Bonaverde

Market

Target market

Technology is evolving the way we work, live, and trade at a rapid rate. As it touches each industry, those with an interest in new ways of operating as a society are always the first to join in. We're counting on these early innovators to lead the way as we use technology to reinvent coffee trade.

The third-wave of coffee, characterized by boutique coffee shops peddling origin-centric, in-house roasts, has created a large market of coffee drinkers who value exceptional quality coffee. We’ve created a product that not only brings high quality coffee into the home, but adds the experience of in-house roasting. Early targets are coffee drinkers who are passionate about what’s in their cup, gadget geeks envisioning a world changed via technology, and socially aware individuals looking to make a difference with their disposable income. As true innovators, these enthusiasts look for the next big thing in their respective passions. The buzz they create in their communities inspires other early adopters.

We expect this initial target to expand rapidly. Awareness from our crowdfunding campaigns and PR has driven enough interest for us to begin development of a second-generation machine. Coffee is one of the most-traded commodities in the world, second only to petroleum. In Germany alone, 64.1% of coffee drinkers report they regularly prepare filter coffee at home, and 50.5% report regularly drinking it outside the home. These filter coffee drinkers, both in Germany and around the world, are our target market. We expect consumers to demand the freshness and quality of our coffee, and the food and hospitality industry to respond, adopting the machine as a means to set themselves and their coffee apart. We’re currently scoping out another product specifically-tailored for these industries.

Consider how many individuals you see with a thermos or to-go coffee cup each morning. A significant percentage of those individuals (64% in Germany alone) are sipping filter coffee. These individuals are our target market - starting with those with their fingers on the pulse of how innovation is evolving our ways of working.

Characteristics of target market

According to the SCAA, the retail value of the U.S. coffee market alone is estimated at $48 billion dollars. Amongst Americans over 18, 54% drink coffee every day, amounting to over 130 million daily coffee drinkers in the US alone.

Despite how much coffee is consumed around the world each day, we haven't evolved the way its traded at the pace of technology. The coffee industry is based on an antiquated commodity market with a long supply chain that thrives on isolation, with single actors at different steps of the supply chain purchasing devices and beans. Our model interweaves players as part of a growing network, fostering direct connections with the aim of creating equitable trade for all.

In our coffee trade infrastructure, all stakeholders’ profits are interdependent. The current supply chain allows brands and importers to take hold of value-adding processes, effectively dismissing the art of the farmer and cutting them out of the bulk of the profit margin. We bring some value-added processes (roasting) to consumers, while empowering farmers to take on others (packaging and branding). Trade is online and direct between producers and consumers. All others only profit by supporting these two stakeholders.

Finally, we bring together machine and coffee, rather than treating them as separate entities. Through our traceable digital ecosystem, we’re able to create options like pay-as-you-go coffee, single-portion consumer pouches, and consumer networks based on interconnected machines.

Marketing strategy

We’ve already begun engaging our first target users. Our crowdfunding campaigns attracted early innovators in our three target communities: Coffee Aficionados, Gadget Lovers, and Conscious Consumers. Due to the disruptive nature of this product, our crowdfunding campaigns and journey to market have already created wide awareness. We plan to continue building on the momentum created by delivering our crowdfunded device with a twofold strategy: (1) Foster the naturally high referral rate of these innovators and (2) Attract new awareness by capturing the interest of influencers and distributors.

The first part of this marketing strategy is organic. Crowdfunding backers naturally feel a sense of pride and ownership over a product they’ve helped bring to life. Because they thrive on discovering and sharing new innovations, the early innovators who’ve crowdfunded our hardware project can be counted on to spread the word. We’ve seen throughout our development how rapidly our backers can drive the conversation around our product. We are ready to give them a product they can proudly evangelize.

Incentive to share is an intrinsic element of our product. Owning a Bonaverde Berlin is more than buying a coffee maker. It’s joining a movement. Our core message has always been that all members of our ecosystem are Coffee Changers, with a stake in a better world of coffee. Feeling invested in the success of this new ecosystem encourages our early innovators to spread the word.

The second half of our marketing strategy, attracting new awareness, will draw on our extensive experience running campaigns that share this new coffee experience. It’s important to remember that what we’re creating is not just a disruption, but an entire reinvention of a common product and enormous industry. We can’t just explain it - we need to allow people to experience it. Our experiential marketing campaigns focus on tasting events that aim to catch the attention of bloggers, influencers, and distributors.

Competition strategy

As an integrated coffee system, we enter two markets - coffee and coffee hardware. When approaching our relationship with the coffee industry, we adopt the mindset that a rising tide lifts all boats. We welcome any coffee producer and brand to join us in our direct-trade ecosystem. After all, those who make their business high-quality, well-priced, fairly traded coffee are our allies in building a better coffee industry. Whether they participate by offering beans or crafting roasting profiles, we are hoping they will join us, expanding the market and helping to create direct-trade coffee as a substantial force in this massive industry.

On the hardware side of the market, we are aware that increasing interest in the taste of freshly roasted coffee has drawn other home roasting devices to to the market. However, the market is still young, and we believe that we are offering the only truly comprehensive option. We understand that our end-to-end system is the only one of its kind, and no other machine is integrated into a complete coffee experience. In addition, we believe that none of the competing models offer the customizable experience the Bonaverde Berlin presents. While there are roast-only and even roast-grind-brew machines coming on to the market, they all work in isolation. We believe that faced with a choice between doing some solo experiments in home roasting or joining a vibrant, immersive, social coffee network, most coffee lovers will choose the latter.