Dropship Partner Page - Updates and Latest News.
September 8, 2021.
Fall is in the air and Pumpkin Spice is the flavor of the week. If your brand does flavored, now is the time to be sure you have both Mint and Pumpkin Spice listed.
Sales are strong with SSS up 3.4% over last year.
Remember that this is a holiday week, so there are shipping delays as expected.
All lines are running at 3-4 business days but add +1 to normal shipping expectations.
Both USPS and UPS report extremely high volumes and expect it to be the same for the rest of the year.
Best sellers last week were:
1) Flavored Sample Pack
2) African Espresso
3) Best Seller Sample Pack
4) 6 Bean
5) Pumpkin Spice
6) Cowboy
7) Bali
8) Blonde
9) Single Origin Sample Pack
10) Breakfast Blend
Please remember that as volumes increase and more of our partners order for events and festivals that the commercial line will move closer to 5 business day lead times. Be sure to plan ahead. Allow 3 weeks from order to your event to allow for any issue that may come up on the shipping side.
We are seeing an increase in orders not being able to be processed due to missing labels. Please be sure that you only list/sell products that have approved labels on file. In order to give you complete control of the labels requires us to also give you complete responsibility. This means there is no mechanism to notify you when you fail to provide a label. The result is orders that cannot process and cannot ship. Please double check that all of your listed products have labels and if you see an order sitting unshipped, please check the sku/label assignment and correct the issue so the order can be shipped.
All origins and supplies are in stock. We are still experiencing bag supply issues and fully expect to have to substitute bag-colors during the holiday season. We expect this to continue to be an issue until the supply chain can recover...likely the end of Q1 2022 at the earliest. An odd turn of events has resulted in large supplies of white stand up pouches being in stock and this will be the go to in the event it becomes necessary.
We are adding in additional ZOOM meetings for new/inquiring partners. If you have questions or want to join, contact us and request to be scheduled. These will be much less formal and smaller than the monthly meeting to allow for better direct interaction/questions.
All indicators suggest record breaking holiday demand this year - be sure to get set up early to take full advantage.
Have a great week!!
August 22, 2021.
Here is Wednesday's ZOOM invite.
We encourage all partners to attend. Let us know if you have conflicts with time as we are considering adding a 2nd time each month to be sure all partners can attend. The info is now more important than ever as we discuss:
Supply Chain Issues, Fulfillment in the Current Environment and Answer Any and All Questions - submit them early. There are a lot this week. We encourage both brand new and seasoned partners to participate as the coffee world and the online sales world are constantly changing.
Bryan is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Monthly Partner Call.
Time: Aug 25, 2021 09:00 AM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82105605991?pwd=MUZhdGd4eG1hQUI3TDl6QzVXTmhqUT09
Meeting ID: 821 0560 5991
Passcode: 059773
Have a great week!!
August 17, 2021
Happy Tuesday!
Sales continue to be strong with SSS up 4% over last quarter.
Be sure to send in your questions for next weeks Zoom Call it will be 8/25 at 09:00 Pacific. Invite will go out next week.
We will cover some new trends and discuss the long COVID impacts and the large number of requests for coffee that is "low in acid" and GERD friendly. We will also review the fulfillment process and of course answer any and all questions.
We saw some interesting trends this past week.
Our #1 selling coffee was African Espresso.
Coarse ground was 26% of all orders - a fairy dramatic tell that cold brew is hot!
Blonde in Whole Bean rose to 4% of all orders (this is high for a single offering) and a clear indicator that we are hitting the bean to cup market in the right spot.
COVID continues to impact every aspect of the business. Supplies are still in short supply, coffee prices are hitting all time highs and of course staff is impacted by precautions/exposure outside of work and they are doing an awesome job at keeping orders moving.
USPS is also being impacted. Our pickups are at random times and 1st scan in is in some cases being delayed 1-2 days...we have even had some orders scanned for the 1st time at delivery. We will work with them to fix this but it may be a new 'normal'.
All lines are running right at 3-4 days. Error rate continues to be extremely low at 0.03%.
The rest of best sellers this week:
2-4) sample sets
5) 6 Bean
6) Holiday/Christmas
7) Bali
8) Cold
9) Cowboy
10) Blend + (A bit of a skew due to 1 HVP selling a lot of it this week)
Have a great week and we will see you next week!
UPDATE: ZOOM call date moved:
We have had to push back the monthly call by 1 week - it will now be on Aug 4th @ 9:00.
Bryan is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Coffee - trends, supply, Q&A
Time: Aug 4, 2021 09:00 AM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/92353572550?pwd=MHZ4em1CczBKd1NhMzlRTjI5WVJIdz09
Meeting ID: 923 5357 2550
Passcode: 214864
July 20, 2021
July is in full swing and coffee sales remain brisk.
This week the coffee market saw some huge swings of its own.
On Monday, the coffee market dipped on news that new COVID cases would result in more shutdowns and limitations that would decrease demand. By 2:00 this morning, that dip was erased and new highs in place as news of the freeze in Brazil and expected damage to an already suffering coffee crop. We will discuss this and its impacts further during next weeks ZOOM call. Be sure to forward any questions you have by Friday for that meeting as well.
Topics will include:
Selling trends
Supply crisis (non-coffee)
Coffee supply and the outlook for the next 2yrs.
Questions regarding:
Sales trends for the holidays
Bundling
Subscriptions/Monthly Offerings
How to adapt as your niche develops
Any and all others submitted before Friday.
ZOOM Invite at the end of this message
Shipping and supply chain issues are once again in the forefront of our process. We fully expect outages of many bag colors between now and the holidays. Your choice will always be used if available but expect substitutions for the near future.
At this time, all products and packaging is in stock but suppliers have given warning that this shortage will be worse than the initial 2020 issues.
