Saw a stat that 70% of specialty coffee roasters started during the pandemic

I was scrolling through a coffee industry report from SCA and that number just jumped out at me. Makes sense I guess since everyone was stuck at home experimenting with roasting pans and air poppers. My buddy in Austin started doing it in his garage back in 2020 and now he's got a legit wholesale contract with a local diner. Crazy how fast that happened.

3 comments

3 Comments

hugoj1212d ago

Buddy of mine down in Nashville started the same way with a Whirley Pop on his stovetop. He was just trying to save money during lockdown and ended up with a full online store selling beans from his kitchen. Now he's shipping to like five different states and still can't believe it worked out.

the_jennifer11d ago

Nashville's a hot market for sure but @hugoj12 his story is more the exception than the rule. Most of those pandemic pop-up roasters, five states or not, probably can't even cover rent on a commercial space after shipping costs eat their margins.

william_harris12d ago

Hold up a SECOND on that "70% of specialty coffee roasters started during the pandemic" stat. I went back and looked at that SCA report too, and I'm pretty sure it says 70% of NEW roasteries that opened in 2020-2021 were started by people with no prior commercial roasting experience. That's a big difference from saying seven out of ten roasters in general got their start back then. A LOT of the old guard roasters from the 2010s are still around and doing fine. The pandemic absolutely flooded the market with hobbyists who turned pro, but the established guys like Counter Culture and Stumptown have been at it for decades. Your buddy in Austin is definitely part of that 70% of newcomers though, and good for him for making it stick.