Coffee Shop Suppliers: How to Select Coffee Shop Suppliers and Vendors

Coffee Shop Suppliers: How to Select Coffee Shop Suppliers and Vendors

Coffee is a daily habit for 60% of Americans. The American coffee market is the world’s largest — driving $80 billion in revenue in 2022. With such a massive market, opening a coffee shop can be a successful venture. 

The startup and operating costs for coffee shops tends to be lower than other types of restaurants. And coffee can sell at higher profit margins than other food and beverage items.

Suppliers make a huge impact on any business’s bottom line, but especially in the competitive world of coffee. Your coffee shop suppliers can help you offer the best quality food and service to your customers at the lowest price possible.

Read on to learn how to find coffee shop suppliers to keep your prices competitive and your costs in check without sacrificing quality.

The importance of great coffee shop suppliers

We touched on the importance of suppliers in the last section, but let’s break down exactly why different types of suppliers are so crucial.

• Food and beverage suppliers are the lifeblood of your business, providing you with the ingredients you need to make your menu items. The prices that your food and beverage suppliers charge will directly impact the prices you can offer your customers.

• Equipment suppliers and repair suppliers ensure you have all the coffee shop equipment you need, from an espresso machine to storage and shelving. They’ll also help you with maintenance, which can be a scary unplanned expense.

• Menu suppliers will help you make the perfect menu to showcase some personality to customers and help them interface with your brand. Your menu is one of the best ways to show off your unique coffee shop concept.

• Laundry suppliers can save you time by washing all of your towels, rags, uniforms, table linens, and anything else you need.

Technology suppliers keep your coffee shop up to date with restaurant technology that can streamline operations and save money.

Essential coffee shop suppliers

Every coffee shop needs suppliers. Below, we’ll go into more detail about some of the types of suppliers we mentioned above.

Food and beverage suppliers

Every type of restaurant has different specific needs, and coffee shops will likely need to source more than just coffee beans. As such, you might need multiple food and beverage suppliers for the different requirements of your business.

When searching for food and beverage suppliers, keep the following in mind.

Menu needs

Though coffee is your coffee shop’s number one priority, most coffee suppliers won’t offer the baked goods or sandwich ingredients that you want to offer at your shop. If you have a breakfast and lunch menu, you may need suppliers for a range of different items, depending on whether you offer items pre-made or if you make them fresh in the store.

Sales volume

Food waste is a constant problem in the restaurant industry. Between 4-10% of food purchased by restaurant leaders never gets used. Food waste is frustrating on its own, but it also costs your coffee shop money.

When making food and beverage orders, make sure you have a firm understanding of your sales volume at different stages of the week so you can make the best estimate of how much to order. Restaurant reporting and analytics tools and inventory management solutions by Toast can help you determine the right amount.

Delivery requirements

When do you want to receive deliveries? How much storage do you have for new deliveries? Does it cost more to get deliveries at a certain time? Think through the exact delivery schedule you want from different suppliers to streamline your operations and make sure it fits into your budget.

Equipment suppliers

Coffee shops have unique equipment needs that other food establishments don’t have. Consider the following when looking into equipment suppliers.

Consult your menu

It’s a bit of a ‘the chicken or the egg’ thing, but when choosing equipment suppliers, make sure you know what you want to make before you get the equipment you need to make it. It’s easier to remove french fries from the menu if you don’t have space for a fryer than it is to adjust the menu to justify buying a fryer.

Know what’s essential for your coffee shop, like an espresso machine, a dishwasher, and a few refrigerators, before moving on to the equipment you’d like to have, such as a grill or industrial oven.

Measure your space

We alluded to this a moment ago, but you definitely don’t want to invest in a piece of equipment that doesn’t fit in your coffee shop’s space. Design may have a big impact on what you can put in your kitchen or how you lay out a dining area. Measure thoroughly before contacting an equipment supplier.

Consider new vs. used

Like anything, you can save money by choosing used equipment over new equipment. Many equipment suppliers lease industrial equipment to coffee shops and restaurants, so it might make more financial sense to buy a used item rather than lease it from a supplier. Sure, you might pay more upfront, but the long-term savings could be worth it.

Menu suppliers

Depending on your coffee shop, you might not need paper menus — you could just put the menu on a chalkboard above the bar. But if you offer table service or want to give customers the option to sit down before ordering, menus are a crucial way to interface with customers. 

Think about these three things when considering a menu supplier.

