How To Sell Coffee Online: A Complete Guide in 2024

Selling coffee on prebuilt marketplaces like Amazon or eBay might seem fast and straightforward. However, while these platforms are convenient, they often charge hefty fees, and you’re left with limited control over how you present your products and engage with customers. That’s where creating your own online store can make all the difference.

Even if you’re looking for a quick solution, setting up a small business to sell coffee can give you more flexibility and control over everything – from branding to pricing. Starting your own coffee shop online doesn’t have to be complicated. You don’t need technical skills or a big budget. With beginner-friendly tools like Wix, you can easily create a fully customizable, ready-to-go coffee store that fits your vision and needs.

Whether you’re selling to individual coffee lovers or supplying local cafes, building your own site allows you to grow at your own pace. In this guide, I’ll walk you through the step-by-step process of launching your coffee store and show you just how rewarding it can be.

Know Your Beans and Identify Your Market

Research is a critical first step to successfully selling coffee online. Thoughtful research helps ensure your brand resonates with your audience, stands out in a crowded market, and thrives in the competitive world of online coffee sales.

Even if you don’t plan to launch your own brand, it helps to have a better idea of the market before you put your products up for sale. Here’s how to approach the research phase.

Find Your Niche in the Coffee Market

Coffee isn’t just a single product – it encompasses various sub-niches, each appealing to different types of consumers. Here’s what to consider:

• Types of coffee. Will you focus on selling single-origin beans, organic coffee, or flavored varieties? There’s a growing demand for specialty coffee like fair trade, organic, and small-batch roasted beans. Research popular coffee trends and identify gaps in the market.
• Sustainable and ethical sourcing. More consumers are looking for ethically sourced, environmentally friendly coffee. If sustainability is important to you, consider focusing on fair trade, rainforest-certified, or direct trade coffee, which gives back to farming communities.
• Coffee subscription services. Subscription models are increasingly popular. Consumers love the convenience of regular coffee deliveries, especially if they can personalize their subscription based on flavor preferences or roasting styles.
• Specialty coffee for health-conscious consumers. The health and wellness market is booming. You could focus on low-acid coffee, mushroom-infused blends, or keto-friendly options aimed at health-focused consumers.

Where to look: Explore consumer forums, follow coffee-related social media hashtags, and visit industry reports (like those from the Specialty Coffee Association). Also, use tools like Google Trends to see which coffee-related keywords are gaining traction.

Research Your Target Audience

Coffee drinkers are diverse, and each niche has its unique audience. You need to dig into:

• Demographics. Are your potential customers millennials who prefer cold brew, or perhaps baby boomers seeking premium, luxury blends? Are they located in urban areas or rural regions?
• Preferences and habits. Do they prioritize convenience, price, or premium quality? How do they consume coffee – at home, on the go, or in a social setting? Look for patterns in consumption habits. For example, cold brew might be more popular among younger, on-the-go professionals.
• Lifestyle. How does coffee fit into their daily routine? For instance, fitness enthusiasts may seek out performance-enhancing blends with added benefits, while eco-conscious consumers might gravitate toward sustainable packaging and ethical sourcing.

Where to look: Use platforms like Reddit (e.g., r/Coffee), Facebook groups, and Instagram to gauge consumer behavior and preferences. Also, consider using survey tools like SurveyMonkey or Google Forms to collect insights directly from your target audience.

Sourcing Your Coffee

You want to offer quality coffee that aligns with your brand values. Here’s what to consider:

• Local vs. international suppliers. You can work with local roasters or import coffee beans directly from international farms. Local sourcing can help with sustainability and freshness, while importing from countries like Colombia or Ethiopia may give you access to premium or rare coffee varieties.
• Roasting methods. Will you roast your own coffee or work with a supplier who will do it for you? Roasting your own beans gives you more control over quality and flavor but requires specialized equipment and expertise. Partnering with a local roaster allows you to focus more on branding and marketing.
• Packaging. Your packaging needs to reflect your brand’s values. If you’re targeting environmentally conscious consumers, you should prioritize sustainable or biodegradable packaging.

