish a bank account, allow you to write off legitimate business expenses, help you get insurance, possibly provide tax benefits, etc.  

All these things will be important as you move forward. So, make sure you consider doing the following:

1. Establish your business structure within your state. 
2. Open a bank account.
3. Determine any further operating requirements (a business license, etc.)
4. If you live in the U.S., you will need a reseller’s license.

Once you create your business structure (i.e., LLC), you will apply for various permits and a local business license.  Depending on how you handle your coffee, you may need a county food handler’s card.

How To Sell Coffee Online

Step #8: Establish Your Online Coffee Business Goals

You will want to establish your online coffee business goals before you set out to start your business. Consider the following questions:

• How much coffee do you intend to sell?
• Who are you planning to sell your coffee to?
• What are your ultimate business goals?

Take a moment to address these questions. Go ahead and look at them again and ask yourself those three basic questions. 

For example, let me answer these questions for you and let me use them in the upcoming example.

My example online coffee business scenario:

I currently run and operate a coffee truck in Seattle. I would like to sell at least 40 to 60 pounds of coffee every week to people who want to try coffee from local coffee roasters in my city (The Greater Seattle Area).

I will not sell my own roasted coffee, but I will develop 10 local coffee roasters.

My customers will be local and national customers who want to send gifts to family and friends or try local coffee from their own homes.

I will develop a great brand and offer unique packaging.

My goal is to make a profit online and grow my side business to leave my current job eventually. I wish to work from home to be able to spend more time with my family. To do this, I will need to sell 50 lbs. of coffee a week.

I want to give you a basic picture of where one of you might be coming from. In this sample scenario, I've chosen to skip the roasting of coffee beans altogether.

However, I recognize that some of you might be roasting your own coffee beans. That's great! The only thing that changes is where you get the supply of green coffee beans from.

The point here is to develop an online coffee business plan to ensure that you’ve fully developed all of your thoughts.

How To Sell Coffee Online

Step #9: Deliver Great Customer Service Every Time

Delivering excellent customer service will be a key factor in your success. Every time someone purchases from you, they take a chance with their time and money (and their credit card info). 

If they are buying coffee as a gift for someone else, they are hoping that you provide the best possible experience for the person they are gifting coffee.

Additionally, customers would like to think that they are getting their money’s worth. They are hoping to have their expectations will be met and have their personal information stored safely by you.

If you exceed their expectations, you will have a customer that keeps on coming back.

Make customer service your thing to be proud of. Excel at great customer service every time.

How To Sell Coffee Online

Step #10: Be Innovative

Like any other business, coffee can be a competitive niche to enter. This includes selling online, which can make it challenging to get noticed. That’s why when you do get noticed and convince people to take a chance on your coffee and service, you need to deliver—every time.

BeanBox is well known for delivering great local Seattle coffee. But they, too, have to be innovative. They have increased their coffee roaster relationships – in and beyond Seattle to stay on their toes. They have started to offer chocolate and other goodies to complement their coffee.

As a result, they have leveraged their delivery service to inform and educate their customers. They also offer information about the coffee and coffee roasters they work with.

Likewise, you will want to stay innovative with your online coffee business. Thinking out of the box will help you stand out and ensure your future success.

What Are Your Next Action Steps To Sell Online?

Recommended:

• Decide on Your Online Coffee Business Name
• Get Your Website through one of the following:
  • Shopify (Start Your Free Trial)
  • Payhip (Get Started for Free)

• Set Up Your Social Media Accounts
• Visit coffee roasters
• Establish Your Coffee Business Structure

Affordable Online Coffee Store Options:

Online Store Option	Description	Info
	Shopify is an easy-to-use all in one website option which includes a shopping cart.	Learn More
	Allows you to sell coffee online. No cost to setup.	Learn More

Continue Reading: 10 Easy Steps to Open an Online Coffee Business

Using a Coffee Drop Shipper

Disclaimer: We have an affiliated relationship with some of the resources listed. We receive a small commission for each purchase made at no additional cost to you.

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