Best sellers last week:
1) Italian - represents large direct ship orders
2-4) Sample packs
5) Mexico
6) Cold Brew
7) 6 Bean
8) Bali
9) Costa Rica
10) Colombia
We are still running right at 3-4 business days on all lines.
We are experiencing highly variable pick up times by USPS so some orders are shipping day after expected. We would anticipate this to be the new 'norm'.
Have a great week and keep up the strong sales!!
Bryan is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Coffee - trends, supply, Q&A
Time: Jul 28, 2021 09:00 AM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/92353572550?pwd=MHZ4em1CczBKd1NhMzlRTjI5WVJIdz09
Meeting ID: 923 5357 2550
Passcode: 214864
Meeting ID: 923 5357 2550
Passcode: 214864
Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/acRyT6Irts
July 6th, 2021
Happy Tuesday Drop Ship Partners.
We hope you had a great weekend and enjoyed Independence Day!
We are now in Q3 which means you will hear more and more about preparing for the Holiday season.
It was part of the focus of last weeks ZOOM and more will be discussed next time. If you are new to online retail, you need to know that you will see well prepared/positioned stores will have 30-50% of the year's sales from Oct 15th to Jan 15th and capturing those buyers can mean recurrent buyers for the entire year.
Being well prepared means not scrambling to create content, specials and product listings at the last minute when we are busy with parties, end of year tasks and shopping.
Last weeks sales confirm the previous trend assumptions.
Bean to cup machines are more popular than every and Cold Brew is selling at record breaking levels.
Top sellers last week:
1) Best sellers Sample Pack
2) 6 Bean Espresso
3) Cold Brew
4) Flavored Sample Pack
5) Cowboy -A lot of course ground(cold brew fav.)
6) Single Origin Sample Pack
7) Bali
8) Breakfast Blend +
9) French
10) Colombia
K style pods came in 12th, 15th and 16th indicating a trend towards buyers appreciating the option to buy great specialty grade, roast and pack single use pods. Remember these are not intended to compete with big box 12 month old nitro purged pods. They are a convenient way to enjoy a great cup of coffee.
Have a great week!
Important notice.
Please remember that the EU wide VAT requirement went into effect today.
International orders to the EU will not be delivered until VAT is collected. TCR does not and cannot collect or submit VAT on your behalf. Please do not accept orders to any address in the EU.
Thanks!
June 29, 2021
Good afternoon!
Wow, what a shift in buying as the weather got severe....
Sales in Cold Brew/coarse ground hit a record last week.
Top sellers:
1) Cold Brew
2) African Blend (a very popular cold brew)
3) Best Sellers Sample pack.
4) Single Origin Sample pack.
5) Mexico
6) Mint/Mex. Choc - tied
7) Flavored Coffee Samples
8) Bali
9) Colombia
10) 6 Bean.
Be sure to join the ZOOM call tomorrow to catch up on all the latest news, the Coffee Crisis, and getting ready for the holiday season. We will also do Q&A on any topic.
Have a great week!
June 22, 2021
Good morning Drop ship partners!
We hope you all enjoyed the Father's Day weekend.
Top 10 sellers last week: Some interesting new trends!!
1) 6 Bean
2) Best Sellers Sample Pack
3) Flavored Sample Pack
4) Whiskey Barrel
5) Mexico
6) Cold Brew
7) Bali
8) Single Origin Sample Pack
9) Breakfast Blend +
10) African Blend
The impacts of the current "coffee supply crisis" are beginning to hit retail buyers and will be a focus of this month's Zoom call. We will also talk about getting ready for the Holiday sales season and we have a list of questions to answer. Be sure to forward any questions you would like to discuss by Monday night.
Next week's Invite:
Bryan is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: The Current Coffee Crisis/What to expect for the Holiday season.
Time: Jun 30, 2021 09:00 AM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/97040875192?pwd=MFA4TTgvNHhaR1gvd0s0OGg4bDBtQT09
Meeting ID: 970 4087 5192
Passcode: 369698
Have a great week!
Important news! Q3 update will take place on 06/15.
Happy Tuesday!
New products are available starting today. BLOND is already selling fast.
Mint is a very popular summer flavored coffee and we expect to see it in the top 10 soon.
Sales of espresso and cold brew are very strong.
The new bourbon barrel is ready - single origin Guatemala will remain the dropship option.
Best sellers the past 7 days:
Sample sets
4) Cold Brew
5) 6 Bean
6) Cowboy
7) African Blend/Espresso
8) Mexican Chocolate
9) Bali
10) Ethiopia
Both Drop Ship and Commercial lines are running ahead at 2-4 business days.
The coffee supply crisis is really hitting the supply chain, so expect to see competitive changes in the next month or so. Our supply is solid and we expect very limited issues, so this is a real competitive advantage for our drop ship partners. We will keep you posted and this will be part of this month's Zoom call.
Please remember that our team is available to answer any questions you may have. Don't hesitate to email at any time and if you have complex questions, you can always schedule a phone call.
Have a great week!!
Good morning Drop ship partners.
We will be implementing the new products and price structure for 2021 Q3 next week.
All new offerings/skus can be added and sold as soon as the update is complete.
The new price structure will also take effect on or about 06/15.
We are very happy that we were able to absorb the majority of the increase in COGS through process and efficiencies. Actual costs have gone up 21.8% over the last 12 months. our price increase is about 6.5%.(CPI is up is >4.2%)
While we recognize any cost increase feels like bad news, know that your non-TCR competitors will be more impacted by this, giving you a great cost advantage and competitive edge.
