- Projects
- Indonesian coffee: shaping a path to expansion
Coday Lab & Roastery, an Indonesian specialty coffee company, is driven by a visionary trio, embarking on a journey to expand and innovate their business. Coday is renowned for their competence in sourcing, testing, roasting, and distributing exquisite coffee beans. They also offer services like tasting seminars and Barista classes. Their collaboration with PUM focuses on growth, job creation for young people and enhancing farmers’ income. Not only through strengthening their foothold in the Indonesian market but also by exploring avenues for international expansion.
Coday Lab & Roastery is a prominent Indonesian specialty coffee company established in 2017, driven by three entrepreneurial shareholders. Coday excels in purchasing, testing, roasting, and distributing premium coffee beans. They source coffee beans from all over Indonesia, directly from farmers, operators and wholesalers. Their product range includes both green and roasted beans, marketed to their own stores and externally. Additionally, their coffee Lab in the student-town of Yogyakarta hosts tasting seminars for schools and offers Barista training classes. As they look forward, the Coday management aims to sustainably scale up their operations step-by-step. Their plans include enhancing efficiency, expanding capacity, and setting sight on exporting their coffee. They intend to open more Lans and Roasteries across Indonesia, with the final goal to provide trained people with promising careers in hospitality or the chance to open their own cafes. This growth not only promises a better future for the company, but also generates job opportunities and increased yields for local farmers.
Scale up operations
Coday Lab & Roastery approached PUM to explore together how to best scale up their coffee operations. PUM expert Wim Westerbos, specialised in business administration, was matched with the client and they thoroughly prepared the project online, discussing Coday’s profile, products, and services. Wim conducted a market research in Europe and Coday assessed suppliers, crucial information for international trade. Wim also identified the exact client request: “Coday wanted to collaborate on the following issues: analysing the current organisation, defining products and qualities, identifying the Indonesian and global coffee markets, conducting a SWOT-analysis, and drafting a near-future action list for expansion.”
Focus on the home market
During his time in Indonesia, Wim collaborated effectively with Coday: “A constructive session involving led to an analysis of Coday’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The conclusion drawn from this SWOT analysis is that the primary strategic growth option is to expand coffee sales within Indonesia’s rapidly growing market.” The country’s 5% economic growth in 2023, combined with rising personal incomes and increased coffee, creates a favourable environment. Despite (international) competition, Coday’s mastery of the complete coffee value chain, local market knowledge, short supply lines, and efficiency, offer substantial advantage.
Expansion to the international market
The second growth option involves international coffee sales, targeting the upscale market with specialty and high cupping score coffees. Wim explains: “Coday could appeal to foreign importers seeking reliable high-quality coffee supply, because of their direct sourcing from farmers, professional quality checks, and combined shipments. One of Coday’s employees is a Q-Grader trained by Italian coffee makers; with his official certificate from the U.S. he can conduct internationally accepted cupping scores. The advice I received from several Dutch coffee companies suggests focussing on top-quality coffees with cupping scores of at least 85-86.” Coday offers the complete package and ensures control over every step in the logistic supply chain, a very strong selling point for this international niche.
Preparing for the future
To increase sales in the domestic markets, Wim recommended to appoint a dedicated sales manager and sales representatives in major cities. For international market entry, several crucial steps were outlined in an action list. Wim: “I am impressed by the fast acting and implementation of ideas by Coday. I am convinced that within a few weeks the action list will be implemented, which will give a solid foundation for their future international expansion.”
Furthermore, Wim will be available online for ongoing support and advice. He proposed a review of results in six months to assess progress, address challenges, and determine the next steps forward.
