To start your coffee brand in London, decide your route: private label (fastest), contract roasting (custom profiles), or your own roastery (highest control, highest cost), then set up supply, packaging, compliance, and sales. Validate a positioning (origin, process, roast style, brew method) with a 10–15 person cupping using 3–5 sample lots from UK importers like Falcon, DRWakefield, or Mercanta; lock a six‑month forecast and hedge with two origins to manage seasonality. For private label or contract roasting, negotiate MOQs (typically 60–120 kg/month), profile approval, and toll fees; specify 250 g/1 kg formats, degassing valve, OPRL‑rated recyclable pouch, and GS1 barcodes. If roasting/packing yourself, secure a light‑industrial site with three‑phase power and ventilation, install a 5–12 kg roaster and afterburner, register as a food business with your borough 28 days before production, and implement HACCP plus water activity/CO2 checks. Price to 65–70% gross margin D2C and 35–45% wholesale; model unit economics incl. green + roasting + packaging + pick/pack + Royal Mail Tracked 24/48. Launch on Shopify with a subscription, grind options, and clear brew recipes; add wholesale via samples to offices, cafés, and caterers; prove quality with SCA coursework, Q‑grader support, and consistent roast curves, and tight post-roast QC audits.
