SCA Chicago Coffee Expo 2024
Things we Learned
The coffee industry is gigantic
We had more than a couple dizzy “woah” moments when strolling the expo floor. There were so many roasters, growers, brew ware brands, packaging booths, competitions, oh my! the expo buzzed all day long with excitement & energy (prob partly because the coffee) and we packed in over 20k steps and packed our tote bags with lots of samples.
Our Pricing was too slim…
We attended an awesome financial-focused lecture by Luke Waite of Pomelo Coffee Consulting, and it opened our eyes to a whole different level of our business health. After hours of P&L and bag calculator work (“crunchin’ numbs”) we found that we weren’t accounting for a couple pretty important costs - overall operational costs and Becca’s time.
When we launched last November, we aimed to keep our prices as low as possible considering the cost of Green Coffee, Packaging, Labels, etc. but those levels are not sustaining our roastery. To make sure we can make this OMMCR machine run smoothly for years to come, we’re increasing our coffee prices by about 30% with a regular 8oz bag of coffee now priced at $12.
We have a packaging update on the horizon…
We were impressed by many companies offering eco-friendly and compostable packaging, particularly Savor Brands savorbrands.com. We love our black tin-tie bags, but have wanted a bag that is compostable and has a gas valve for freshness. For those of you who have a subscription or order our coffee regularly, we understand that our bags may be piling up and feel like a waste to throw away. Just know that Pauly is working on a solution that’s not only functional, but also beautiful!
There’s no end to brewing innovation…
Just when we thought we’d tried every brewing method, Hario delighted us with their new Immersion Dripper. We quickly snagged one, and have been brewing on it all week. The flavor is great, it has the punchy-ness of a French Press brew minus the muddy consistency. If you want to add some pizzazz to your coffee counter, we definitely recommend giving this one a try.
onward, ommCR!
The expo reignited our love for coffee, and sparked ideas on how to be a better business. There are endless options when it comes to coffee, so we will continue to play and improve. We’re here to have a good time, and hope you do, too.