A new Gulf Coast café and the roaster that built its house espresso
A newly opened café in Holmes Beach, Florida, that wanted a local roaster for its own espresso, and a Sarasota roaster with 20+ years in wholesale and private label.
$6,000
Total fees, two separate engagements
$3,000
Paid by the café to source and qualify a roaster
$3,000
Paid by the roaster, credited into a 60–90 day package
The two sides
A newly opened independent café in Holmes Beach, Florida, looking for a local roasting partner: a house espresso made for the shop now, and coffee under its own name later. And a Sarasota roaster with more than 20 years of operating history, already supplying cafés, restaurants and Whole Foods locations in Florida, able to develop custom blends and private label.
What happened
01
We wrote to cafés and to wholesale roasters in the same week. The café owner told us exactly what she wanted: a local roaster, an espresso made for her shop, and in time coffee that could carry the café’s name.
02
The roaster replied that it wanted local café accounts, could develop custom and private-label coffee, and said it would pay for the right introduction.
03
Each side retained us separately and was told so in writing: the café for sourcing and qualifying a roaster, the roaster for a qualified café account. Two separate fees for two different services.
04
Once both were paid, one email introduced them with a brief: the espresso the café wanted, the sampling process, wholesale pricing and delivery into Holmes Beach, private-label packaging, and support during rollout. Then we stepped out. The roaster has since rolled its fee into a 60–90 day package for more cafés.
Why it worked
The café asked for a local roaster that would make its own coffee. The roaster asked for a local café that wanted its own coffee. They described each other.