How to price wholesale coffee for cafés

Updated October 22, 2026 · For specialty coffee roasters with wholesale accounts

Wholesale prices that are too low fill your roaster and empty your bank account. Prices that are too high lose accounts to bigger roasters. Building the price up from your actual costs gives you a number you can defend and a floor you won’t go below.

Build up the cost per pound

Green coffee cost per pound, including shipping and import costs.
Roast loss: divide green cost by your roast yield to get the cost per roasted pound.
Packaging: bags, valves, labels, boxes.
Labor for roasting, packing and delivery.
Overhead share: rent, utilities, equipment payments.

Add your margin

Decide what margin you need on wholesale. It will be lower than retail, because volume is higher and selling costs are lower, but it has to cover the time you spend on the account: delivery, training, equipment support.

Volume tiers

Offer a lower price per pound for larger weekly volumes, with clear thresholds. Tiers reward growth and give a reason for a café to put more of its menu on your coffee.

Review prices when green costs move

Green coffee prices change. Put a note in your wholesale terms that prices are reviewed periodically, and give accounts notice before a change.