We generally only do a price adjustment once a year but, the green coffee market as a whole is in crisis with harvest issues in Brazil and Vietnam, all origins having COVID impacts combined with Colombia's political unrest and the shipping issues we will be forced to evaluate pricing again in early 2022. Know that we will do everything possible to minimize or avoid increases when possible. I don't think anyone knows what the next 12 months holds for the economy, supply chain and labor pool.....
The price sheets will be added to the app and are available by request via email.
The sku for Coffee of the MONTH will be added.
June- Brazil
July-Sumatra
Aug.- Mexico
Sept.- Costa Rica
Oct.-Ethiopia
Nov.-Whiskey
Dec.- Guat
Best sellers this week:
1-3) sample sets
4) Cowboy
5) Costa Rica
6) Cold Brew
7) Bali
8) Mexican Chocolate
9) 6 Bean
10) Breakfast
All lines are running 2-4 business days.
No current shortages of product or packages.
Have a great week and don't hesitate to send an email or set up a phone call with Bryan if you need help.
June 1, 2021
Good morning drop ship partners.
Sales volumes remain strong.
Cold Brew is selling like crazy.
Remember that almost any coffee makes great cold brew. Costa Rica, Kenya, Tanzania all make a sweet cup.
6 Bean, Cowboy, Cold Brew and any of the Central/South Americans make a great concentrate for those who mix with milk or milk substitutes. Course ground works in most systems and methods.
Best selling items this week:
Sample sets remain in 1st place.
Then:
4) Bali
5) Mexican Chocolate
6) Cold Brew
7) Cowboy
8) 6 Bean
9) Colombia
10) French Vanilla
Drop ship lines are running 3-4 business days.
Bulk/Commercial lines 3-5 business days.
As you start to plan summer events and other commercial order needs, be sure to allow at least 2 weeks from order to expected delivery. We highly recommend 3 weeks to allow for issues/damage in transit.
Have a great week!!
May 25, 2021
Happy Tuesday!
Be sure to join us for the monthly ZOOM call tomorrow.
2 extremely important process reminders:
If you have an order without an approved label on file, it cannot be processed until you upload and assign a label. You have complete control of your labels and total responsibility for ensuring you have a label for every item sold. There is no system to notify you when you don't. Please do not list or sell an item until you have the approved label on file and assigned to the sku.
Each order is both legally and functionally 2 separate transactions.
1). The customer places the order on your site and pays you (the retail transaction).
2). You place the order with us and request that it be shipped to the customer (the wholesale transaction).
#2 is handled by the app. It occurs the instant the order comes in and the app recognizes the sku in the order. It bills the card on file and adds the order to our queue.
Making any change to #1 has no impact on #2. In order to change your order with us, you need to email orders@temeculacoffeeroasters.com with the app order# and the change you would like to make. We can only modify orders that have not been processed, so this means you need to forward the request as soon as possible. Once an order is fulfilled, no changes or cancellation can be processed.
Order volumes are high but our teams are still all running at 2-4 business days on all orders.
Best selling coffees this week:
1) Best Selling Samples
2) Single Origin Samples
3) Cold Brew
4) 6 Bean
5) Flavored Samples
6) Cowboy/Cinnabun
7) Colombia
8) Breakfast Blend
9) African Blend
10) Bali
See you all tomorrow and have a fantastic week!!
May 18th, 2021
Good morning all!
Sales continue to be strong.
All of our production lines are up and running at new capacity +25%.
Direct Ship orders are running 3-4 business days.
Drop ship lines are at 2-4 business days.
Best sellers this week reflect current demand:
1-3) Sample packs
4) Cowboy
5) Cold Brew
6) Bali
7) 6 Bean/African Blend
8) Cinnabun
9) Mexican Chocolate
10) Ethiopian N
Please plan to join us for our next Zoom call.
We are moving this one to the afternoon.
Invite is below.
We will cover lots of processing info to help you create great content on your sites and understand how coffee is grown, harvested and processed. We will also discuss profile info and Q&A of course.
Have a great week!
May 11th, 2021
Happy Tuesday!
Sales continue to be strong among brands advertising with SSS +3.1% month to date.
Dropship and regular Direct orders are at 3-5 business days for fulfillment
Manual orders are 4-6 business days.
Best Sellers Last Week:
1-3) Sample sets
4) Cold Brew
5) Mexican Chocolate
6) Mexico
7) 6 Bean tied with Cowboy
8) Bali
9) African
10) Colombia
Have a great Week!
May 4th, 2021.
What a great call we had with fantastic questions and topics.
Next call will be May 25th. Coffee processing, origin details, profiles and more with details to follow later in the month.
Sales are up again this week! Great job on adds and capturing the market!
Direct and Drop ship lines are running 3-5 business days and will remain there while we install upgrades and scheduled vacations take place. We usually take an origin trip/visit to our African operations and visit Imani during this week but this year, it will be well deserved time off for our management staff.
Top sellers this week.
1) Cold Brew
2-4) Sample sets
5) 6 Bean
6) Cowboy
7) Mexican Chocolate
8) Bali
9) African Espresso
Have a great week!
April 27, 2021
NEXT ZOOM CALL IS 04/28 @ 13:00 PACIFIC.
Topics to include: Current Coffee Trends - from the NCA 2021 National Coffee Data Trends, Identifying and Selling into your Niche, Shopping your Competitive set and of course Q&A.
Due to the nature of this call, it will not be recorded and attendance strictly controlled.
We are seeing great sales trends with SSS month over month at +6%.
Note the shift to cold brew and espresso drink favorites as we transition to spring time cold drinks.
Best Sellers this week are:
1) Sample sets
2) 6 Bean
3) Bali
4) Cold Brew
5) Mexican Chocolate
6) Costa Rica
7) Cinnabun
8) Cowboy
We are currently running at 3-4 business days on all lines.
