COFFEE SMARTER: WITH ROASTAR

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ANNOUNCEMENT! THANK YOU! COFFEE SMARTER PRO!

Connect: roastar.com • @roastarbags on Facebook • @roastar on Instagram

BIG NEWS! Roastar is the new presenting sponsor of Coffee Smarter Pro, our short-form podcast providing coffee education for those in, around, and interested in the coffee industry, or aspiring to be in the coffee industry.

A salesman flashes the peace sign with his fingers while standing behind a table loaded with sample coffee bags and merchandise at a trade show. — I first connected with Roastar at Coffee Fest LA. Nick’s (pictured) name tag said he was from my hometown, as is Roastar! The Roastar tradeshow booth has grown. See them (and R!WC) at the upcoming Coffee Fest NYC and SCA in Chicago in 2024. Photo via Facebook.

I’d note that Roastar didn’t ask me to send out this post, but I wanted to share more about their company with the followers of our coffee podcast/newsletter efforts. One of the greatest compliments I’ve received since launching Roast! West Coast was hearing from a listener who was so inspired by the stories of other coffee entrepreneurs that they launched their own roastery and cafe. Those listeners are why Coffee Smarter Pro exists!

Roastar’s support enables us to focus on continuing to support the craft coffee community by providing industry-specific education through the Coffee Smarter Pro podcast, not to mention their continued willingness to support the sharing of inspiring coffee industry stories on the Coffee People podcast. Thank you, Roastar.

Roastar’s tagline is “Small Business, Big Story.” You hear me say that at it at the top of each Coffee People podcast.* Over the past year, I’ve seen that in action as I’ve connected with their team—shout out to Dani, Nick, Sadie, and Danielle, for starters! When I come across a roaster (of chocolatier or snack maker) looking for a bag or can that best represents their brand of coffee, I connect them to Roastar. I don’t take that referral lightly.

The things that set Roastar apart for small businesses:

They keep it simple.
Go to Roastar.com to get a quote.
Low minimum orders. As low as 500 bags with up to five different artwork designs. Launch an entire line-up without investing in massive quantities of packaging.
Quick turnaround on orders is possible due to high-quality digital printing. I don’t mean like quick, like a month. I mean quick like a week if everything comes together right.
Their online dashboard makes for easy engagement and a polished visual so you know (and can show) what the final product will look like from all angles.
They’ve worked and grown with brands. If you start small and your brand takes off, Roastar can help you keep pace. They’ve been there and done that with small businesses. You won’t need to change course as you get bigger.
They offer a start-to-finish process. Their team walks you through every step from picking the right packaging, getting quotes, understanding the package's impacts, and even connecting you with a designer (if needed).

SEE ROASTAR'S PACKAGING PROCESS

They care about sustainability. Not just because it is good business, but because their team actually cares. They’ve been working to provide more and more eco-friendly options, but have actually stopped me from celebrating them when they didn’t feel they were as good as they could be. There are so many unseen pitfalls when trying to run a sustainable business, and the team at Roastar is doing the foundational work to help you feel confident in the products you’re passing along to your customers.

A diagram of the recyclable materials in a coffee bag. — Roastar is both innovating new eco-friendly packaging *and* collaborating with sustainability partners like TREX to make more and more of their products environmentally-friendly, and/or recyclable. Photo via Facebook.

Finally, it is people working with people. Visit the Roastar social media feeds and you’d expect to see photos of packaging. Those are there, but so are photos of their team visiting recycling plants and supporting local school sports teams. You’ll see people dressing up for holiday parties and participating in parades. You’ll see them sponsoring (and running in) local charity races, traveling to coffee businesses, and connecting with clients at trade shows to learn what matters to them. You’ll see the team from Roastar supporting the community. By that, I mean their geographic community, and the craft coffee community-at-large.

A group of Roastar employees pose behind a pile of leaves in front of a white ranch home covered in leaves from the surrounding oak and maple trees. — Roastar’s Sales & Service Team participated in United Way of Marathon County's Annual Leaf Raking event for community members in need. Photo via Facebook.

When I refer someone to Roastar, I’m not just sending them to Roastar.com. I’m connecting them with a human who follows up. They don’t treat customers like numbers, they work with them to grow and represent because they appreciate the stories of small businesses. A dozen years ago, they were a small business too. That hustle ethos hasn’t disappeared, nor has that desire to create lasting partnerships.

*Roastar has been the presenting sponsor of our Coffee People podcast since spring of 2023. At the time we first met, they were most interested in our Coffee Smarter efforts but I was still working out the details of how Coffee Smarter programming would work. They threw their support behind Roast! West Coast anyway because they are awesome.

If you have questions for our Coffee Smarter Pro experts, please send them to: coffeesmarterpodcast@gmail.com.

A huge, on-going thank you to all of this show’s industry partners. Click these links!

Roastar • Zumbar Coffee & Tea • First Light Coffee Whiskey • Steady State Roasting • Mostra Coffee • Coffee Cycle • Camp Coffee Company • Ignite Coffee Company • Ascend Coffee Roasters • Marea Coffee • Cape Horn Coffee Roasters • Hacea Coffee Source • Crossings Coffee • Acento Coffee Roasters • Sivitz Roasting Machines

R!WC PRODUCT RECOMMENDATION

I’ve used this brewer nearly 150 times. Check out my full review below. No drama. I not only have recommended it, I agreed to be a promotional partner with Simply Good Coffee. Clicking the link below will get you all the product details, and if you end up purchasing one, it will support Roast! West Coast:

CLICK TO GO TO SIMPLY GOOD BREWERS