Coffee Bean Business

Coffee Bean Business Success Stories [2024]

Pat Walls

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Updated: October 10th, 2024

Ever dreamt of transforming your coffee ritual into a thriving business? Starting a coffee bean business is worth considering. In simple terms, it's about sourcing high-quality coffee beans directly from farmers and selling them to consumers or retailers.

You’ll need to build strong relationships with growers, ensure quality control, and differentiate your product in a market that loves its coffee. Initially, you might start small and focus on specialty beans, catering to the growing demand for unique flavors and ethical sourcing.

What makes this idea attractive? The global coffee market is vast and expanding. People are increasingly passionate about where their coffee comes from and are willing to pay a premium for excellent beans. It's a business that involves knowledge, passion, and a commitment to quality, offering a fulfilling path for coffee enthusiasts looking to turn their passion into profit.

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

1. Momentum Coffee and Coworking ($156K/year)

Tracy G. Powell and Nikki Bravo founded Momentum Coffee and Coworking in May 2020 with the goal of creating an affordable co-working space for underrepresented entrepreneurs in Chicago. Despite facing challenges during the pandemic, their strong relationships with customers, intentional partnerships, and active social media presence have helped them attract and retain customers, with their revenue reaching $17-20k per month.

How much money it makes: $156K/year
How much did it cost to start: $200K
How many people on the team: 4

How We Started A $13K/Month Coffee Shop And Coworking Space

Chicago based Ignite Technology and Innovation-owned Momentum Coffee & Coworking, which focuses on coffee, coworking, community, and event space, rakes in about $17-20k a month in revenue, mostly from online and offline advertising, and just celebrated their first anniversary, with plans to open 2 more locations in Chicago in under-resourced communities.

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2. Little Coffee Place ($96K/year)

Demri Robinson, the website manager and co-founder of Little Coffee Place, came up with the idea for their coffee blog after connecting online with Rodrigo, who had a mutual love for coffee. They decided to start the blog as a compilation of their coffee experiences and it has since grown to make $8k to $10k a month with 80,000 monthly viewers.

How much money it makes: $96K/year
How much did it cost to start: $500
How many people on the team: 4

How We Started A $8K/Month Blog For Coffee Lovers

Little Coffee Place, a website hub of coffee market information founded by Demri Robinson and Rodrigo, generates on average $8k to $10k a month and has 80,000 monthly viewers, with most of their income coming from Amazon affiliation, other coffee affiliates, and Mediavine advertisements.

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3. Fernweh ($36K/year)

Courtney, the founder of Fernweh, came up with the idea for her coffee subscription service after recognizing a gap in the market for featuring multiple coffee roasters in New Zealand. She saw an opportunity to offer customers a unique experience by showcasing different roasters each month and providing background stories. Despite facing challenges in the beginning, Courtney's business has grown steadily and now runs smoothly, attracting customers through the uniqueness of the subscriptions and support from marketing efforts such as Google ads, SEO, and collaborations with magazines.

How much money it makes: $36K/year
How much did it cost to start: $550
How many people on the team: 0

On Starting A Coffee Subscription Service As A Side Hustle

New Zealand-based Fernweh is a subscription service that offers subscribers a new coffee roaster featured in the country each month, delivering coffee, tasting notes, and a story about the producer in a unique package for around $40 a month.

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