Description
You can start your own coffee brand with as few as 6 bags. Once your label is approved, your coffee is roasted, bagged and ready to ship in 48 hours. The $40 you spend on this playbook is credited back on your first private label order with us, so it pays for itself.
Why Start Your Own Coffee Brand With Private Label Coffee
Private label coffee means we roast and bag the coffee, and it goes out under your name. Your customers see your logo, your story and your price. We stay behind the scenes.
Coffee is one of the best products a small brand can sell. People drink it every day, they run out every few weeks, and they stay loyal to the coffee they like. It is one of the few side hustles where you sell a real product people buy again and again.
Buying a roaster costs tens of thousands of dollars before you sell a single bag. Private label lets you test your idea, build a following, and grow your coffee business on real sales instead of a loan.
- Format: 53 page PDF playbook with 15 chapters, 4 worksheets and photos, instant download
- Written by: Berk’s Beans Coffee, a family owned specialty roastery
- Startup cost example: $149.50 for your first 6 bags with a custom designed label
- Minimum order: 6 bags (12 oz)
- Turnaround: Roasted and ready to ship 48 hours after label approval, plus shipping time
- Options: 12 oz and 5 lb bags, multiple bag colors, grind options, and a drop ship program
- Bulk savings: A negotiated rate on private label orders over $500
- Ongoing support: A monthly 30 minute growth call for your first 6 months as a private label client
- Bonus: $40 credit on your first private label order and a free consult
What’s Inside the Start Your Own Coffee Brand Playbook
Everything you need to start your own coffee brand, from first idea to first reorder, organized into four parts.
Getting started
- How private label works. What the roaster handles, what you handle, and how it compares to buying a roaster.
- Find your opportunity. 15 proven places coffee brands sell, from gyms, churches and cafes to realtor closing gifts, corporate gifts, Airbnb hosts and fundraisers.
Building the brand
- Build your brand. Pick a name, check that it’s free (including a trademark search), write your story in three sentences, and set your look.
- Pick your coffees. House blends, single origins or a custom blend, roast levels in plain English, and lineups that work.
- Bags, labels and what goes on them. Bag sizes, bag colors, grind options, label requirements and label design tips.
- Costs, pricing and margins. Your first order down to the dollar, profit at four price points, and pricing for shops and fundraisers.
- Business basics. An 8 step checklist for the licenses, permits and setup most new brands need.
Getting it in front of people
- Set up your social media. Lock up your name on 12 platforms including Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, X, Snapchat, YouTube, Pinterest and Google. Then follow a 30 day social media calendar with a theme, photo or video idea, hook, CTA and 5 hashtags for every day.
- Build your website. Which platform to pick, a 9 step setup, the pages you need, and an example product page.
- Presales, roast days and selling. Run every launch as a presale, follow a regular roasting schedule, and use word for word scripts for shops, offices, realtors, fundraisers and DMs.
- Your 30 day launch calendar. Exactly what to do each week, from idea to first sale.
Keeping it going
- Grow after launch. Reorders, subscriptions, referral and ambassador programs, a holiday calendar, and your monthly growth call.
- Three example brands. A gym, a church fundraiser and a side hustle, start to finish with the numbers.
- Mistakes to avoid. The twelve things that sink new coffee brands.
- Place your first order. Nine steps from first call to finished bags, plus a checklist.
Plus four fill in worksheets to help you start your own coffee brand the right way: find your opportunity, build your brand, price your coffee, and a full launch checklist.
What It Really Costs to Start Your Own Coffee Brand
This is the part most people never get a straight answer on, so here is what it takes to start your own coffee brand with us. Your cost per bag is the coffee plus a $1.00 private label fee for bagging and labeling. Our house blends run $13 per pound, which works out to $9.75 per 12 oz bag or $65 per 5 lb bag. Single origins and custom blends are quoted.
A typical first order looks like this: 6 bags at $9.75 is $58.50, the private label fee is $6.00, and a custom designed label is $125 one time. Take off the $40 playbook credit and you are in for $149.50.
High quality, freshly roasted coffee sells for $18 to $25 a bag. At $22, your cost is $10.75 and you keep about $11.25 per bag, roughly a 51 percent margin. Orders over $500 qualify for a negotiated bulk rate, and the bigger the order, the bigger the savings. These are example numbers, not a promise of income. What you make depends on your pricing, your market and how hard you sell.
