The only list of coffee subscription model examples for eCommerce businesses.
The days are gone when food and beverage brands used to rely on a one-time purchase business model. And selling coffee online is no different.
For coffee brands, like all food brands, it’s essential to build a subscription or membership model into the revenue stream. Brands with subscription models have a more predictable income, show higher valuation, and on top of all, have more customer loyalty.
Want to get into the subscription-based model but aren’t sure about how it’s going to work out? You should check out these 20 coffee subscription brands that are giving a wake-up call to the industry.
Let’s jump right in!
15+ Coffee Subscription Business Examples
1. Angel’s Cup
Angel’s Cup coffee subscription is based on the concept of “blind taste testing,” similar to blind dating. When the coffee arrives at your door, it’s in an unmarked bag. When you drink it, you have no idea what it is.
Once you’ve decided whether or not you like it, you can look up its name in the app. It’s a great coffee subscription for those who just want to try different coffee without any preconceived notions affecting the selection.
You can completely customize the bean type, grind level, delivery frequency, and practically everything else.
2. Atlas Coffee Club
Atlas Coffee Club gives its subscribers a chance to try all types of coffee from different corners of the world.
The most challenging part of a subscription-based business model is the onboarding process. And Atlas nails this by walking its customers through each step without overwhelming them.
Customers can completely customize the type of coffee they want, the roast and grind type, and the size of the bag. Once all the customization and preferences have been set, customers start receiving their delicious coffee and postcard from a new country each month.
The strong brand messaging, easy onboarding and value proposition of getting coffee from across the globe make it an amazing coffee subscription program.
3. Bean Box Coffee
There are two things Seattle is famous for — the tech industry and the coffee culture. And Bean Box is a combination of these two. It’s a coffee brand started by Seattle-based former tech workers.
It offers six types of tasting experiences — light, medium, dark, espresso, decaf, and curator’s choice (a mix of everything). Quantity can be set based on the number of coffee cups you finish every week.
The best part of the Bean Box coffee subscription is the “tasting flight,” which consists of four 1.8-ounce bags of artisan coffee. Upon subscribing, customers get a tasting flight for free. Moreover, there’s no shipping fee on the subscription orders, and they can be paused or canceled anytime.
4. Equator Coffee
Equator Coffee offers over three dozen varieties of coffee to its customers. You can either pick one of your favorites and keep receiving it at your set frequency. Or you can let the curators rotate through handpicked coffee selections.
The flavors offered by Equator Coffee are unique and top-quality. Moreover, you get 30% off and free shipping on your first subscription order.
5. Fire Department Coffee
Fire Department Coffee doesn’t only sell its coffee. They sell a story too. The kitchen is managed by a team of firefighters, both active and retired.
This brand’s inspirational story is further clubbed with attractive packaging helping the brand stand out. The onboarding process is quite short, with only three steps: Select the subscription type, bean type, and subscription length.
Customers who subscribe get additional incentives in the form of discounts and free shipping, which makes them subscribe rather than buy one-at-a-time.
6. Four Barrel
The Four Barrel coffee subscription store is a different world altogether. The store’s content has a unique voice and a strong tone, that reflects authority.
Right from the moment you land on their site, you get hooked on the copy, which either makes you purchase from them right away or keep exploring their store.
Unlike other stores mentioned in this blog, Four Barrel’s online coffee subscription is not very prominent in their business. But it’s understandable, considering they have many physical stores too.
Apart from that, if you want to start a subscription business, you can take some inspiration from how they use content to make their customers want to subscribe. However, it’s not just content. They offer discounts too on subscriptions to make them even more valuable for their customers.
7. Industry Beans
Anyone working in an office or hustling with freelance work knows how essential a strong cup of joe is. And Industry Beans has branded itself as a coffee maker that fills its bags with professionalism.
Their coffee subscription is perfect for busy professionals who don’t have time to scroll through a complex onboarding process. They just have to select the size, grind, and delivery duration.
Moreover, they focus on their packaging with modern, sleek, and minimalist design, making it perfect for home offices, startups, and growing companies.
The best thing about their subscription is how they are targeting a specific set of customers and are able to earn consistent revenue from them.
8. Linea Caffe
Linea Caffe has a well-structured coffee subscription store. Their landing page is clutter-free, focuses on the main products, and clearly communicates the subscription details.