We have upgrades, maintenance and scheduled vacations for management staff for June 9th-16th. All lines will continue to operate but with current demand levels expect to be running 4-5 business days on drop ship and commercial lines. Be sure to allow plenty of time for your bulk/direct ship orders.
Have a great week and we hope to see you on ZOOM!
April 20, 2021
We are in Springtime for sure.
Coffee Trends are leaning towards cold brews and brighter blends/origins.
Sales continue to be high. SSS +18% over 2020.
Current fulfillment Times are 3-4 business days on Dropship and 4-5 business days on Direct ship.
All products and packaging is in stock. We have a looming shortage of black 12oz bags. Our container has been delayed due to the logistic fall out from the Suez Canal issue. We will watch supplies closely and keep you up to date. In the event we run out, we will substitute black stand up pouches.
NEXT ZOOM CALL IS 04/28 @ 13:00 PACIFIC link will be posted next Tuesday.
Best sellers last week:
1) sample packs
2) Cold Brew tied with Bali
3) Cowboy
4) Costa Rica
5) 6 Bean
6) Mexican Chocolate
7) African Blend
8) Ethiopia
Have a great week!!
April 13, 2021
Happy Tuesday!!
Sales are constantly brisk and cold brew season for many is underway and restaurant sales are at all time highs as 'dine in' is back. It is a great time to consider commercial sales as many suppliers have closed or shifted focus and many restaurants/cafes and bars are seeking new suppliers. You can be very competitive with your direct ship pricing. 5lb. bags are the preferred size for most.
Current fulfillment times are 3-4 business days on all lines.
All coffee is in stock and fresh harvests are in the warehouse. Scores are good and our regional profiles are unchanged. We will do some minor modification with the Q3 update.
NEXT ZOOM CALL IS 04/28 @ 13:00 PACIFIC.
Topics to include: Current Coffee Trends - from the NCA 2021 National Coffee Data Trends, Identifying and Selling into your Niche, Shopping your Competitive set and of course Q&A.
Best Sellers Last Week:
1-3) Sample packs
4) Cowboy
5) Cold Brew
6) Bali
7) Mexican Chocolate
8) Mexico
9) Colombia
10) African Blend
Have a great week!!
April 6, 2021
Spring is off to a great start and coffee sales are showing the shift to warmer weather favorites.
Cold Brew is selling well in warmer areas and we are seeing shifts to sweeter coffees for blended drinks.
Current fulfillment times are 3-4 business days and we are processing orders as fast as possible in roast to order. Let's take a minute and review the process.
An order that came in yesterday is processed(shipping label created and bag label printed) today and added to the roast list for tomorrow. It will be roasted in the morning and shipped in the afternoon. This is the absolute fastest the process can work. When volumes are higher, a day or 2 may be added to the process.
A reminder - from the Zoom call questions.
Each order placed is legally and functionally 2 separate transactions.
1) Your customers orders the coffee from your store and pays you - a retail transaction.
2) You order the coffee from us and have it delivered to your customer - a wholesale transaction.
The app creates #2 for you by identifying the sku in your order and immediately after #1 takes place, creates #2. Any change you make to #1 does not impact #2. If you need to modify an order, be sure you contact the orders team @ orders@temeculacoffeeroasters.com. Be sure to provide them with the app order #, the sku you want to change and when applicable, the new sku and label # to go with it. Be sure to do this as soon as you identify the need as any order that has been processed cannot be modified or cancelled.
Best sellers last week:
Sample packs
Cowboy
Bali
6 Bean
Cold Brew
French Vanilla
African
Cinnabun
Ethiopia
Have a great week!
March 29, 2021
Wow, March and Q1 are just about over.
This has been another week of steady sales as we say goodbye to what is traditionally the lowest season of the year.
We hope you will all join Bryan on Wednesday for the Meet the Roaster Zoom Meeting. Details in last weeks notes. Be sure to forward any pressing questions to be sure they are included.
Current fulfillment times on all lines is 3-4 business days.
We continue to see issues with both USPS and UPS. Delays are common and should be included in your shipping policy.
K cups are selling well with retail pricing ranging from $15.99-24.99 for the top selling stores.
Best sellers last week:
1) Sample sets
2) 6Bean
3) Cowboy
4) Bali
5) Cinnabun
6) Mocha
7) Colombia
Have a great week!!
March 22, 2021
Happy Monday!
Sales continue to be strong and we are beginning to see some trends and niche related strengths.
We will discuss this as well as many other topics at our Meet The Roaster Zoom Call on March 31st @ 15:00 Pacific.
Bryan will give a brief background of TCR, our Family Business Mission Statement and then take questions. If you have a question you want to be sure gets in, forward it before the meeting.
Meeting link: https://zoom.us/j/91700338129?pwd=N2RLdXNzSHl0SlNRNlhGRlhSeDlGdz09
Current fulfillment times are 3-4 days on all lines.
All products are in stock.
Top sellers last week.
1) Best Selling Sample Set
2) Cowboy
3) Bali
4) Flavored Sample Set
5) Single Origin Sample Set
6) Cinnabun
7) Brazil
8) Mexican Chocolate
9) Cold Brew
10) 6Bean
Enjoy your week!
March 14, 2021
Big news today!
The k-style cup line is ready to go live again.
While the COVID 19 restrictions are still in place and as strict as ever, we have created a plan that will protect our staff, keep the state of CA happy and make cups available for dropship partners again.
Our 12 packs of cups will be available starting on March 22nd.
Cost is still $12.15 per pack. This includes shipping of course (now $5.90 for 1st class).
Each cup has a basic lid as below. These lids are k2 compatible and work in the new systems as well.
The 4 offerings are as above.
They are packed in our black stand up pouch and will have your custom label applied - much like the sample sets.
