New Zealand’s Peoples Coffee seeks $855k investment to grow roastery

Peoples Coffee operates two flagship outlets and distributes packaged coffee across New Zealand | Photo credit: Peoples Coffee

Peoples Coffee is seeking to raise NZD $1.5m ($855,000) in a new crowdfunding campaign to more than double its production capacity with a new roaster, grinding machines and packaging equipment.  
 

Founded in 2004, Peoples Coffee operates two flagship outlets and distributes packaged coffee from its Wellington roastery to cafés and restaurants across the country. 

“We’re looking to purchase a new roasting machine to grow our bean capacity from 2,500 to 8,000 kilos a week and expand production with automated packaging machinery and high-capacity grinding machines. Growing our footprint and sales across NZ’s supermarkets and the hospitality sector is our priority for the next three years. If we can achieve our $1.5m ($855,000) target, we’re forecasting sales of $6.9m ($3.9m) in three years,” said James Beyer, General Manager, Peoples Coffee. 

Founder Matt Lamason said Peoples Coffee ‘champions small-scale coffee farmers and their communities worldwide’. It currently sources its organic, fair-trade beans from coffee co-operatives in Ethiopia, Columbia and Honduras. 

“By choosing to raise funds through PledgeMe, we’re staying true to our roots ‘by the people, for the people’. It’s important for us to grow our impact by growing our tribe. With strength in numbers, we can have an even more meaningful impact on the coffee industry while more people enjoy sustainable, organic, epic coffee,” he said. 

Peoples Coffee said it has returned almost NZD $400,000 ($228,000) to its coffee farmers since 2020 via organic and social premiums. 

In August 2017, Peoples Coffee became the first New Zealand-based food and beverage company to be awarded B Corp certification, achieving a score of 87.2. The median score for ordinary businesses who complete the assessment is currently 50.9.