Where to look: Attend coffee trade shows, visit online coffee supplier directories, or network with other coffee entrepreneurs. Platforms like CoffeeTec and Roast Magazine’s directory are great starting points for finding suppliers and roasters.

Choose the Right Platform To Sell Your Coffee

You generally have three options: building your own online coffee store, selling on specialized platforms, or selling through social media. While each has pros and cons, having complete control over your coffee business is key.

By using a website builder like Wix, you can create a dedicated online coffee store that truly reflects your brand’s personality. Unlike prebuilt marketplaces like Amazon, Etsy, or eBay, building a web store from scratch lets you design every detail, from the look and feel of the site to how your customers interact with it.

You won’t be constrained by the exorbitant fees, generic layouts, or marketing restrictions of specialized platforms. And you’ll have total freedom to present your coffee in the way that best appeals to your target customers.

Having your own store doesn’t mean giving up the benefits of popular marketplaces like eBay and Amazon. You’ll still be able to sell on those platforms via your dashboard with Wix’s integrations. This means you can sell across multiple platforms – reaching a wider audience – while keeping your inventory, orders, and marketing all synced up.

In the next section, I’ll show you just how easy it is to set up an online coffee store on Wix. With the 14-day money-back guarantee, you can explore all its features and start selling completely risk-free.

Choose a Good Name for Your Online Coffee Store

When starting your online coffee business, you should try to choose a store name that matches your domain name. The domain name is the web address customers will type in to find your store, such as www.yourcoffeestore.com. Keeping your store name and domain name the same or closely related makes it easier for customers to remember and find you online.

A domain name should be short, simple, and reflective of your coffee business. Ideally, it will hint at what you sell – specialty roasts, cold brew, or ethically sourced beans. Avoid complicated words or lengthy phrases that might confuse customers. Instead, focus on creating a name that’s memorable, unique, and easy to type. Including relevant keywords like “coffee” or “brew” can also help with search engine visibility.

You should also note that a domain name comes with a separate cost from your website builder’s plan. However, many platforms, such as Wix, offer a free domain for the first 12 months when you sign up for a plan. This can be a great way to get started immediately without additional expenses.

Some website builders offer helpful tools like domain name search engines to streamline this process. For example, Wix lets you quickly check if your preferred domain is available and suggests alternatives if it’s not. This is particularly handy if your first choice is taken, giving you creative ways to capture the perfect name for your coffee store.

Customize Your Online Coffee Store

Creating a polished, professional look without extensive technical expertise is easy with Wix. Once you’ve signed up, you can either use Wix AI and have it generate a coffee store for you or choose a template and customize it manually.

Wix AI is great if you want a quick setup. You’ll answer a few questions about your store, and the AI will generate a ready-to-go coffee shop website that you can tweak later. Alternatively, you can browse the template library by typing “coffee” to find coffee-related templates.

Once you’ve chosen a template, you’re ready to make it your own. Your homepage is the face of your coffee business. You can adjust it by changing the background to a cozy coffee shop, roasted beans, or a steaming cup of coffee.

Wix allows you to upload your own high-quality visuals, choose from their vast stock image library, or use AI to create relevant images.

Next, update the color scheme. Coffee is all about rich, inviting colors. Customize your site’s color palette to match this mood. I recommend shades of dark brown, caramel, and cream for a cohesive, premium feel.

Remember to replace the default logo with your coffee brand’s logo. If you don’t have one yet, you can use Wix’s free logo maker to generate a logo. You should also use suitable fonts for your coffee website. Opt for clean, legible fonts like Raleway for the body text, but go bold or playful with fonts like Poppins Black for headers. Your product names or taglines could stand out with a quirky typeface that screams “coffee connoisseur.”

