Lincoln & York announces £1m roastery investment as it celebrates 30 years in business

The Lincoln & York roastery gained Carbon Neutral Roastery status in 2023 | Photo credit: Lincoln & York

Private label coffee roaster Lincoln & York has announced a £1m ($1.3m) investment in a high-speed manufacturing line at its Brigg roastery as it seeks to double the size of its business within the next two years.    
 

Having grown rapidly over the last three decades, Lincoln & York is now one of the UK’s largest independent roasteries, roasting over 9,000 tons of coffee every year and supplying over 150 customers across 32 markets, including major high street coffee chains and retailers.  

Continued investment in equipment, facilities and the team has facilitated Lincoln & York’s growth and the £1m investment in a new high-speed manufacturing line will now help the roastery towards its goal of doubling its business in volume terms by 2026.  

This investment follows over £4m ($5.1m) in investment from the roastery over the last 10 years, including a new 600kg roaster, the biggest in the UK, in 2014 as well as a high-speed retail packing line and new warehouse and storage facilities.   

Dedicated to high-quality coffee and absolute discretion around its customers’ blends, the business has also recently invested in its new state-of-the-art coffee lab and innovation space, where the Lincoln & York coffee team create their bespoke blends, and quality check all the coffee that comes through the business.  

“Over the last 30 years we have invested over £20m ($25.7m) in the business to ensure we have the capability and capacity to scale, grow and adapt with our customers’ businesses, while delivering consistent quality across our roasting, blending and packing. When the UK coffee market exploded in the 1990s, we were ready to meet a rapidly increasing demand and today, as the number of coffee shops continues to grow, investing in our roastery remains a key priority,” said Ian Bryson, Managing Director at Lincoln & York. 

“However, our investment goes beyond equipment and extends to our employees and their futures too. We now have 90 employees at Lincoln & York and we’re proud to have three of the UK’s 135 coffee Q Graders, the coffee equivalent of a sommelier, on the Lincoln & York team. We also regularly invest in consumer insight, including conducting our own independent research, to support our customers with their business goals, meaning we are a trusted coffee partner rather than just a coffee supplier,” he added.  

Lincoln & York is also dedicated to playing its part in protecting the future of the coffee industry and limiting its impact on the planet. The roastery gained its Carbon Neutral Roastery status in 2023 and Lincoln & York continues to support World Coffee Research, which is on track to launch 100 new arabica varieties by 2030 – the aim is that these plants are more climate resilient helping to maintain the supply of quality coffee for future generations.   

Demonstrating its commitment to investing in the entire coffee supply chain, in collaboration with Omwani Coffee Company and Migoti Coffee, Lincoln & York is also funding the construction of a community reservoir to provide clean drinking water to hundreds of families in the coffee-farming community of Kinama in Burundi.  

Find out more about Lincoln & York’s 30 years of expertise, commitment to high-quality coffee and insight from the forefront of the UK coffee market, here.