Each cup is roast and packed to order. These are not the same or competitive with standard bulk, nitro purged cups. Don't try and compete with big box stores. This is intended to be a convenient way for your customers to get a fresh cup of your specialty grade, roast to order coffee the they already love.
Orders with K style cups take +1 business day to produce as coffee is roasted, degassed overnight and then packed the next business day.
Labels are same size/design as regular labels.
Your label should include all of the normal info:
Coffee - you can use Fresh Roasted Coffee, Specialty Grade Coffee or similar, just be sure you have a clear statement of identity.
12 count - single use cups, not labelled for individual sale.
Net wt is 4.2oz (120g).
Ingredients not necessary since they are all unflavored.
Manufactures statement as always.
Please use the sku creator. Format will be:
12KCOWB-DRIP-16OZ-BLACK
Coffee type - COWBOY,
Grind type- DRIP
Size- 12 COUNT
Bag- BLACK
-------
Top sellers this week -
Flavored Coffee Sample Pack
Bali
Single Origin Sample Pack/Best Sellers
Brazil
Ethiopia
African Espresso
Cowboy
Cinnabun
Mexican Chocolate
6 Bean
All product and packages are in stock.
Meet the roaster Zoom meeting will be March 31st @ 3:00 Pacific. The invite will go out next week. If you have questions or want to get to know more about our history, process and plans, join us.
Have a great week!
March 8, 2021.
Today we celebrate International Woman's Day and all of the great businesses, coffee farms, cooperatives, mills and importers that like TCR are owned by hard working women.
Sales continue to be strong. SSS are up 29% over last year.
Best sellers this week:
1). Best Selling Sample Pack
2) Cowboy
3) Breakfast Blend
4) Flavored/Single Origin Sample Packs
5) Cinnabun
6) Bali
7) African Blend
8) Mexican Chocolate
All product and packaging is in stock
The integration of Direct Ship into the app is working well and allowing us to quickly process orders.
Both Drop Ship and Direct Ship lines are running at 3-4 business days for fulfillment which is about as fast as can be done in the roast to order world. The only delays are as a result of missing labels. Remember, orders can't ship if you don't provide a package label for the sku sold.
Partners End of Quarter Projection Meeting:
Sales continue to be very strong: Work at home is now a strong driver for sales and is likely to continue.
Q1 COGS increase.
Shipping costs are up 9.41%
Coffee costs are up 14.67%
Bags and valve install are up 17.25%
Hourly labor cost is up 8.3%
Compliance/COVID regulations costs up 14.6%
We will continue to make processs changes to increase efficiency but there is almost certainly going to be a price increase in Q3. We will do everything we can to minimize it and you can help by only listing products with labels assigned. Be sure to use correct skus and use the app for all direct ship orders.
It is a good time to evaluate your margins, make proactive price adjustments and get ready for a record breaking holiday season.
We will be having a meet the roaster Zoom Call towards the end of the month and will do live Q&A as well as talk about upcoming new items. Announcement coming soon as to date and time.
Have a great week!!
March 1, 2021
March is here and with it comes time to start working on Spring - Cold Brew Season.
We have a great cold brew lot this year. It is an organic coffee blend from Mexico. It fits well within the regional profile and notes we published. Also popular for cold brew techniques are our Kenyan Espresso, 6 Bean and Costa Rica.
All packaging and products are in stock with no current issue.
The final touches on our update k style cup line are underway. If we get approval, we will add k style cups with an announcement and info in the March 15th update.
Best selling coffee last week:
1) Best sellers sample pack
2) Cowboy
3) Single origin sample pack
4) Flavored sample pack
5) French Vanilla
6) Bali
7) Mexican Chocolate
8) Turtle
Please be sure you have reviewed your store orders to be sure the outage (see the alert) last week did not impact your store.
Have a great week!
Feb 24th- ****ALERT- our cloud storage provider AWS (Amazon Web Service) is experiencing a service issue. The app is currently down. We expect a quick resolution. Please check back to see if we need action on your part. This is the 1st time AWS has been down on our platform (3+years), so we aren't sure what will happen to orders processed during this time. You should see no disruption in your sales.****
Feb 25th -Update: Please do a quick review of your orders received between 14:00(PST) yesterday and this morning at 10:00. If an order appears in your store but not the app, please forward the [order number] AND either the [Shop ID] or [myshopify domain name]. We will then perform a manual sync.
February 22, 2021
Happy Monday!
We continue to be surprised by the level of demand! SSS remain >+180% from 2020.
The work from home mandate is definitely driving sales and you are really connecting with your buyers.
In the way of updates:
All flavored coffee has been converted to all natural - S & S Flavors is supplying us with all natural, vegan, gluten free flavorings and they are fantastic.
We secured a great Tanzania lot with a nice regional profile to match our offering list, so the shortage has been averted.
**We have had multiple request for both receipts and notifications when your successful payment for an order does not process (card declined) so you will be receiving receipts for all order payments moving forward. This will go into effect immediately.**
All product and packaging are available. Our regular supplier has been able to restock our matte black mailers, so all single bag 12oz orders and sample sets will be back to these.
1 more week to provide suggestions for new additions for the 2021 holiday season. So far in the lead is Peppermint/Candy Cane, S'mores, and Chocolate Covered Cherry. We have had requests for a premium espresso and we are currently developing a few options including a sweet/medium roast blend, a dark rich Indonesian Espresso and an Italian (darker than our French). Input is welcome.
Best selling coffee this week was a bit different:
1) Best Sellers Sample Pack
2) Cowboy Blend
3) Flavored Sample Pack
4) African Blend/Espresso
5) Bali
6) Brazil
7) Single Origin Sample Pack
8) Turtle
Have a great week!