Once you’re done with your homepage, you’ll want to make similar edits on your other pages, such as the About, Contact, and FAQ pages. If you used AI to generate your site, you probably ended up with a one-page mockup. You can easily add more pages by clicking the Site Pages and Menu button on the left side of the editor. If you used a premade template, you likely already have the relevant pages generated, so just tweak them as required.

On your About page, you want to share your story. Coffee brands thrive on personality – what makes your beans unique? What’s your connection to coffee culture? Add your brand’s mission, values, and maybe even a personal anecdote about how you fell in love with coffee. Use images of your beans, your team, or even the farms where the coffee is sourced.

As for your contact and FAQ pages, aim to establish trust and make it easy for customers to reach you. Add phone numbers, emails, social media profiles, and if you have a physical location, embed a Google map. Include FAQs about shipping, brewing instructions, or the origins of your beans. You can use Wix’s dynamic elements to make this section interactive – collapsible menus work well for long lists of questions.

Add Your Coffee as Products

Adding products in Wix is very straightforward. Go to your Wix dashboard and click on Catalog > Store Products > Products from the left-hand menu. You’ll see the option to add a new product in the top-right corner. Click on it to begin adding your coffee.

Start by uploading high-quality photos and videos that showcase your coffee beans or blends. Coffee is a sensory product so invest in professional visuals to make your products look irresistible. Show details like the packaging, the beans, and how the coffee looks when brewed. Consider adding a video showing the coffee-making process or customer testimonials to build trust.

In the product details section, provide a compelling name and description. This is where your copywriting skills come into play. Instead of just writing “Medium Roast Coffee,” describe the unique flavor profile: “Our Medium Roast Colombian Coffee offers rich, nutty undertones with a smooth caramel finish. Ideal for a morning pick-me-up.” Don’t worry – I used Wix’s AI text generator to craft that description (and you can, too).

Next, include variants and pricing. If you’re selling different quantities (250g, 500g, 1kg) or grinds (whole bean, French press, espresso), display these options clearly. This way, customers can choose the option they want without navigating away from the page. You can also set up pre-orders and subscriptions on this product setting page. Remember to click Save after filling in all the product details.

Update Your Store Settings and Payment Information

Go to Settings on the left-hand menu of your Wix dashboard. You can start by customizing the Checkout process to streamline customer purchases. Here, you can edit the Checkout form and add fields to collect essential customer details, like their email address. If you plan to send coffee brewing tips or offer exclusive discounts via email, enabling a subscription opt-in checkbox at checkout is a great way to build your email list.

Next, make sure your Shipping and Delivery options are set up correctly. Speed and freshness are critical for coffee sellers, so you may want to offer expedited shipping, local delivery, or even in-store pickup options for nearby customers. You can also set up how you’ll fulfill your orders by adding a fulfillment service.

Finally, head to the Accept Payments section to select the payment methods that best fit your coffee niche. Wix has a built-in payment gateway that lets you accept payments from major credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express) and popular digital wallets (PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay).

For higher-priced items like bulk coffee beans, consider enabling payment installment options through services like Klarna or Afterpay. These options give customers flexibility, making it easier for them to invest in premium coffee products.

Preview and Launch Your Online Coffee Store

Before launching your online coffee store, you should thoroughly review and test every aspect of your site. Start by previewing the site on both desktop and mobile devices to ensure that all content, from product descriptions to images, is displayed as intended.

Since coffee is often a highly visual product, make sure your product photos and videos load correctly and can be zoomed in to show important details like bean texture, packaging, or brew kits. Also, typos or grammatical errors can undermine professionalism, so carefully review every word.

Next, test all the e-commerce features of your coffee store. This means adding products to your cart, selecting quantities, and going through the entire checkout process. Ensure payment gateways work seamlessly, discount codes apply correctly, and shipping options reflect the appropriate costs for different regions. If you offer subscriptions, such as monthly coffee deliveries, ensure all scheduling and recurring payment features work.

