Coffee Roasting Business

3 Coffee Roasting Business Success Stories [2024]

Pat Walls

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Updated: October 6th, 2024

A coffee roasting business roasts green coffee beans to various roast levels. Recent market research has shown that the global coffee roaster market is increasing at a CAGR of 4.24% for the next six years.
Therefore, launching your coffee roasting business in 2024 can be profitable. Coffee roasters use large machinery, including a roaster and grinder, to turn the beans into a finished product. To start a coffee roasting business, research the market and find who else is roasting in your target area.

Then, find out where coffee sellers in your area are getting their supplies. You also need to know how many coffee shops are in your area.

Then, decide if you want to sell the coffee to individuals or to a coffee shop. Alternatively, you can sell the coffee in your coffee shop or deliver it to elite lodging establishments and restaurants.

In this list, you'll find real-world coffee roasting business success stories and very profitable examples of starting a coffee roasting business that makes money.

1. Kalve Coffee Roasters ($1.8M/year)

Raimonds Zadvornovs and Gatis Zēmanis started Kalve Coffee Roasters in Riga, Latvia after realizing the limited access and high prices of specialty coffee in the market. With a low initial investment of approximately 60,000 EUR, they focused on creating accessible and sustainable products, expanding their customer base through word of mouth and opening a flagship store that now generates around 1,000-1,500 EUR in daily turnover. They credit their steady growth and success to their dedication and willingness to start slow and retain their independence.

How much money it makes: $1.8M/year
How much did it cost to start: $60K
How many people on the team: 35

How We Started A $80K/Month Coffee Roasting Company

Latvian coffee roasting company grew from a team of 2 to 13, with a current monthly turnover of €80k, driven by word-of-mouth marketing, sustainable practices and developing accessible products for the specialty coffee market.

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2. Rwanda Bean Coffee ($1.08M/year)

Mike Mwenedata, a Rwandan immigrant, started Rwanda Bean Coffee Company after realizing the potential value of Rwandan coffee and the need to support coffee farmers in his home country. By reinvesting 50% of their profits back into the farming communities, Rwanda Bean has grown rapidly, expanding from 10 lbs of coffee to a container of 40,000 lbs and increasing revenue from under $3,000 to over $45,000 per month in less than a year.

How much money it makes: $1.08M/year
How many people on the team: 20

How A Rwandan Immigrant Started A Coffee Roasting Business

Rwandan immigrant Mike Mwenedata co-founded Rwanda Bean Coffee Company, which increased revenue from under $3,000 per month to over $45k per month in less than one year, by sourcing and roasting single-origin coffee from Rwanda and investing 50% of the profits back into the farm communities.

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3. Firebean Coffee Roasters ($90K/year)

Michael Russo, a teacher turned stay-at-home dad, found his passion for coffee roasting through hand spinning ½ pound batches of coffee over a campfire. With no previous coffee roasting experience, he started experimenting and researching, eventually creating Firebean Coffee Roasters, a stationary bicycle and wood-fire powered coffee roastery in Canada's Yukon Territory. The business has grown steadily, attracting local customers and expanding into collaborations with other local businesses.

How much money it makes: $90K/year
How much did it cost to start: $1.5K
How many people on the team: 1

Starting A Pedal-Powered Coffee Roasting Business

Canadian coffee start-up Firebean Coffee Roasters uses pedal power and wood-fire to roast small batches of coffee off-grid in the Boreal Forest while providing a really awesome experience to a small group of local and tourist customers.

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