Hello friends!
I wanted to take a moment to reflect on our first full year in business. That means the good and the bad. Starting a business is no easy task. Scaling a business is even harder. Going doesn't always mean growing.
We faced many obstacles and opportunities. Investing in a larger roaster was exciting... but expensive. Leasing space for operations was costly... but crucial. At the end of the year, though, we can look back with gratitude, joy, hope and encouragement. Encouragement for what lies ahead in this new year.
[2024 By The Numbers below]
January 2024
Just a few months into business and we were doing a lot of reflection. "What is our identity?" "What do we stand for?" "What opportunities are there to use what we do and how we do it to impact others and make a difference?"
At that point we were still dialing in some roasts with our startup roaster, building our e-commerce platform and talking through our vision. Sales were slim, opportunity was growing.
--
May 2024
Fast forward a few months, with the prospect of one of our largest wholesale partners trusting us with a large portion of their coffee needs, we signed a lease on warehouse space, invested in a larger roaster and opened our operations facility.
At that point we were beginning to iron out who we were. We further developed our brand and online presence, and were able to scale our retail operations. The first year was going well. We were growing, albeit slowly, but still... growing.
--
December 2024
As the holidays drew near, we launched our Holiday Blend, which received great reviews. We continued to gain traction and build brand awareness. We launched Sample Packs (available year-round) and our new decaf, the Lazy River roast. Everything was looking up as we headed toward the end of the year.
But... as is the nature of business, we reached an obstacle. Blessing after blessing and then we hit our first major snag as a business.
--
January 2025
Obstacles are only obstacles because you can get around them. You can overcome them. We had specific plans in place for the new year based on the current state of the company (as of December 2024), but now we are working to pivot. We are working to overcome obstacles.
As we look back on 2024, through all the ups and downs, highs and lows, all we see are blessings after blessings. The biggest blessing is our customers, nay, our community.
The Black Warrior Coffee community (and really the coffee community in general (shoutout to the local coffee shops and everyone who drinks coffee)) has helped us grow and is helping us lock in vision, purpose and mission.
Without this community you are helping build, our mission to deliver high quality coffee, educate everyone on what coffee is supposed to be and use our brand to make a difference has no traction. You are the key component to building this out. We have a vision to change the way people think about and drink coffee, but we can't do that without the people, without you.
Looking Ahead
We have a few larger goals for 2025. Of course we have a few internal measurable goals (e.g. pounds of coffee sold, gross sales/revenue, profit, etc.), but some other "big picture" goals include:
- Create a better customer experience
- Increase our product offerings to reach every coffee drinker
- Build a community around good, local coffee #GoodCoffeeOnly #LocalCoffeeOnly
- This means coffee education - helping others understand the benefits and quality of locally-roasted coffee (no more large manufacturers/black coffee isn't actually bitter)
- This means a brand beyond coffee - a lifestyle brand that inspires everyone
- Increase brand awareness
- Increase community engagement
- Use our coffee to foster personal growth, professional growth, spiritual growth, improved physical health & active lifestyles, and improved mental health #FuelYourWarrior
We are on a mission to change Tuscaloosa, to change the way you think about coffee, to change the way you drink coffee and to create as much good for our community as possible.
At the end of the day, we are a coffee company. We want to bring you the best coffee you've ever had. And we believe we can do that. Just give us a try. But, ultimately we are a company on a mission to make a difference. Coffee is just our vehicle to do so.
We look forward to this new year. We look forward to growth. We look forward to the challenges. But most importantly, we look forward to building this community with you. We, and I truly mean we, as in you, us, our community, anyone and everyone, can change Tuscaloosa one cup, or bag, of coffee at a time.
I hope you'll join us and remember #GoodCoffeeOnly and #LocalCoffeeOnly (they're one and the same).
With love, gratitude and coffee,
Doug Killough
Co-Founder
2024 BY THE NUMBERS
- 1,603 bags of coffee sold (includes 12 oz., 2 lb. and 5 lb.)
- 3,680 pounds of coffee sold
- 3,875 unique online store visitors
- 5,737 website sessions
- 4.29% conversion rate (4.29 customers out of 100 completed a purchase)
- Customers in 13 different states (AL, FL, GA, CA, IL, TX, MI, NC, NJ, OH, OR, PA, WA)
- 173 new subscribers