Scaling a new coffee brand with Smoasters.
Coffee Annan set out to prove that roasting at origin in East Africa can deliver excellent specialty coffee and create real impact for farmers at the same time. Launching a new brand in Europe with no marketing budget and no logistics of your own is hard. They needed visibility and revenue fast. This is where Smoasters became the key partner.
A year and a half ago we started working with the Berlin based impact startup Coffee Annan. Time for a look back with Dennis Roß, Head of Sales at Coffee Annan.
QHow did you start as a completely new brand in the European market?
We had a strong product and an authentic impact story, but nobody knew us and we had no budget for paid ads. So we combined our own coffee with premium brewing gear through Smoasters. Well known brands like Fellow, Chemex, Acaia and Timemore brought traffic into the shop, and once people were there they discovered Coffee Annan and our story.
QWhat effect did combining coffee and gear have?
It was a gamechanger. People were actively searching for premium gear, not for Coffee Annan. That brought traffic, and it gave us a stage to tell the story: roasted at origin, supporting local farmers, keeping value creation in the producing countries. A lot of the gear buyers ended up buying the coffee too, and retention marketing turned one time buyers into regulars.
QWhat was the business impact?
In the first year we did over 180,000 euro in online revenue with zero spend on paid advertising. Organic traffic grew strongly, and the average order value rose by 60 percent thanks to the equipment offer.
QWhat was most valuable about the Smoasters model?
Starting without any upfront investment in stock or warehousing. Smoasters handled the entire fulfilment for both coffee and gear, so we stayed lean and could scale fast. On top of that we launched Coffee Annan directly on Kaffeezentrale, one of the largest Swiss coffee platforms, which accelerated visibility and revenue. In short, Smoasters helped turn Coffee Annan into a profitable impact business with a loyal customer base and a strong online channel.
QWhat comes next?
We want to carry the momentum from online sales forward, introduce new origins freshly roasted at the source, scale the subscription model further, and keep improving the online experience and the impact storytelling. Coffee connects people, and that is what we want to grow.
QAnd the one we ask everyone: how do you brew your coffee at home?
Since Coffee Annan, filter coffee. With a Fellow kettle, a V60 and a Timemore grinder.