Revenue Idea 💡 Sell Groceries From Your Shop

Some coffee shops are selling pantry staples as a new revenue source.

Been to the grocery store recently?

Chances are you didn’t leave with everything on your list.

People are still struggling to find the pantry staples they need, like milk, eggs, flour, and – of course – toilet paper. And people really don’t want to mess with the hordes of people at supermarkets when they just need 1-2 items.

If only there was another way to get those staples easily…

Give the people what they want.

You have special access to pantry staples through your regular food and supplies distributors. Are you maximizing that?

Some coffee businessses are, and it’s helping them maintain revenue.

• Davis Street Espresso (Dallas) is selling all sorts of pantry staples like jam, milk, eggs, and bread out of their coffee shop.
• Ritual Coffee (San Francisco) transformed one of their cafes into Ritual Coffee + General Store and is offering customers a different place to buy a variety of grocery items.
• Go Get Em Tiger (Los Angeles) expanded their cafe pickup and delivery options to include a variety of grocery items, ranging from flour to beans.

Here’s a great interview where Kyle Glanville, co-founder of Go Get Em Tiger, explains their transition.

“It’s more pleasant, sanitary, and delightful than going to a grocery store right now by an order of magnitude, and our community has responded positively. Our sales are still down in the aggregate (inevitable when closing four stores), but the shops that are open are not slow by any stretch.”

Make sure you communicated changes very clearly.

Share the news on social media, email newsletters, and your website. Perhaps print out some fliers to hand out to customers who do coffee pickups so they know they can grab some milk next time they visit.

The key is to prioritize clarity.

The more confused your customers are, the less likely they are to buy from you. 

Make it easy.

If you try this strategy out, let me know! I’ll share your story here (and try to get you mentioned in a magazine feature!).