February 15, 2021
Happy Presidents Day. Today is a shipping holiday, so be sure to be aware of +1 to shipping times.
Demand is still strong. Our top 100 stores are +171% over 2020 and overall SSS + 185%.
All direct ship orders are now being handled in the app. Sample orders (2oz bags) are still manually processed via email.
Fulfillment Times are at 3-4 days for drop ship orders, 3-5 for direct ship. We are no longer processing non-app or manual submissions.
Please remember that you should not list/sell products before having bag label approved and assigned to the sku. This is time consuming (expensive) on our side and makes the order unshippable resulting in upset customers on your side.
Top sellers last week:
1-3: Sample sets
4) 6 Bean
5) French Vanilla
6) Cowboy
7) Chocolate Hazelnut (a single seller had huge sales impacting this)
8) Bali
All products/packages are in stock. We have an impending shortage of Tanzania due to COVID impacts at origin. We are working on an alternative lot. This may impact sellers as soon as March.
We had hoped to have the new K-style cup line up and running but have been further delayed by the new Cal-Osha Covid rules. Our process is labor intensive (batch roasted, hand filled and sealed). It is nearly impossible and not financially viable for a break-even product under the current restrictions. We will keep you updated but we are focused on products that are profit centers for our partners vs. loss leaders such as these.
You have 2 more weeks to submit request for 2021 holiday offering additions. New blends, flavors and origins are all being evaluated so we can source for the Q3 updated offering list. Let us know what your customers are asking for.
Please also let us know if if there are other updates/statistics you would like to see here that would help you grow your business.
Have a great week!
February 8, 2021
It's official, the normal 1st of the year slowdown did not happen. Demand continues to rise.
All packages and products are in stock
Fulfillment times: we continue to run right at 3 business days for all app orders. Direct ship orders are at 3 business days and we are no longer accepting manual orders so will stop reporting on them.
Direct ship orders are now in the app. (Beta testing) The 'bulk' orders tab should be used for all non-2oz orders effective today. If the offering you want to order is not available, this means you do not have an approved label assigned for that product and you will need to upload and assign the label before you can proceed.
Best sellers this week were a bit of a surprise (well, other than the sample sets...)
In order
1) Best selling samples
2) Single origin samples
3) Flavored samples
4) French Vanilla
5) Cowboy
6) Bali
7) Breakfast Blend
8) 6 Bean
Most popular grind type - drip 74% of all orders.
We still want to hear your flavor/origins of choice that you would like to see added to our list.
Please, please do not list or sell products without first assigning the label. The delay this causes in our system and the and the cost associated are the easiest cost cutting we can do to avoid price increases.
Have a great week!
January 25, 2021.
Sales are still strong and there has been no sign of the normal "January Dip" in sales.
All product and packages are in stock.
Best Sellers last week.
Flavored Samples, Best Sellers and Single Origin Samples were #1-3
4) Cowboy
5) French Vanilla
6) 6Bean
7) Bali
Most popular size is 12oz and drip grind most common grind type.
We are running right at 4 business days for fulfillment. Working to get down to 3 by the end of week. We continue to operate under extremely strict COVID precautions. USPS and UPS are still adding +1 to expected delivery dates.
USPS shipping price increase has taken effect. It is our goal to maintain our current pricing. To do so, we need your help. Efficiency in our process is key.
Please do not list/sell products without assigning a label.
If you have an order that is 'stuck' in pre-shipment. Please check that you have approved labels assigned to all SKUs in the order before you email an inquiry.
Final touches are going into the app based direct ship orders. Until then, continue to email your direct orders as usual.
We have begun the process of adding our new flavors and origins for the 2021 Holiday Season. Send us your requests and most asked for flavored coffees. We add new items based on demand, so this is your chance to have input.
Have a great week!!
January 18, 2021,
Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day!
Today is a shipping Holiday. Orders are currently being fulfilled in 3-5 business days.
The current COVID 19 restrictions for 2021 have further limited our staff and we are now staffed at 25%. This means we will be continuing to push our "normal" fulfillment times. Be sure you have a great COVID notice as many buyers may be in states less impacted or less restrictive and not realize how hard it is to manufacture and deliver under the current situation. USPS and UPS continues to deliver in +1-2 days over normal due to both precautions and high level of demand.
K style line is still on hold to comply with current restrictions
.
Sales continue to be strong with SSS at 178% year over year.
Best sellers last week were:
1-3) Sample packs.
4) Bali
5) Cowboy
6) Cinnabun
7) Whiskey Barrel
8) 6 Bean
All products and packaging are in stock.
We have secured sufficient coffee for Q1 from all origins. Whiskey barrel stock was close but no shortage and the latest batches are ready and plentiful.
Matte black mailers are back available and will be once again used for all single bag purchases.
Have a great week!!
January 11, 2021.
Demand continue to be at very high levels, congratulations on capturing the post Christmas sales.
Important:
As of Jan. 1, 2021, all orders shipped to the U.K. are required to have a VAT# for the customs document. If you want to sell to the U.K., you will need to file for a VAT#, Collect a 20% VAT at checkout, Submit your VAT# to us for each order you receive, submit quarterly returns to the U.K.
Monday Jan. 18th, 2021 is a shipping holiday. Delivery times will reflect the additional day delay. We will still roast/pack orders but they will not ship.
Best sellers this week are:
#1-3: Sample packs
4: Bali
5: Mexican Chocolate
6: Cowboy
7: Whiskey Barrel - supplies are meeting demand and our new barrels will be ready in time to meet demand.
8: 6 Bean
Most popular size=12oz
Most ordered =ground
We have caught up with orders and are fulfilling orders in 2-4 business days. USPS and UPS are both having frequent delays and delivery issues. It is important that you manage customer's delivery expectations.
