How Grind Turned a Single Café Into an 8-Figure Direct-to-Consumer Coffee Brand — Podcasts (2022)

David Abrahamovich’s London-based coffee business, Grind, has been meeting its customers where they are since its inception.

There’s the company’s original cafe, opened in 2011 in a busy part of Shoreditch, with plenty of proximity to tech businesses (and their caffeinated workers). There is coffee, designed specifically to cut milk and appeal to most coffee drinkers. And there’s an ever-evolving business model: Grind’s first location was an early pioneer in the coffee-by-day, cocktail-by-night trend (designed to attract customers who want to stay after work), a move so popular it helped the company expand and reach customers in locations across London.

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And expand Grind did—to nearly a dozen cafes and online.

The latest evolution of the business aims to reach customers beyond miles, with a bet on e-commerce, something David invested in before the COVID-19 outbreak, ultimately saving the company in the process.

Even before opening the first Grind location, David Abrahamovitch and his team decided to invest in roasting their own coffee and finding coffee beans that would suit most tastes. grind

“In the summer of 2019, we did this final round [of fundraising], which is £3.5 million,” said David. “I felt quite strongly at the time that we needed to invest some of that money into something other than more High Street stores.”

Wanting to make the Grind-at-home experience easy, consistent and eco-friendly, David and the team developed compostable coffee pods, a product Grind still repeats today.

The Grind concept worked so well that it was able to grow to almost a dozen cafes. grind

“It’s been a big process, and we’re still working on it every day. It’s not a done deal,” said David. “We have just launched our next generation of pods, which are certified home composters. The fruit was previously classified as ‘industrially compostable.’ This means they will compost, but only in a special facility, which is a big step forward, but it’s not perfect.”

Addressing the waste caused by coffee beans, Grind created compostable coffee beans to offer an easy and eco-friendly way for customers to enjoy their coffee at home. grind

A dedication to always moving and growing has been fundamental to Grind’s success over the past decade. David Grind’s evolution is just one of the topics he shares on our Shopify On Location edition of the Shopify Masters podcast. Follow the entire interview to learn how he navigated a multi-million dollar fundraising round, built his own coffee factory and established a landmark partnership with Soho House.

source: https://www.shopify.co.id/id/blog/grind-dtc-expansion