Sales for coffee roasters selling online are generally low during July and August. Extremely hot temperatures in the southern United States make drinking coffee and other hot beverages less appealing during the summer.
However, this season gives coffee roasters a great opportunity to start planning for Q4 by building a strategy that can drive 10% to 20% sales growth in Q4 and Q1.
I have been working with coffee co-packers for about eight years. Year after year, I have helped grow sales for coffee and tea brands by 20% to 500%.
In 2022, I managed the Mayorga Coffee Amazon account and doubled sales during my time at Lab 916.
In this article, I’ll share four strategies that have made my coffee growth approach successful across Amazon, Shopify, and Facebook Shop. We’ll start with product assortment and finish with advertising.
👉 Product Assortment
You must understand that the Amazon search results page is critical to your success when selling on Amazon.
Many coffee roasters want to emphasize the country of origin or highlight that their coffee is organic. Unfortunately, that is not always what most consumers are searching for when they shop for coffee online.
We discovered a correlation between the way people shop for coffee at Starbucks and how they shop on Amazon and other online platforms. Most people choose coffee based on roast type, such as light roast, medium roast, dark roast, or extra dark roast.
Here is a picture of a recent Starbucks coffee pod package.
The key takeaway is to lead with the roast type on the left side of the product title. The closer it is to the beginning of the title, the better.
👉 Pricing Online
Most coffee roasters get pricing wrong. For example, selling a 2-pound bag for $34 or a 5-pound bag for $60 can create friction if the brand is still unfamiliar to customers.
- Consumers may not be familiar with your product, so they may hesitate to buy it at a premium price.
- You may not yet have strong retail presence, and many shoppers first discover products in stores before buying online.
- Trying a new coffee can feel risky to customers, especially when the price point is above $34.
Below 👇 we are sharing our recommendation for how to price coffee online.
You should think about pricing around three different customer journeys.
The first price, for a 12oz bag, is usually the loss leader. At this price point, you give customers a lower-risk way to try your product. We often see that around 20% to 40% of customers love the product, while 60% to 80% do not become repeat buyers.
Customers who love the product typically upgrade to the 2lb option because they see the value and savings.
👉 Image Optimization
When it comes to image optimization, many coffee roasters fail to remind shoppers what the actual coffee beans look like.
- Visual learners: Around 65% of people are visual learners, meaning they retain information better when they can see it. Visuals such as diagrams, maps, graphs, pictures, and demonstrations can improve processing time and help people remember what they are seeing.
See the example below—only 1 out of 6 listings shows coffee beans next to the product.
🏆 I always recommend that my coffee clients showcase the coffee beans in their images. By adding the beans, shoppers are immediately reminded of the product, which can increase CTR and perceived value.
👉 Advertising
All three elements—product assortment, pricing, and image optimization—will contribute to your success when selling DTC, on Amazon, Walmart, or any other platform.
- Google Ads — We recommend Performance Max and loading up on creative assets.
- Amazon Ads — Sponsored Ads and Brand Ads (banner or video) to help win first clicks.
- Facebook & Instagram — We recommend Advantage+ Campaigns to drive sales through Facebook Shop.
- TikTok Ads — We only recommend advertising creator videos that have already generated sales.
P.S. There are many opportunities online, especially if you are already selling in retail stores.