Your coffee shop concept

What’s your coffee shop’s vibe? What’s important to the branding and overall mission of your coffee shop? You might not have thought about this since working on your coffee shop business plan, but searching for a menu supplier is a great opportunity to think about it.

Menus come in all kinds of varieties, from single-use paper to high-end binders. Would your shop benefit from a classier menu? Do you change menu items enough that it doesn’t make sense to spend on high-end menus? Do you even need menus? Only you can answer these questions.

Durability

If you want menus that will stand the test of time, you need to know if a supplier can deliver durable menus. Stuff spills at coffee shops, and if your menus are important, make sure to have the supplier do a test run on menu waterproofing and overall durability.

Aesthetics

Menus are an important branding tool and can even serve as a component in an overall marketing strategy. A supplier must be able to create a menu that matches your brand vision and meets your expectations.

Laundry suppliers

Coffee shops won’t have the same laundry needs that a high-end, white tablecloth restaurant does, but it still is likely an essential need for your business. Here are a few things to keep in mind when shopping for laundry suppliers.

Laundry requirements

Your coffee shop probably doesn’t need an industrial, full-service cleaner. Depending on the size of your business and the types of items you need washed regularly, you could just handle laundry yourself. But if you don’t have the time, there are plenty of local laundry companies or national services like Rinse that can help.

Budget

Again, doing the laundry yourself is more cost-effective than hiring a supplier, so if you’re tight on budget, don’t bother hiring a supplier.

Reputation

If you do decide to hire a laundry supplier, make sure your due diligence to find a company that can support your needs and is well-regarded in the restaurant industry. Look at online reviews and gather as many first-person testimonials as you can before choosing a supplier.

Repair suppliers

Pro tip: Your equipment and repair suppliers may be the same company. After all, who better to repair equipment than the people who leased it to you in the first place? If you’re looking for a different repair supplier, think about these things.

Equipment expertise

Not all restaurant equipment is the same, especially if you’re comparing a fast food joint to a coffee shop. Suppliers should have experience with espresso machines, coffee grinders, and the unique equipment you use in your coffee shop.

Reputation

When you shop for any kind of service, you want to know you’re paying for a reliable, trustworthy supplier. Look at the online reviews and gather first-person testimonial from other coffee shop owners before locking in a repair supplier.

Reliability and speed

Your equipment is often essential to operating your coffee shop. As such, you need a repair supplier who is reliable and works fast so that you don’t lose business during prime selling hours.

Technology suppliers

The food and beverage industry has embraced technology to streamline operations, save money, and grow. There are many types of restaurant technology out there today, with myriad benefits. However, it doesn’t make sense to pay a half dozen different suppliers for tech services that can be done by one company.

A strong restaurant technology provider, such as Toast, is essential for helping a coffee shop optimize operations. Everything from a point-of-sale (POS) system built for your needs, automated staff and payroll management tools, and streamlined guest-facing tools, such as self-serve kiosks, online ordering, and QR codes, can all supply tech-driven optimizations to your restaurant.

How to find coffee shop suppliers

You know what you need, so how do you find them? Fortunately, suppliers want your business just as much as you want theirs, so it’s not too difficult to find the right suppliers. Here are a few things you can do.

Online directories and marketplaces

If you Google “coffee shop suppliers,” you’ll see just how many options there are. Narrow your search further to the specific types of suppliers that you’re looking for, and you’ll find online directories and marketplaces to point you in the right direction. Any respectable supplier will have made it a point to be on the most prominent web-based resources.

With online tools, you’ll be able to sort by location, specialization, budget, and more to find what you’re looking for.

Industry associations and trade shows

The coffee business is booming and there’s no shortage of coffee associations and trade shows. These are great opportunities to meet other people in the coffee shop business, who can be an invaluable resource when it comes to finding local suppliers for a variety of needs.

We spoke about vetting the reputation of suppliers before signing contracts with them, but getting recommendations from trusted coffee leaders is a good way to narrow down your search first. Joining industry associations and attending trade shows will get you in a network with the right people.

Cold-calling and prospecting

You won’t have to cold-call or prospect very hard to find suppliers who want your business. As such, it’s important to shop around a bit to find the best prices and offers that different suppliers can give you. Gather quotes before making a final decision.a

Find the right suppliers to bring the buzz to your coffee shop

Your coffee shop suppliers will make a difference in your profit margin, and will be crucial to maintaining the quality of your food and service. You want to get the best ingredients and supplies possible without dipping too far into your budget. 

So, shop around, prioritize your biggest needs, and make sure to vet each supplier thoroughly before putting ink to paper.