# Wholesale Pricing - thoughts?



## RDC8 (Dec 6, 2016)

Hi all. I have an opportunity coming up to meet the GM of a local up-scale hotel with a view to them purchasing my coffee beans as they are keen to be seen to purchase locally wherever possible. This place is well known for exceptional quality in everything they do.

My question is not "how much should I charge?" as I can work this out from the cost of the inputs. Rather, I was wondering what a place like this might be paying already for their coffee beans.I know I should be able to make the case for buying fresh, local, quality etc; but they are a business and will be focussed on cost control! So I dont want to suggest a price beyond their willingness to pay.

I realise that my choice of bean(s) to supply will be driven by the price they might be prepared to pay ... a lower price from them will probably mean a lower value bean gets used in their blend(s) as I still need to make a margin to make it worthwhile.

After selling to friends, family, and work colleagues, this has the potential to be my first wholesale customer.

I realise this sort of information could be commercially sensitive, but any insights would be greatly appreciated.


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## Batian (Oct 23, 2017)

Have you (discretely) established what they are serving at the moment? That's where the family and friends you have been looking after come in!

With that information you can guestimate what their current supplier is charging by researching the price of his greens etc.

It may also give you the information to present a case (to the hotel) to be buying your better quality and ethical sourcing etc

Then you can come to a decision on what you are prepared to supply and for how much.

When the crunch talks come, have some top notch samples ready.


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## RDC8 (Dec 6, 2016)

Thanks. Good idea sending in a "mystery guest" to see what they are currently doing









They have asked for some samples, so my plan is to meet with the GM (and head chef) to see exactly what they are looking for, and then roast accordingly.


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## Coffeejon (Oct 10, 2014)

I basically have to cost it per KG. So how much is 1(roasted KG) of coffee, bag, label, electricity, delivery etc etc. So you get your actual cost. Then add what you feel is a reasonable margin, so you actually do make a reasonable amount on it. This gave me my base figure, as anything below isn't worth bothering about.

Also, google is your friend, as roasters do state their commercial P/KG price and you can also see what types of beans they are using to get an idea of their cost price.


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## 4085 (Nov 23, 2012)

Come up with a two or three bean blend that you can hopefully replicate throughout the year, as opposed to single origin. They will not be worried about the artisan approach, but will want a reasonable bean available throughout the year. With so much variance on bean quality and price already, I would not get hung up on pricing too much. Just stress local, roasted to order etc and see who blinks first. I am not always sure in the food and beverage industry that the margins are there on other goods if you buy in bulk. If you bought 100 cases of gin, you might save 5%


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## espressotechno (Apr 11, 2011)

A Scottish commercial roaster of my acquaintance charges around £13 per kg to a catering customer: 6x1kg case, valve bags, 100% arabica blends. Larger orders get a discount.

PS It's tasty stuff, especially their Fairtrade espresso beans.


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

You are always welcome to pop over for a chat and a free cup of coffee....I am not exactly a long way from you. It's free (except for £1.50 in fuel) and I can talk you through what I know tends to happen having had experience with large wholesale suppliers of roasted to businesses (one I am friendly with) in this area. I also have some thoughts on how you might want to proceed, having been in similar situations before.


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## RDC8 (Dec 6, 2016)

dfk41 said:


> Come up with a two or three bean blend that you can hopefully replicate throughout the year, as opposed to single origin. They will not be worried about the artisan approach, but will want a reasonable bean available throughout the year. With so much variance on bean quality and price already, I would not get hung up on pricing too much. Just stress local, roasted to order etc and see who blinks first. I am not always sure in the food and beverage industry that the margins are there on other goods if you buy in bulk. If you bought 100 cases of gin, you might save 5%


Thanks @dfk41 I have been working on a three-bean blend that I'm pretty happy with so my thinking is to provide samples of both the blend and a SO and let them experiment with filter drip and espresso to see which they prefer.


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## Hasi (Dec 27, 2017)

Exciting stuff mate!

I'm in a similar situation - only having talked to that person about the maybes and whatifs a couple times, already. It's a friend of mine who's running a restaurant in the area.

It was actually him proposing to also sell bags to people interested in taking them home.

So maybe it would be a chance for you to lay out your strategy, accordingly. Be it a barter deal (coffee regular price, but 10 free 250g bags per month for souvenirs/giveaways/etc. - or whatever is appropriate), or an additional means to boost turnover, or both... just an idea potentially worth calculating with.


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## RDC8 (Dec 6, 2016)

DavecUK said:


> You are always welcome to pop over for a chat and a free cup of coffee....I am not exactly a long way from you. It's free (except for £1.50 in fuel) and I can talk you through what I know tends to happen having had experience with large wholesale suppliers of roasted to businesses (one I am friendly with) in this area. I also have some thoughts on how you might want to proceed, having been in similar situations before.


Thanks @DavecUK I'll take you up on your offer some time in the next wee while. Away for a bit over the bank holiday weekend but will be in touch when back. cheers


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

RDC8 said:


> Thanks @DavecUK I'll take you up on your offer some time in the next wee while. Away for a bit over the bank holiday weekend but will be in touch when back. cheers


Always welcome....


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## hasyldz (Aug 21, 2018)

Working in the speciality coffee environment and owning a cafe, i can confirm that from prices i have from a variety of roasters, kg price is anywhere from £16-22 depending on origin beans brand etc.


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