Pomelo Coffee Consulting
We help specialty coffee roasters get profitable and optimize their operations.
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Who We Help
We help specialty coffee roasters in primary and secondary markets ensure they are profitable and establish systems that allow them to scale to the next level of growth for their roastery.
Roasters that are a good fit for us, are typically already open and operational. They are typically selling through 1,000+ lbs of coffee per week and the majority of their volume is through wholesale, white label and or co-packing.
If that sounds like your roaster, we’d love to hear from you.
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How We Help
Each engagement is unique but follows 3 key phases:
Phase 1 - Diagnostic Assessment - We begin with a diagnostic assessment of your business as a whole from your brand to your sales process all the way down to your people. This is where we look under the hood.
Phase 2 - Develop a Roadmap - After the diagnostic assessment, we provide a roadmap for operational improvement.
Phase 3 - Guide Implementation - Once the course is mapped out, we guide you in the process of implementation.
The Core 7
The Core 7 are seven areas that we have found to be the biggest operational hurdles for growing coffee roasters to get over.
We believe, that if you master The Core 7, your roaster won’t be following the pack, you’ll be leading it in your market.
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Sales - some think it's a dirty word but no matter what you think about it, your coffee roaster needs it to survive. In our experience, most roasters don't have an established sales process. This results in unpredictable sales, prospecting, partner care, and growth.
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That super special micro lot that blows your mind (and is also $17 a lbs.) likely isn’t the thing that offers stability to your coffee roaster.
Roasters need to diversify their offerings and provide additional items to their lineup that are not coffee in order to stay competitive.
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You’ve probably said or heard a roaster / owner say something like, “If we grow $x.xx in sales…if we open 3 more cafes…if we release more coffees like…we’ll become profitable.”
This is a fallacy of scale.
Scale has the potential to increase your buying power & decrease your cost. Scale doesn’t mean that you’ll wake up & be profitable as a result. Profitability is a practice not a goal.
Like kinetic energy, if you are profitable today you’ll likely continue to be profitable tomorrow and the converse is also true.
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How should I buy green coffee?
When should I buy green?
How much green should I buy?
Where should I buy from?
All of these are great questions, and the answers are just as unique as you are. The how, what, when and why behind your green buying should have good answers and we’re here to help you think through this and develop a sustainable process for your green coffee buying practices.
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The things that got you here today will not be what gets you to where you’d like to go.
Your roastery operations will need to evolve, improve and be iterated on.
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Your people are what allow you to do the work you do. They are the backbone, the heartbeat, and the movement of your business. How you care for them, hire them, train them, coach them and lead them shouldn’t be an afterthought. You should be putting forethought into your people practices.
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If wholesale is a core element of your business, it should be something that you spend time working to develop, care for, and improve your wholesale partnerships.
Curious how your roaster sizes up?
Take this 14 question assessment to see where we might be able to help & we’ll follow up with you after.
Our 3 Phased Approach
While each engagement is unique, we have developed a 3 phased approach that we follow for every engagement regardless of the desired outcomes, deliverables and duration of the engagement.
Phase 1 - Diagnostic Assessment
We begin with a diagnostic assessment of 1 or all of The Core 7 operational areas that we’ve found to be the biggest hurdles for growing specialty coffee roasters.
Phase 2 - Develop a Roadmap
After the diagnostic assessment, we provide a roadmap for operational improvement.
Phase 3 - Guide Implementation - Once the course is mapped out, we guide you in the process of implementation.
POMELO TIERS
POMELO TIERS
Tier 1 - The Core 7
Best For: Roasters who gross $4,000,000+ annually.
What you get: Quarterly onsite visit, (3) meetings a month, custom calculators, resources and more. This tier equips roasters who are ready for sustainable growth and expansion.
Why This Tier: This is a comprehensive roaster assessment, roadmap and guided implementation for those who are ready to engage in their regional or the national market.
Tier 2 - À La Carte
Best For: Roasters who gross $2,000,000+ annually.
What you get: For this tier, we determine which of the Core 7 elements would most benefit your roaster and focus our time there.
Why This Tier: If you have found a hurdle that you just can’t make it over, this tier is for your roastery whether it’s in the area of sales, people, process or something else.
Tier 3 - Advisory
Best For: Roasters who gross less than $1,000,000 annually.
What you get: Your roaster will receive access to a PCC team member for (1) monthly advisory call and as needed correspondence via email.
Why This Tier: This tier is helpful for solopreneurs in need of guidance on structure, systems and processes that are needed for the next season of roastery growth.
the people say…
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New Math Coffee
“For roastery consulting and buildout, Luke from pomelo is someone I can’t recommend enough. Highly seasoned in operations management, he can break down the costs of such an endeavor down to the smallest possible details while keeping the overall purpose clearly at the forefront of planning.”
Mikey Rinaldo - Owner & Roaster
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Five & Hoek Coffee
“Luke & pomelo have helped us streamline a lot of our systems. My favorite tool that I’ve used for 3 years now is the coffee pricing calculator. This tool helps me pinpoint my margins and decide which coffee to bring in every time I make a green coffee purchase.”
Tyler Fivecoat - Co-Owner & Roaster
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Sakrid Coffee
“For as long as I’ve dreamt of opening and operating a cafe, Luke has been a trusted advocate and friend in helping make my hopes of brewing coffee a reality. Because coffee is my passion and my work, I want to do it well; I want to honor those who grow it, who roast it, who brew it, and who sip it. Luke has not only supported that passion, but he has helped shape it, inform it, and connect it to my unfolding journey as a small cafe owner and operator here in Chicago.”
Joey Dearduff
Chicago Opening GM
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Muse Coffee Studio
When I first met Luke, I mostly only had an idea for a coffee shop and the hope that it could happen. After our first meeting, I went from hoping it could work to knowing it would. Luke has a special quality that you don't find often (anywhere, let alone in a space that is so competitive and ubiquitous). He has a genuine sincerity that is immediately evident. No question was unimportant. No misunderstanding was met with any judgement or frustration. He freely shared from his expansive toolkit and made sure I understood. He gave me insight on sourcing beans, my menu, inventory management, operations, and so many other things. If you have a desire to learn about coffee, build a coffee shop, or grow in any capacity within the coffee space, I would highly recommend Luke, Lev Co, and Pomelo.
George Davis Jr. - Owner
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Sidecar Coffee
Working with Luke and Pomelo has been of great benefit to Sidecar as a company and me personally. Luke fielded some of my thorniest questions and asked me some tough ones as well. Together we looked over our company in an organized way for the first time and were able to find areas of strength and potential areas for growth. Sidecar will be a stronger organization over the long term because of our work with Luke and I'd recommend him to anybody looking to work on the durability and longevity of their company.