Advice Please: Brand Building

[whoville]

Hello, I am new to the coffee roasting business. My company is Steampunk Johnny's Coffee Co. I roast Colombian and Guatemalan beans to sell retail. Right now I am building my brand on a shoe string budget. I have a roaster and I grind, package, and label by myself. Any advice on brand building is very welcomed. My goal is to open a small coffee house with a steampunk theme. I'm looking forward to hearing everyone's thoughts!

Website www.steampunkjohnnyscom

 

[ensoluna]

hi, I do not mind ordering some coffee from you, but there is no information about the coffee at all. Zero!
what are you selling?

Coffee | Intelligentsia Coffee

like above website, you got to provide complete info about your coffee, without that, it will be very tough to sell.

 

[John P]

The graphic looks good, lettering not so much. It's too busy as a scalable item.

As ensoluna said, you have no info at all on your coffees.

Also, how much coffee for the $ ? $11.95/$12.95 is a rather low price point whether for 12 oz, and especially at 1 pound, which makes me wonder about the specific coffee you are selling.
And "Love in a Mug" ? Doesn't fit the theme at all, I cannot imagine Captain Nemo uttering, "Give me some Love in a mug, please!" Also you are selling the coffee in bags (I assume) not mugs, it unnecessary and/or poor copy.

 

[Mr.Peaberry]

Regarding the logo, I agree with John. Graphic fits the Steampunk theme, but the font is from a Buffalo Bill Cody Playbill. This is confusing. If you are on a shoestring budget...you need a laser focus on branding. I also agree that "Love in a Mug", albeit a catchy phrase, is also inconsistent with your chosen theme. Waaay too cutesy for the jackhammer crowd!! For some inspiration, visit Ravensbrew.com ... I think they have done a wonderful job of branding, especially with the names chosen for their coffee's and consistency of message.

 

[whoville]

Thank you for your feedback! I am currently making improvements to my website and I will be talking about my coffee, about myself, and how I came to start the business. To give you some information about my coffee, I manually roast all of my beans. I use 100% Arabica beans from Colombia for my medium roast, and 100% Arabica beans from Guatemala for my dark roast. It is very smooth with no bitterness. I am researching why my coffee is not bitter as compared to Starbucks, and since I started roasting I cannot even drink store brands such as Foldger's and Maxwell House. All of this information will be included on my "About Us" page on my website within the next two days. I want to thank you again for your feedback! I am also on facebook and I will be offering a 10% discount on their next order if the customer writes a review. If you are on facebook, look us up!

 

[whoville]

Thank You! The font in question is from the same time period and actually does fit the steampunk theme. My graphics artist and I have done quite a bit of research to come up with the font. Of course, because I am in such an early phase I am able to develop the logo and fonts. Also, thank you for the suggestion to visit ravensbrew.com. I certainly appreciate your advice!

 

[whoville]

John, thank you for the feedback and advice! I will discuss the font with my graphics designer, maybe we can tweak that some. I sell my coffee in true 1 lb. Someone told me I would price myself out of business at that price but I am finding that premium roast coffee is selling for about $14 per pound. I am still building the website and I will be launching the online store within the next few days. I will be adding an "about us" page which will talk about how I started the business and about my coffee.

 

[John P]

whoville,

"Colombia" and "Guatemala" are very generic descriptors. What farms, lots, etc is your coffee from? And what is "premium roast" coffee?? Outside of grocery store type coffee, I don't think that term is used.
And how long have you been roasting?

 

[Jaycamp]

I'm in the same boat but I am RE branding which is not as tough. I am starting my own roastery I my coffee house which has been open for 5 years. My one chunk of advise would be to keep it simple and minimal. One clean basic logo and legible fonts for all...remember, most of these kids are using small screens and mobile sites.
One more thing to elaborate... Give thorough information of the beans...DO NOT say arabica! I run the other way when I hear "it's arabica". Granted robustas may have there place says the folks at Josuma... But I want the varietals specifics like typica or bourbon and so on. Ask your green importer to give you a detailed spec sheet or just visit their website like Balzac Brothers and Company or many others. Since you are only using 2 Americas (oddly small offering) you need a very detailed list of why these coffees are special. Maybe consider adding one from Africa and one from Indo to start.
Good Luck and Cheers!