You’ll also want to test every button, link, and navigation option to avoid broken or misdirected links, which can be a major turnoff for customers. Check any “Buy Now” or “Learn More” buttons to confirm that they take users to the correct product pages or informational sections. If your site has added features like a brewing guide or coffee quiz, ensure these interactive elements function as intended across different devices.

Lastly, running a speed test is a great way to optimize your site before launch. A fast-loading site will help retain potential customers, as many will leave if the page takes too long to load. Tools like Wix’s Site Speed dashboard can provide insights into your site’s speed on both desktop and mobile.

For quicker load times, consider optimizing images and minimizing third-party integrations. With everything tested and running smoothly, your coffee store will be ready for a successful launch!

Promote Your Online Coffee Store

Promoting your online coffee store is key to attracting customers and boosting sales. A strong first step is optimizing your site for search engines (SEO). When your coffee store ranks higher in search results, it’s easier for potential customers to discover your products.

Wix provides built-in SEO tools that help you improve your site’s visibility. With these, you can adjust product titles, descriptions, and meta tags to emphasize key features like single-origin beans, roasting techniques, or sustainable sourcing. These SEO optimizations ensure that coffee enthusiasts searching for specific flavors or brewing methods will find your store more easily.

Email marketing is another valuable tool to drive sales for your coffee business. Collecting customer emails through a subscription box on your site lets you inform them about new blends, special discounts, or even tips on brewing the perfect cup. Regular email engagement not only nurtures customer loyalty but also increases repeat purchases.

Launching a social media campaign can be highly effective too for promoting your coffee store. Platforms like Instagram and TikTok are ideal for sharing visually appealing content, such as brewing tutorials, coffee recipes, or customer testimonials. On the other hand, Facebook allows you to tap into niche groups focused on coffee lovers or specific types of brews. You can use Wix for your social media campaigns or get a dedicated social media management tool.

If running promotions feels overwhelming, hiring a freelance expert can help. Many freelancers specialize in building and promoting online stores. They can help ensure your site is optimized for SEO and create custom marketing strategies tailored to your niche.

Remember, promoting your online coffee store is a long-term investment requiring you to commit time and resources. While you develop your SEO profile and build out marketing strategies, consider using quick-win tactics like selling on Facebook groups or marketplaces. This allows you to start selling your coffee faster while you work on establishing your online presence.

Growing Your Online Coffee Business in 2024

Starting an online coffee store takes dedication and careful planning. Every step is essential, from selecting the right niche and sourcing quality beans to building and customizing your website. As your coffee store grows, tracking your website’s performance and updating it with fresh content is crucial. You want to keep customers engaged and attract new visitors.

The most important step is to get started. Focus on creating a functional, appealing store that showcases your coffee products. You can fine-tune and tweak elements as you gain experience, but launching your store quickly is key to building your presence and making an impact.

FAQ

Does coffee sell well online?

Yes, coffee sells very well online. The global coffee market, especially through subscription services, continues to grow, with annual sales exceeding $80 billion. E-commerce platforms make it easier to tap into this market. A platform like Wix can help you set up a professional, customizable online store to capture part of this market.

How do I start an online business selling coffee?

To start selling coffee online, choose your niche and source high-quality beans. Then, create a website using an e-commerce platform like Wix, which allows you to easily customize your store and manage your business. Focus on building a solid brand and providing an excellent shopping experience for your customers.

Where can I sell my coffee online?

You can sell coffee online through your own e-commerce store. With a website builder like Wix, you can create a store that appeals to your target audience and start selling coffee right away. Wix also provides SEO and marketing features for promoting your store, and you can even sell on third-party marketplaces like Amazon via your Wix dashboard.

Can I run a coffee business from home?

Yes, you can run a coffee business from home. You can set up your home-based coffee roasting or reselling business, provided you comply with local regulations. For example, it might be necessary under local law to acquire business and food handling licenses. Consider using a dedicated e-commerce platform to manage and market your home-based business.