Remember that if you have orders with tracking that have not shipped, it is most likely because you have not assigned a label to the product sold. Please do not sell products without properly assigned labels. It creates fulfillment delays and avoiding delays is imperative to avoiding price increases.
Please also remember to check your app orders tab if you have questions about orders. We had 94 emails this week asking why orders had not shipped. 45 had no bag labels, 43 had payment issues (if your card is declined for any reason, you need to go to the invoice tab and pay for the order. Unpaid orders do not appear in our queue). Only 1 was an actual processing error and 6 were regarding orders processed but not scanned in yet (normal).
We received a limited number of black 12oz bags and at the moment all products and packages are in stock.
There are still COVID 19 related supply issues that we expect to last until mid summer.
We are still working on getting our k style cup program to be safe and compliant with the continuously changing state of CA COVID 19 restrictions. We will announce here when we can begin production.
The conversion to app based direct ship orders is almost complete.. stay tuned.
We will resume live/online seminars in Q2. First topic will be a current process review and Q&A as we have lots of new partners and many changes since the last live session. We look forward to connecting and this session will be open and free for all.
Have a great week!
Happy New Year!
First of all, thank you all for your patience as we rapidly adapted to the COVID restrictions and huge increase in demand. Sales continue to be strong as we start the new year and our app is running as expected.
We are quickly catching up on orders and will be back to normal 2-4 (business days) for fulfillment by the end of the week.
There is a shortage of 12oz black bags. All 3 of our suppliers expect it to be mid Jan. before they can deliver. The process of adding the valves to our bags is labor intensive and hugely impacted by COVID restrictions here in CA. We will be substituting 16oz black stand up bags until they are available.
All other products and packages are in stock. The farm level COVID impacts are hitting the coffee market and will be more severe towards the beginning of Q2. We expect some sporadic shortages of various origins but are able to use stock from our other business lines for now.
2020 sales summary:
Demand in 2020 was the highest in our history with SSS averaging +206% year over year.
Top 10 selling products for all of 2020 across all of our business lines:
1) Best Selling Sample set
2) 6 Bean Espresso
3) Flavored Sample Set
4) Single Origin Sample Set
5) Cowboy
6) Bali
7) Breakfast Blend
8) Cold Brew
9) Colombia tied with Ethiopia
10) Peru
Whiskey barrel is on pace to be the new # 4 or 5 but was added mid year.
Most popular size: 12oz
Most popular grind: Drip
News for 2021:
INCREASE IN COGS
USPS shipping prices will increase 2.85%
Minimum wage is now $14.00/hr in CA. While this does not directly impact our employees, it will impact all goods and services. Bags will be +$0.08 ea. Mailers +$0.04 ea.
Coffee is up 26% over the last 90 days and is expected to increase another 25% by Q2.
NO INCREASE IN PARTNER PRICE FOR Q1/Q2
We plan on holding our prices level through Q2 by continuing to increase efficiency in our processes.
To do this, we need your help.
1) The Direct Ship Program and the commercial line will be integrated into the app. Minimums will apply and be more strictly followed.
2) Be sure you have a label on file for every product you sell.
3) Follow updates closely as we will continue to post all info/updates here. We do not staff a phone line or have dedicated sales people(cost is too high for this price model). All your emails are answered by staff in the roastery including our roasters, to ensure quick response times, please use their time wisely. Most questions have answers in the documents tab of the app. but don't hesitate to contact us with questions or other issues when necessary.
NEWS FOR 2021
The new K style cup program will be rolled out during Q1. Look for updates and set up info here and in the document tab in the app. We will be offering 6Bean, Cowboy, B Blend and Peru Decaf in 12-packs.
There will be no planned Origin Trips in 2021.
Business and sales seminars will resume but will now be on-line only. We have permanently converted our public cupping room and design center to shipping and receiving.
The latest (December) stricter COVID restrictions limit our capacity to approximately 30% of actual, we will therefore accelerate our expansion to be ready for continued growth. We will limit new partners through a stricter application process in order to allow current partners to grow without limitations.
Thanks for being our partner and we look forward to a great 2021!
December 21, 2020: Merry Christmas and a Very Happy Holidays to all of our partners.
We are still open and allowed to operate under the latest COVID 19 order but under very strict/limited conditions.
Sales remain at record levels and our teams continue to produce and ship your orders at amazing speed with incredible accuracy. We are grateful to all of our employees. The current mandate means our employees are working fewer hours with more demanded of them (we are allowed 1 employee at every other station - this time last year, we had 2 at each station....) yet they are producing half the total rate of last year(1/4 the staff). Way to go team!!
Please be sure every order submitted has a valid sku and each sku sold has an assigned label. Orders without valid skus are not picked up by the app and items without labels cannot be shipped and slow the process.
This week, we will be closing early on 12/24 and all day on 12/25 so our employees can spend Christmas with their families.
Fulfillment times continue to be 5-6 business days for app orders. Direct ship orders 6+ business days.
Orders received on 12/21 have an expected roast/pack date of 12/30. Due to the holidays, orders from 12/23 will have an expected ship date of 1/5. Please keep your customers informed. These are not normal processing times for us. These are not normal times.
Best sellers this week:
Best selling Samples
Single Origin Samples
Mexican Chocolate
Whiskey Barrel
Flavored Sample
Christmas/Holiday Blend
Bali/Colombia
Cowboy
Pumpkin Spice.
All products and packages are currently in stock. We see some supply side issues with 12oz bags and the same color 16oz will be used if necessary. Whiskey Barrel is also running low due to the lengthy process and high demand but will not be an issue until mid-January.
We hope you have a great week, Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!!
December 14, 2020: Wow, what a great week for sales. SSS are now 243% of last year at this time! Way to sell!