They give their customers an option to pick among four types of coffee beans. Customers can also set the shipment frequency, subscription duration, and weight of the coffee as per their preferences and needs.
Moreover, the payment can either be made per shipment or all at once. It’s a pretty straightforward coffee subscription store where the coffee does all the talk.
The best thing about the Linea subscription is how they’ve clearly mentioned that the coffee is only roasted on Tuesdays and Thursdays and is shipped within 24 hours of roasting. By giving customers a sneak peek at the process, they come out as a trustworthy brand.
9. Little Wolf Coffee
Little Wolf Coffee was started with their passion for coffee and an aim to serve the local coffee community. But now, with their subscription model, they are selling their well-roasted beans across the country.
The sign-up process is as simple as having a conversation. They first ask customers what type of subscription they are looking for to ensure that they are not overwhelmed with questions later in the journey.
The onboarding experience for their customers becomes way better because of the logical flow of the questions that are asked. Their website looks quite calming due to the minimalist design and layout.
This smooth onboarding experience creates a sense of brand loyalty right from the first touchpoint until the transaction is completed, making Little Wolf one of the best coffee subscription businesses.
10. Olympia Coffee
Everyone loves receiving free stuff. And who can say no to a free delicious coffee?
If the coffee subscription business is a sea, Olympia Coffee knows that they are not the only fish living in it. That’s why their subscription process begins with an offer that’s hard to refuse.
Olympia has enough confidence in its well-crafted coffee that they know the customer will want more of it once they taste it. Therefore, they don’t hesitate to give a free sample.
It’s a great way to run a subscription business. First, they let customers sign-up for a free trial and get their foot in the door. Once the customers like the taste, all they have to do is not cancel the subscription, and their coffee will arrive as they had planned.
11. Perky Blenders
Perky Blenders, based in the UK, has invested heavily in strong and distinctive branding. The brand name is based on the BBC TV show Peaky Blinders making it engaging and memorable. And guess what? This distinctive branding investment is paying off very well.
Customers can customize options like blend and grind, and easily schedule the delivery. Perks like biodegradable and letter-box-friendly packaging makes the deal better for customers.
But on top of all, subscribers get free shipping on their orders. This is a great value proposition as customers feel they’re saving money by subscribing instead of buying one-at-a-time. This added benefit makes them want to subscribe for the long term.
12. Rave Coffee
The website of Rave Coffee, UK-based coffee aficionados, is filled with quirky colloquialisms and witty banters. They have mentioned that they could rave all about the company’s values, offers, and future, but they rather want their customers to form their own opinion based on their experience with the brand.
It’s a very strong statement. This honest branding, along with great customization options and a splash of personality, sets Rave Coffee apart from its competitors.
The subscription flow of Rave Coffee makes great use of graphics. Customers can click on large graphics instead of having to squint to select what they want.
Using graphics, they ensure that an average coffee drinker who’s not aware of the industry’s jargon doesn’t get confused. It helps them reduce the drop-offs that happen due to confusion during the checkout process.
13. Tandem Coffee Roasters
Tandem Roasters is all about delicious coffee, culture, and community. They don’t have many customizations available. But there are still plenty of curated options to choose from.
They have some great options like “The Good Thing – Vinyl + Coffee Club,” where subscribers receive a 12oz bag of coffee and a 12″ vinyl. Vinyl lovers can tandem their bean order with a vinyl record curated by the folks who roast the coffee they love.
By adding surprise gifts like a vinyl record and photography collectibles, Tandem Coffee Roaster increases its average order value. And the element of surprise keeps the customers waiting for the next shipment.
14. Trade Coffee
Offering over 400 types of craft coffees from top companies like George Howell and Merit Coffee, Trade Coffee is often called the “Netflix of Coffee.”
For subscribing, customers have the option to take a quiz. Using artificial intelligence, Trade recommends the best set of coffees for a customer based on their response. This is especially good for customers who are new to the coffee world and don’t know how to choose a coffee.
Like all coffee subscriptions, customers have different sizes and delivery frequency options. Trade Coffee even offers discounts on subscriptions which is a good practice for any subscription business model.
15. Yes Plz Coffee
You can think of the Yes Plz coffee subscription as ordering the Chef’s special at a restaurant. You just have to trust that they’ll use the right ingredients, avoiding what you don’t like and using what you do.
Yes Plz curate a new coffee every week. And it’s one of the major factors why their subscription program is so successful. The element of surprise keeps customers excited for the next delivery.
