I am thrilled to present this amazing conversation w/ Klaus Thompson to you all today! The Coffee Collective is at the top of a very short list of the world’s best and most influential roasters. Today’s guest, Klaus Thompson, is not only a Danish barista champion but is also the 2006 World Barista Champion. In 2007 Klaus, along with his co-founders Peter N. Dupont and Casper Engel Rasmussen, founded the Coffee Collective with a mission to build a different kind of coffee business from the ground up. One the focused on sustainability and hospitality both at the farm and in the cafe. For the last 13 years they have been growing the company slowly, responsibly, and are what many consider the vanguard of direct trade, transparent business practices, and the epitome of quality from seed to cup. Today they have a thriving wholesale business, global web store, and 6 amazing retail locations, and continue their positive impact on the specialty coffee industry.
Of course, you don’t get to this level without challenges, grit, determination, and lessons learned along the way. In this conversation we get an inside look into the story of the Coffee Collective from the first day until now and Klaus truly delivers some great insights and wisdom that we would do well to follow.
We discuss:
- What it took to get started
- The goal of transforming the way coffee business is done
- Challenges in the early years
- Site selection and lessons from failures
- The value of starting small
- How retail fueled wholesale
- Creating a practical and personalized space
- Scaling the business and engaging customers
- Becoming more professional
- Prioritizing areas of the business
- Approach to sustainability
- Become a B-Corp
- Their long term goal and why it is never about profit
Links:
Coffee Collective on Instagram
Coffee Collective Youtube channel
Related Episodes:
242 : A Conversation with James Hoffmann
196 : Understanding Customer Preferences w/ Peter Giuliano
145: Founder Friday w/ Red Rooster Coffee Roasters co-founder, Haden Polseno-Hensley
Starting a shop -or- want to level up you operations? KTTS Consulting can help! | Email me: Chris@keystotheshop.com
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