The Coffee Apothecary

Idea

Introduction

The Coffee Apothecary was born out of a desire to bring world-renowned coffee, and the relaxed café culture that we fell in love with whilst living in Melbourne, back to our beautiful corner of Northeast Scotland. In 2014, we bought a run-down village post office and set about breathing new life into it. From day one, we prided ourselves on ethically sourcing the highest quality coffee and ingredients for our inspiring and wholesome menu.

In 2019, we expanded the business by opening a second, larger café with support from BrewDog. This venture recreated our signature, relaxed café atmosphere, and enabled us to introduce a new, sophisticated dining experience with evening openings, craft beer, and cocktails.

With total revenue of over £2m generated since launching in 2014 and £661k of revenue generated in 2019*, we are ready to move our business forward by turning a building we already own, just behind our flagship cafe, into a speciality coffee roastery.

Substantial accomplishments to date

2014
- May: Completed purchase of a run-down post office in rural Aberdeenshire
- Project-managed a complete renovation, transforming the damp, dark shell with no heating, water supply or drainage, into a beautiful cafe
- Dec: Opened the doors with a dedicated team of four staff

2015
- Generated revenue of £151k*
- Focused on constantly improving and adding to our offering
- Introduced outdoor seating to increase covers from 45 to 80

2016 - 2017
- Continued growth with revenue increases of 13% in 2016 and 20% in 2017*

2018
- Approached by BrewDog to open a second cafe in a nearby town centre
- Project-managed the build alongside Brewdog Exec. bar team
- Grew revenue in first cafe by 28%*

2019
- Jan: Opened doors to our second cafe
- Grew the staff team to 40
- June: Introduced evening openings in the new cafe
- Dec: Re-established profitability after significant investment in the business expansion

2020
- Began year on-track for growth predictions
- Highest ever daily takings on final day before lockdown
- Rebounded after lockdown with a successful takeaway-only phase of reopening
- Navigated the challenging circumstances of being open with constantly changing restrictions before the second lockdown
- Full staff retention throughout COVID-19 period

2021
- Finalised design plans for our next expansion venture - the coffee roastery
- Continued to exceed revenue expectations on reopening in April, despite ongoing restrictions

*Based on unaudited Management Accounts.

Monetisation strategy

The coffee roastery will add a new revenue stream to the existing two cafes, and will be financially viable from day one, owing to:
- Supplying the coffee requirements for both cafes, roasted and packaged on-site
- Retail sales of take-home coffee in both cafes

We are designing a new website, complete with e-commerce capabilities and subscription management functions, which will enable online sales to a much larger, far-reaching customer base across the UK through the following:
- Online retail sales
- Online subscription letterbox service

There is also the potential to wholesale to other like-minded speciality cafes in Scotland, the UK, and potentially worldwide.

Use of proceeds

We have worked hard to build a strong and reliable reputation for quality in the local area, and further investment will enable us to take the next logical step in growing our business.

With over 7 years’ experience in the industry, and expertise in creating the finest-tasting coffee, developing an in-house roastery will enhance quality control of the products we serve, and will add a potentially significant retail dimension to our existing model.

The funding will enable us to renovate a run-down building the business already owns and add an extension, which will house the coffee roaster and create space for packing and storing our product. The installation of solar panels to our south-facing roof will support our environmental ethos, and we will improve our staff facilities.

Investment will also fund the purchase of a high-end coffee roasting machine including the associated technology and equipment required to create an exceptional and sustainable product.