Best sellers this week - no surprises:
Flavored Sample Packs
Christmas/Holiday Blend
Pumpkin Spice
Single Origin Sample Packs
Best Selling Sample Packs
Cowboy
Whiskey Barrel
Bali
All products and packages are in stock.
Orders in the app by midnight last night will have a high likelihood of arriving before Christmas. Orders coming in today and after will likely not. A good idea to keep your customers well informed and manage their expectations. Your orders are our to priority and our teams are working as efficiently and as quickly as possible under the current conditions.
Our label compliance reviewer continues to clear all labels every business day so don't hesitate as you prepare for the new year. Traditionally, January is a great sales month as you convert gift receivers to buyers with a really low CAC. Be sure your store has those offerings set up and ready.
Happy Holidays and have a great week!
Congratulations on the fantastic sales!
We are now fully in holiday fulfillment mode. This means order times are stretching out and the latest state of CA COVID 19 restrictions mean we cannot add staff. We are operating at 35% of norm and orders are >300% of usual. Trust that your orders are important to us and we will fill them as quickly and accurately as possible. Our normal fulfillment time is 3-5 business days (usually 2-3) but we will be at 4-5+ for the rest of the season. Be sure your customers have realistic expectations. There is no way to rush custom, roast to order coffee. Also be sure to include additional shipping time in your policy. USPS and UPS are shipping an incredible volume of packages this year and both are adding 1+ business days to normal delivery times.
You can help us by ensuring that every order you place has a valid label assigned. If you see an order sitting (tracking assigned and not moving for 2+ days), it is almost always waiting on you to assign a correct bag label. Orders without bag labels cannot ship. The app is simple and very specific. You must have the correct sku assigned to your product and the sku must have a valid label assigned to be processed.
USPS has announced that Dec 17th. is the last day to ship for Christmas Eve delivery. This means your order needs to be in the app, paid with a valid bag label by Sunday the 13th. to have the best chance of delivery by the 24th. If your order is in the system and complete by Midnight the 13th, we will have it ready to ship by the 17th. No guarantee but this should get it to your buyer by Christmas.
All products and packaging are in stock. We still expect some shortages of supplies and raw coffee but none so far.
Our label compliance provider is working overtime and clearing all labels every day, so don't hesitate to add new products.
Best sellers this week - in order:
Best sellers sample pack
Holiday/Christmas Blend
Cowboy
Flavored sample pack
Single origin sample pack
Bali
Pumpkin Spice
Turtle
Fulfillment times projected for next week:
App orders - 4-5+business days.
Non-app and manual orders - 5-6+business days.
Direct Ship Orders - 5 business days.
We are grateful to be working with you!
November 30, 2020: We hope you had a great Thanksgiving with Friends and Family! Sales continue to be brisk with SSS at double last year.
We have completed the k style cup rework and cup lids are being printed as we speak. We hope to roll out the new program before the end of the year.
All product and packaging are in stock with some sporadic bag shortages expected in the next few weeks. We have secured what we project will be enough coffee from all origins to carry through the year. We will let you know at least a week in advance if this changes.
Orders over the weekend were very high pushing fulfillment time to about 3 business days and we expect to be in our normal range (3-5 business days) for this entire week.
The app continues to perform without error. You will notice a couple of upgrades including a 'delete' button on the labels allowing you to remove unused/unwanted labels. We have also added an additional info section as a home to policy and helpful procedure info.
Have a great week!!
November 23, 2020: Happy Thanksgiving!
We will be closed Thursday to celebrate with our families. It is also a shipping holiday so expect corresponding shipping times.
Sales continue to be fantastic and partners running advertising and sales are doing extremely well.
Many of our partners sell 25-40% of their yearly sales in the next 30 days!!
App orders are being shipped in 1-3 business days. Manual submissions and other orders with issues are being processed in 3-5 business days.
Best sellers this week continue to reflect more holiday season buying. In order by volume:
1). Flavored Sample Pack
2). Holiday/Christmas Blend
3). Best Selling Sample Pack
4). Pumpkin Spice (tie) Cowboy
5). Bali
6). Single Origin Sample
If you aren't already selling them, these are great additions to your holiday specials.
All products and packaging are in stock.
New COVID19 restrictions are in effect for all of California but we remain compliant and open.
As expected, USPS has announced a shipping cost increase for next year. We received notice from our bag supplier that there would also be a price increase on Jan 15th, minimum wage goes up on Jan 1st. We plan on maintaining our current pricing through Q1 2021 but this will require the help of all of our partners.
Please be sure you are accurately submitting orders.
Remember our app is very intentionally simple and accurate. It only recognizes exact skus. Once an order with a sku is identified, an order is triggered. Your card on file is charged and it is added to the queue for shipping to be created. Each afternoon, we process and add shipping to the next day's orders that will be roasted and filled. At that time, bag labels are printed. If you do not have a label on file, you order is placed on hold. It cannot ship until all labels required for the order are printed. (there is not nor will there be a process to notify you if you fail to assign a label to the sku sold. Please only sell items that have approved labels on file. This is your side of the partnership). If you have an order that has not shipped, be sure your card was charged, that you have labels on file for ALL products sold and only then send us an inquiry.
Below are some basic shipping deadlines. Be sure you add in our processing time (3-5) business days when creating a last minute buying reminder for your customers.
We hope listing out these dates helps as you navigate through the rest of the 2020 holiday season. Here are the last days to ship per carrier in order for items to arrive by Christmas Eve. Please remember to add in time for us to process and roast your orders when you are considering your website/customer info.
For delivery by Christmas Eve, December 24:
USPS
USPS 1st Class - Thursday, December 17, 2020
USPS Priority Mail - Saturday, December 19, 2020
UPS
UPS Ground - Tuesday, December 15, 2020