Imagine owning a coffee company in one of the country’s gorgeous lifestyle regions. Nick Giles of Link Business Broking is marketing Max Coffee Roasters in Kerikeri.
Established in 1999, Max Coffee was created to provide Northland with freshly roasted coffee and has gone on to become the province's premium coffee roaster. The company proudly roasts over 400kg of green beans each week in the traditional way, using its classic Otto Swadlo Rotary Roaster.
“This is a business that is extremely well established, and the current owner has done a fabulous job as custodian of this well-known brand,” Giles says.
“There are great systems in place and the staff are highly trained and very capable. So much so that the owner has stepped away from the business to focus on a new and exciting project away from the coffee industry.”
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Coffee is an integral part of everyday Kiwi life and demand for the liquid gold is insatiable. While there are more roasters per capita in New Zealand than anywhere else, the opportunities to grow are still very much in evidence.
Giles says Max Coffee is at that “nice size” where it is viewed as a serious player in the coffee market and especially in Northland, and where economies of scale for future growth start to make a significant difference.
The company sells primarily to the wholesale cafe market, which is the most lucrative sector, and also through retail stores and directly to consumers. People also visit the roasting facility to get their daily flat white or espresso fix. Some 65 per cent of volume is wholesale, 20 per cent retail and 15 per cent over the counter or sold privately to local businesses and customers.
“Over the years the company has minimised its risk by having a large number of relatively small customers rather than focusing on just a couple of big customers. The majority of these customers are Northland-based with a few in Auckland,” Giles says.
You do not need coffee industry experience to own and successfully run Max Coffee — the current owner didn't when they acquired the business some four years ago. Liking coffee will help, as will some good transferable business skills.
You don’t even need to learn the craft of roasting – skilled staff are on hand for that.
A new owner will have the choice of learning everything there is to know about the craft or focussing on the brand and growing its reach.
“This is a neat little company that runs like a well-oiled machine,” Giles says. “As it is, you can look forward to a surplus of over $175,000 but there is more to be had here. There are various growth opportunities, and a new owner may well want to explore some of these further. There are also big cost savings to be had by working in the business as a hands-on owner operator.”
He says the likely buyer is someone from outside the coffee industry who has a passion for coffee and is set to explore their next journey by owning and operating a small local business. “That is not to say an existing barista or roaster wouldn’t be interested – they would – but the appeal is much wider than that. Most coffee companies I have sold over the years are to people coming out of corporate positions and waning something new and exciting in their lives. This one absolutely delivers on that front.”
The business and all associated assets are for sale for $639,000 plus stock.
Contact: Nick Giles, ph 021 676 832, [email protected]
— Article supplied by Link