Our private label coffee program at a glance. 6 bag minimum, house blends at $9.75 a bag, and coffee roasted in 48 hours.
Sell First With Presales and a Roasting Schedule
The playbook teaches you to sell before you order. Every launch runs as a presale, so your coffee is paid for before it is ever roasted. It is the safest way to start your own coffee brand. You never guess how much to buy, and every bag your customers get is as fresh as it can be.
Then you set a regular roast day. Orders open, reminders go out, orders close, and your coffee is roasted and ready to ship 48 hours later. Customers learn the rhythm, and “don’t let the roast pass you by” becomes a reason to order today.
Your 30 Day Social Media Calendar
Most people who start their own coffee brand get stuck on what to post. The playbook gives you one post a day for your first 30 days, lined up with your launch. Every day includes a theme, a photo or video suggestion, a hook to open with, a call to action, and five hashtags. It starts with teasers and your story, builds into your presale, and finishes with roast day, unboxing and customer reposts. It is the easiest way to start your own coffee brand with an audience already waiting.
Who This Coffee Business Guide Is For
If you have ever said “I should start my own coffee brand,” this is for you. It works especially well for:
- Side hustlers looking for a real product instead of another course
- Cafe, bakery and restaurant owners who want their own house blend
- Gyms, yoga studios and churches with a loyal community
- Schools, teams and nonprofits that want a fundraiser people actually want
- Influencers, podcasters and creators with an audience
- Real estate agents and businesses that give branded coffee to clients and employees
Still working out the basics of running a business? The U.S. Small Business Administration has a free guide to planning your business that pairs well with this playbook.
From Playbook to Your First Bags
When you finish reading, you will be ready to order. Book your free consult, pick your coffee, bag color and grind, send your artwork or have us design your label, approve the proof, and we roast. That is how quickly you can start your own coffee brand once your plan is set.
You can pick up at our Concord coffee roastery, have us ship in bulk to you, or use our drop ship program to ship straight to your customers. Every bag is roasted to order and carries a roast date, the same way we handle fresh roasted coffee shipped nationwide for our own customers.
After launch, you are not on your own. For your first 6 months, we meet monthly for 30 minutes to look at what’s selling, plan your next roast, and share what we’re seeing work for other brands.
Want to taste fresh roasted specialty coffee before you choose? Browse our premium coffee lineup or our coffee sampler sets.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need any coffee experience to start my own coffee brand?
No. We handle sourcing, roasting and bagging. Your job is the brand, the customers and the selling, and the playbook walks you through each one.
How much does it cost to start your own coffee brand?
Our example first order of 6 bags with a custom designed label comes to $149.50 after the $40 playbook credit. If you already have your own label artwork, it is far less.
How does the $40 credit work?
When you place your first private label order with Berk’s Beans, give us your playbook order number and we take $40 off.
What bag sizes and options are available?
12 oz and 5 lb bags, with multiple bag colors and grind options chosen during your consultation and bag design. Other sizes can be discussed at your consultation.
Do you offer bulk pricing?
Yes. Private label orders over $500 qualify for a negotiated rate based on order size. The larger the order, the bigger the savings.
Do I have to live near Concord, California?
No. You can pick up at the roastery, have us ship in bulk to you, or use our drop ship program to ship straight to your customers.
How fast can I have my own coffee?
Once your label is approved, your coffee is roasted, bagged and ready to ship in 48 hours, plus shipping time.
What support do I get after I launch?
Private label clients get a monthly 30 minute growth call for their first 6 months, plus everything in the playbook.
Is this a good way to start your own coffee brand as a side hustle?
Yes. You can start with 6 bags, sell through presales so you never sit on stock, and grow on nights and weekends. Chapter 13 walks through a side hustle example start to finish.
Is this a physical book?
No. It is a 53 page PDF playbook you download right after checkout and can read on any phone, tablet or computer, or print.
We are a family owned roastery at 1717 Solano Way in Concord, California, FDA registered, open to the public, and rated 5.0 on Google. Wholesale and private label coffee make up most of what we roast, so this playbook comes straight from the work we do every week.
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