I have been interested in the coffee market for 5-6 years now. When a new roaster starts, I often hear the same speech:
“We were not satisfied with the coffee offering in Quebec, so we decided to start our own business!”
Personally, I find this rather ridiculous as a business vision. Firstly, this kind of message amounts to saying that we all drink dishwater without realizing it, a funny way to attract the customer ;) Finally, because it creates a hostile atmosphere in the environment, where each actor stays on his side for fear of revealing the secret of his success.
For my part, after a couple of years working with several roasters, I can say without hesitation that there is very good coffee brewed here! So how do you stand out with Monark?
My approach is to listen to the customer. What I realized is that our customers want to be offered a variety of interesting coffees, but not to be told how to drink it. People want fun coffee without being complicated.
For us, that means two things. We want to offer a selection of coffees that will appeal to as many people as possible. We will have darker roasts, others milder. Strong and rich coffees, others fruity and delicate.
We also want our packaging, which is the first contact you will have with our products, to reflect the pleasure we have in making coffee. A dynamic visual, a simple description of what it tastes like, without too much jargon.
Now we know what we want, but how do we mix coffee terroirs and cooking methods to accomplish all that? This will be the theme of the 2nd Becoming Roaster ;)
-Xavier