 

[signsny]

Hello,

We offer logo design and branding ideas. We have a team of creative designers who can put a package together. Contact us.

Abie

 

[Rewardster]

Hello, I am new to the coffee roasting business. My company is Steampunk Johnny's Coffee Co. I roast Colombian and Guatemalan beans to sell retail. Right now I am building my brand on a shoe string budget. I have a roaster and I grind, package, and label by myself. Any advice on brand building is very welcomed. My goal is to open a small coffee house with a steampunk theme. I'm looking forward to hearing everyone's thoughts!

Building a brand takes time. In the Advertising world it's referred to as "Institutional Advertising". While there are many kinds of advertising, the two most popular are:

1. Institutional Advertising - Freeway billboard has an attractive young woman or man, holding a can of ice cold can of Coca Cola, sweat beading on the can, up to their lips while wiping the sweat from their brow. The caption reads, "Coke. It refreshes."

Institutional Advertising is designed to associate emotions and feelings to brands. In this case, Coke is refreshing. This kind of advertising is designed to work over time and can be expensive as it takes repetition and time. This is the kind of advertising used to build a brand.

There are other ways to build a brand, of course, like getting great reviews, press releases, social media feedback and more, but all will require some well-designed Institutional Ads to "anchor" the emotions and feelings you want conveyed.

2. Direct Advertising - Freeway billboard sign has an image of a 12-pack of Coca Cola with large text that says, "12-pack of Coca Cola, only $3.99 at Bob's Convenience Store. Take offramp 14."

Direct Advertising is designed to make a sale, pure and simple. Brand-building is not it's purpose and in some respects it can actually devalue your brand, if you're not careful of how you promote the offers. Discounts, for example, can devalue a brand, if done over a long term.

At the beginning of a "bootstrap startup", without lots of financial investment, it's difficult to build a brand. Most companies wait until they have some profit before brand-building but larger companies with investment do often dedicate a portion of their funds to brand-building (Institutional Advertising). Unless you have deep pockets, I'd recommend starting with Direct Advertising. Make some profit, and re-invest it as you grow.

Hope that helps.

 

[balihomemade]

Hi from Bali,
we offer a Bali Homemade Coffee, organic. Running a small Farm in Bali Mountain. Our Organic Coffee is grown to produce coffee which has a pure taste. It has a different taste than Coffee which is not organically grown which tends to leave you with a metallic or chemical aftertaste. Different regions and plantations produce varying tastes and strengths, but typically it’s not the bean, itself, causing such aftertastes.It’s additives.
We looking for Market our Coffee.

 

[javanize.me]

Building a brand takes time. In the Advertising world it's referred to as "Institutional Advertising". While there are many kinds of advertising, the two most popular are:

1. Institutional Advertising - Freeway billboard has an attractive young woman or man, holding a can of ice cold can of Coca Cola, sweat beading on the can, up to their lips while wiping the sweat from their brow. The caption reads, "Coke. It refreshes."

Institutional Advertising is designed to associate emotions and feelings to brands. In this case, Coke is refreshing. This kind of advertising is designed to work over time and can be expensive as it takes repetition and time. This is the kind of advertising used to build a brand.

There are other ways to build a brand, of course, like getting great reviews, press releases, social media feedback and more, but all will require some well-designed Institutional Ads to "anchor" the emotions and feelings you want conveyed.

2. Direct Advertising - Freeway billboard sign has an image of a 12-pack of Coca Cola with large text that says, "12-pack of Coca Cola, only $3.99 at Bob's Convenience Store. Take offramp 14."

Direct Advertising is designed to make a sale, pure and simple. Brand-building is not it's purpose and in some respects it can actually devalue your brand, if you're not careful of how you promote the offers. Discounts, for example, can devalue a brand, if done over a long term.

At the beginning of a "bootstrap startup", without lots of financial investment, it's difficult to build a brand. Most companies wait until they have some profit before brand-building but larger companies with investment do often dedicate a portion of their funds to brand-building (Institutional Advertising). Unless you have deep pockets, I'd recommend starting with Direct Advertising. Make some profit, and re-invest it as you grow.

Hope that helps.

Very big thank you for this knowledge sharing comment. Much appreciated

 

[friedcoffee]

The site is down...is all coffee sold?