Can cafés actually reduce costs by roasting their own coffee?

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

Key takeaways

• Rising costs are pushing cafés to diversify their revenue streams.
• In-store roasting helps cafés control margins and reduce their reliance on wholesale suppliers.
• Compact roasting equipment makes in-house roasting accessible for smaller businesses.
• Custom products can attract both retail and wholesale clients.

With rising costs across the board, cafés are under more pressure than ever. Green coffee prices reached their highest recorded levels in early 2025, exceeding US$4/lb. 

However, while raw material costs are important, they account for only a fraction of a coffee shop’s total expenses. Rent, wages, packaging, energy, and milk have all experienced significant price hikes since the pandemic, and these increases inevitably impact coffee shop prices.

“Rising leases, rent, and overheads are becoming a real burden for most coffee business owners,” says Michael Quigley, the co-founder of Quigley Coffee Co. “What we have learned since starting our business almost five years ago is that combining creativity with diversifying our income was the only way we would survive in this cutthroat economy. 

“We had to look at what would be an asset to us, as well as our loyal customers who are dealing with the same issues we are.”

Café operators are being pushed to diversify their products and services, building new revenue streams that can withstand market volatility and hurdles. For some, roasting in-house diversifies income, helps manage costs, and builds a more curated brand identity.

You may also like our article on why roasters are demanding more from their machines.

Why cafés need to manage their costs

Despite a record 182.5 million 60kg bags predicted for the 2026/27 coffee harvest, arabica prices remain elevated, and uncertainty continues to shape the global coffee market.

According to a March 2025 UN FAO report, it will take nearly a year for consumers to fully feel the effects of price spikes. More concerning still, the report estimates that the residual effects of these price rises will last for four years, meaning the market disruption of early 2025 will have a lasting impact on the industry.

Consumers will inevitably adapt their purchasing behaviours in response. Many are likely to switch to more affordable options, visit coffee shops less frequently, and view specialty coffee as an occasional luxury rather than a daily routine.

This creates both challenges and opportunities for café operators. Coffee shops will need to find innovative ways to cater to shifting preferences, develop new strategies to attract customers, and diversify their revenue streams.

One of the most effective ways to do this is to roast and sell their own coffee. Following the emergence of micro roasters in the 2010s, in-store roasting has become more popular. Once costly and complex, the practice has become much more viable with the launch of more advanced, compact, and accessible equipment.

“Beyond our brick-and-mortar café in Sanford, Florida, we run a full mobile espresso cart service for events, such as weddings, corporate events, and parties,” Michael Quigley says. “We started roasting in-house with the Bellwether Shop Roaster. The all-electric, ventless, and automatic countertop machine doesn’t require gas lines or construction and can roast up to 1.5kg per batch, with three to four roasts per hour.”

How in-store roasting can benefit cafés

In-store roasting offers café operators more control over their supply chains. Instead of relying on wholesalers, coffee shops can source and roast their own coffee, thereby better managing costs.

“We were buying coffee from two different roasters at the time, and we weren’t sure if we should start roasting our own coffee,” says Michael Safarov, founder of Teremok Coffee & Desserts. “But costs started slowly creeping up. When we first opened, we paid US$7/lb, and now, from the same roaster, it’s almost US$15/lb.

“With business expenses and insurance going up, you have to raise your prices to survive. You can’t just eat your margin by 10%,” he adds. “Another one of our suppliers is located three hours away. Because we’re in a small town far from any other places, it’s hard for us to find a reliable roaster.”

Roasting in-house helps cafés manage their margins and inventories more closely. The Bellwether Shop Roaster, for example, allows businesses to roast 20 kg in up to 4.5 hours, enabling even greater daily output depending on operating hours.

Streamlining operations

“I can roast while I’m working,” Michael Safarov says. “It takes me 30 seconds to a minute to load the green coffee, then continue baking muffins, counting inventory, or completing payroll, so it made sense.”

Additionally, the Continuous Roasting Upgrade enables operators to load sufficient green coffee for up to 13 consecutive batches with minimal intervention. This means that, in a standard nine-hour shift, users could roast up to 40kg with only a few minutes of labour.

“We started off slow, and then we kept going,” Michael Safarov says. “We replaced our decaf in our espresso bar, then drip, and then cold brew. We’re saving about US$754 every week, which is roughly US$40,000 per year. In less than six months, we’ve already paid off the machine.”

Bellwether’s ROI calculator enables coffee business operators to better understand the costs and benefits of in-store roasting. The calculator also factors in variables such as per-pound savings, cost per cup, CO2 emissions reductions, and time to break even, providing a clearer picture of operational impact.

Revenue diversification beyond coffee

Beyond the added benefit of selling more coffee at higher margins, in-house roasting can help cafés build a more robust, curated brand identity. Coffee shops can offer greater product differentiation through custom and signature roast profiles and blends, unique to their business, helping them attract both B2B and B2C clients.

“Roasting in-store with the Bellwether Shop Roaster has opened entirely new lines of business for us,” says Tracy Powell, the owner and co-founder of Momentum Coffee. “We now sell to cafés, restaurants, hotels, and office buildings. 

“Our signature blends have become customer favourites, giving us recurring sales online and in stores,” he adds. “Private-label roasting is another high-margin, low-churn business that continues to grow.”

For cafés, in-house roasting creates opportunities beyond just selling their own coffee. The practice can transform coffee shops into interactive, multisensory spaces that foster deeper connections between customers and the products they buy, thereby strengthening the business’ branding and marketing. 

But with up to 70% of customers reportedly spending more with brands they consider authentic, product and revenue diversification must align with brand values and personality. “You need to own your process; roast your own coffee, make your own products, and control what matters most,” Tracy says. “Ownership is resilience.”

Strengthening branding

Over time, businesses can establish themselves as reliable roasters, emphasising consistency and quality, building a stronger, more sophisticated brand identity. This can open doors to selling merchandise and clothing, further strengthening the brand and adding another channel for customers and wholesale clients to support them.

“Using the Shop Roaster has kept our Cost of Goods Sold within margin during the rise in the green coffee market,” Michael Quigley explains. “It also completely changed the structure of our business. The café alone couldn’t reliably cover the costs of our space, even with loyal customers, so roasting expanded our revenue.

“Now, we roast for the café, our carts, and a growing number of small wholesale accounts,” he adds. “It shifted us from being just a coffee shop to being a coffee company. The Shop Roaster enabled us to scale without the barriers of traditional roasting, creating multiple revenue streams that support and strengthen one another. 

“It has made our brand more flexible, more resilient, and better positioned for long-term growth, and brought a sense of trust and excitement to our regulars.”

The year ahead will undoubtedly present challenges for coffee shop operators as price pressures persist and consumer behaviour evolves, but it will also offer new opportunities for growth.

In-house roasting is increasingly a viable strategy for managing costs, diversifying revenue, and strengthening brand identity. As roasting equipment continues to evolve with advanced features and intuitive technology, we can expect to see even more coffee shops roasting in-store.

Enjoyed this? Then read our article on how to start a micro roastery.

Photo credits: Bellwether Coffee, Quigley Coffee Co., Momentum Coffee

Perfect Daily Grind

Please note: Bellwether Coffee is a sponsor of Perfect Daily Grind.

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