Brew Crew

Introducing Brew Crew

Brew Crew is a specialty coffee roaster, supplying both retail and wholesale customers, such as coffee shops, offices, and restaurants. They sell a variety of high quality, freshly roasted coffee beans from around the world.

How did it all begin?

After graduating from university, Ben and business partner Iain were keen to create something that could have a genuinely positive impact in the world. After being involved with social enterprises, they became aware of the issues in the coffee industry and how far it had to progress before it was a supply chain that worked for everyone. This combined with their love of coffee, meant it was natural to start a business that put the producers first in a typically consumer-focused industry.

100% Compostable Packaging

Brew Crew pride themselves on their commitment to making a real impact and being part of a genuinely sustainable and equitable supply chain. The coffee industry has lots of claims of 'ethical and transparent sourcing' and 'sustainability' and often little explanation as to what this means. As well as all of Brew Crew’s packaging being entirely compostable, they commit 10% of their sale price to projects in the country the coffee comes from. This is their way of making it absolutely clear that the coffee their customers buy from them makes a genuine, direct impact on the producers, or the environment. This is on top of working directly with producers, or specially selected ethical importers who share their values.

What have been the main challenges to date?

“Ensuring that corners are not cut on values or commitments to sustainability, while still remaining competitive in a crowded market has been challenging. Coffee is often viewed as a commodity, so it is never an easy task to convince people to pay more for coffee that is ethically sourced, and sustainably produced. Add to this the rising costs of production for them, and rising costs for everyone for other important things in their life or business, and it's becomes an even more difficult pitch.”

However, they are optimistic that the market is there, and people do genuinely care about what they're consuming, and the impact that it has on the world.

And plans for the future?

There’s lots going on! They are currently finishing up a new website, which will allow customers to track the personal contributions they make, just by supporting Brew Crew and drinking their coffee. A very exciting time as it should be the first of its kind in the coffee space.

Once the new website is ready, they want to get the message out there and see what people make of being able to track their impact and the transparency being offered. They are hopeful it will be of big interest to people and help them to build a retail base while increasing the impact they are able to make.

They are also looking to provide more coffee shops, offices and restaurants with their specialty coffee, and bring impact measurements to the wholesale side of the business.

Why did you choose biodegradable labels?

“As sustainability is very important to us, it was pivotal that our packaging was as low impact as possible, so biodegradable labels were the obvious choice. Lots of businesses (some of which are b-corps) make big sustainability claims, yet use single use plastic packaging, when other options are out there! We're very happy with our green labels and they're exactly what we were looking for.”

To find out more about the projects Brew Crew are involved in and to buy sustainable coffee online, visit their website. We are confident they have an impactful and sustainable future ahead of them.

And to find out how biodegradable labels and stickers can benefit your business, visit our website.