Welsh coffee roastery expands after surge in customers

Mark Mansfield

A Welsh coffee roastery has increased its production capacity fivefold after a surge in customers left it struggling to keep up with demand.

Cracked Coffee, which opened on Mold High Street in Flintshire last year, has secured a £42,000 loan from the Development Bank of Wales to buy and install a new commercial coffee roaster.

Founded by Harry Dempsey, the business operates as both a coffee shop and micro-roastery, serving specialty coffee and local food as well as selling freshly roasted beans.

It also supplies coffee to wholesale customers and sells beans directly to consumers through its shop and website.

Before the investment, Cracked Coffee was roasting around 60kg of coffee each week and had reached the limit of its production capacity.

Wholesale customers

The new equipment has increased that capacity by approximately five times, allowing the business to pursue more wholesale customers as well as increase its retail and online sales.

Mr Dempsey said: “Cracked Coffee has been about bringing high quality coffee to the local community and creating a place that people want to come back to week after week. The support from the Development Bank has helped us invest in a new roaster at exactly the right time.

“We had already seen demand grow far beyond our original projections, but our roasting capacity was holding us back. We wanted to work with more wholesale customers and continue to grow our retail coffee sales, but we simply cannot produce enough coffee each week.

“The new machine is like a dream. It has transformed what we can do and given us the ability we need to grow in a controlled and sustainable way. Demand has risen very quickly since it was installed and we are excited about what comes next.”

The £42,000 micro-loan was provided through the Development Bank’s Flexible Investment Fund for Wales.

Charlotte Price, Investment Officer at the Development Bank of Wales, said: “Harry has built an impressive business in a relatively short space of time, underpinned by a clear passion for quality coffee and strong support from the local community.

“Cracked Coffee had identified a clear growth opportunity, but reaching its production capacity was limiting its ability to meet growing demand. By investing in a new commercial roaster, the business has removed a key operational bottleneck and created the foundations for future growth across its wholesale, retail and online operations.

“We are proud to support Harry and look forward to seeing Cracked Coffee continue to develop as a thriving Welsh business.”

The £500 million Flexible Investment Fund for Wales is funded by the Welsh Government and provides finance of between £25,000 and £10 million to Welsh businesses.

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