Another great thing about their subscription is how they compare the per-bag cost for one-time and recurring purchases. Once customers see the difference, they’re interested in subscribing because of the discount.
16. Cometeer
Cometeer aims to provide convenience to coffee lovers with busy timelines who prefer quick and instant solutions to their daily caffeine requirements. Cometeer provides pre-brewed flash-frozen pods that can be melted with just hot water, providing instant roasted coffee in seconds.
Cometeer partners with some of the best roasters in the market and provides curated boxes of different varieties from dark roast to medium to light to decaf. The key strength of Cometeer is the endless choices that it is able to provide by partnering with other coffee brands such as Intelligentsia, Birch, Counter Culture, Bird Rock Coffee Roasters and more.
Cometeer’s coffee subscription business’s strength lies in the uniqueness of its product as well as the diverse choices it manages to provide, making it an ideal example to learn from for anyone starting a coffee subscription box.
17. Bean & Bean
This New York-based coffee roaster is one of the best coffee subscriptions to take notes from if you want to learn how to launch your coffee subscription. Bean & Bean chooses minimalism over extravagant design and contrasts it with its signature purple packaging, making for a perfect design formula.
Subscribers will also be intrigued to know how the brand strives to support female-owned businesses while promoting organic and fair-trade coffee. Customers who are conscious about their impact as consumers and wish to empower female businesses will be especially interested in subscribing to a brand that backs these causes.
18. Misto Box
Chosen by Forbes as the best coffee subscription for 2024, MistoBox’s coffee subscription is exemplary in how it understands and caters to its customer’s individual tastes and preferences. People can be very specific about the coffee they prefer and Mistobox provides a personalized coffee subscription experience to its customers.
When they first join MistoBox, customers will be taken through a tasting quiz to understand what kinds of coffee they like. This quiz will take into consideration everything from preferred intensity to roast level to blends or single origin and even ask whether the customer takes their coffee black or espresso-style.
This level of personalization and a wide roster of options make MistoBox one of the best coffee subscription business examples to learn from.
19. Counter Culture Coffee
Generally, coffee subscriptions tend to be pricey but if your brand offers comparatively better value, be sure to communicate that value to potential costumers right away.
This is what Counter Culture Coffee does with its header stating “Subscribe & Save”. Counter Culture Coffee has an assortment of year-round blend and single-origin coffees from across the globe and their scale beneath products that convey roast-level helps customers to better navigate and find the coffee of their preference.
Customers also have the option to customize their delivery schedule for up to eight weeks. Counter Culture also provides a blend sample box for those who would prefer exploring and finding their right blend before committing to a subscription.
20. Stumptown Coffee Roasters
Stumptown Coffee subscription is another popular coffee subscription plan that manages to keep things simple while still offering an array of choices and perks for subscribers. Their branding is on-point with the old-school classic-inspired design language and this is maintained throughout the subscription page as well.
The visual appeal is undeniable but great visuals are not the only thing that contributes to Stumptown’s success, offering benefits such as 30% off on your first shipment, free shipping, pre-sale access to special merch and coffees, exclusive limited-release coffee and more.
Stumptown is therefore a great choice for customers who want their usual coffee but also want to explore something new.
Take a Coffee Break Now!
The benefits of a subscription business model are second to none. It increases customer retention and brings predictability to the revenue stream.
If you want to get into the subscription model, you must understand that what works for other businesses might not always work for you.
This is where Appstle comes into the picture. It’s a flexible, customizable, and easy-to-install Shopify subscription app that helps you establish solid recurring revenue streams.
And we’ve already seen how the above-mentioned coffee brands are nailing the subscription model with a smooth and friction-free onboarding experience. Appstle can help you set up exactly that.
Ready to get into the subscription business model?
Book a free trial today!
FAQs
1. How does a coffee subscription work?
A coffee subscription service provides customers with recurring delivery of freshly roasted coffee of their choice. Once customers sign up, they can further choose the preferred type, quantity and frequency of delivery.
2. How big is the coffee subscription market?
The coffee subscription market globally is currently valued at around $685 million. It is estimated to expand at a 10.9% CAGR and reach around $1.98 billion by the year 2032.
3. What is the churn rate for coffee subscriptions?
The average churn rate seen by the coffee subscription market is around 11% which is a common number for many subscription-model businesses across various industries.
