Let me start by offering a belated Happy 2021! If you were like me, you watched the New Year's celebration on TV and were terribly confused by what just happened. Not sure what I'm talking about. Check this out.
Some changes are brewing! (pun intended)
Anyway, January has been a spicy one all around, and we've been working on a lot over here. As you might know, Kenmore Coffee is a small operation here in Kenmore. We don't even have a physical storefront (though that would be pretty neat), so instead, we're putting our efforts into the experience you have online and with our coffee itself.
Here's everything we'll talk about in this update (it's a thick one!):
- New Packaging
- New 2LB and 5LB options
- Potential pricing changes this year
- A refresher on our Membership options
- Write a review so I can give you $10
- Tell me what we should roast next
New Year, New Bags!
When I started this show last summer, I chose a bag style and size that I thought was really neat. It looked good, and the unique way it opens isn't something you see a lot of, especially on the shelves.
One of the biggest problems with it, though, was how it looked after it had been handled, filled, and shipped. Some folks had told me they didn't mind. Some said they didn't notice until I pointed it out.
Ultimately, it came down to two things: the product's feel when you're looking at and holding it and the consistency across the product line-up.
You might be thinking to yourself product line-up? I'll explain that a bit more in the next section.
In the coming weeks, we'll be changing out our bags for a different style. We'll still offer everything in 12oz sizes, but the material and physical dimensions will change slightly. As your orders ship, you'll start to see bags arrive in a kraft-style bag. It'll have the same killer de-gassing valve a few folks have remarked on, specifically, and be sealed using a tin-tie.
This leads nicely into the second thing I have on the list this month: new sizes!
Buy more and save more with two and five-pound bags.
We figured it was high time to formally bring in extra sizes we've been looking at with the packaging change for a few months. Specifically, we're looking at making 2LB and 5LB bags of all our blends and single-origins available in the next month, probably less! We'll send out another email when they're ready for ordering.
When considering the pricing for our larger sizes, I wanted to make sure we're still offering a killer value but not so much so that we're setting the wrong expectation of our coffee's quality. In general, prices for 2LB bags will run about 2.5x the price of the 12oz options, and the 5LB bags will run about 2x the price of the 2LB. There'll be some tweaks here and there, but that's the general formula we stuck to.
Some pricing tweaks are headed this way, too.
The price of coffee always fluctuates, and we do what we can to make sure you're insulated from those fluctuations as much as possible. There are many boring details woven in here, but the summary of it all is that for 2021, some of our SKUs might adjust in price a bit, on the scale of ~$0.50-$1.00.
To counter that, we're also looking at how we can lower our free-shipping threshold.
None of this is set in stone, yet. When we get them sorted out, we'll be sure to let everyone know ahead of time.
Save money with a free Kenmore Coffee membership.
Some of you out there are already members, which is fantastic! 🎉 A lot aren't, and I wanted to take a moment to cover why Membership is a good thing.
First and foremost, every blend, origin, and size (including those big ol' 2LB and 5LB options coming soon) is 15% off. If you drink a lot of coffee, you'll be setting yourself up for success and keeping some of your dollars to yourself.
For example: If you drink one 12oz bag per week as I do, that's $15 plus $5 for shipping. $20 per week is $80 per month (4 weeks). Get the member price of $12.74, plus change over to one order of 4 bags per month, and now you're only paying $51 for the same amount of coffee every month—36% right off the top without having to do anything special.
Coffee keeps for a while, especially when it's actually freshly roasted, so don't hesitate to load up and only have a single shipment per month. Save on shipping, save on coffee, and never run out. It's truly a win-win.
I want to give you $10 off your next coffee order.
But to do that, I need your help. If you've ordered from us before and haven't done so yet, head over to kenmorecoffee.com and drop in a review. We get emails for every new review that surfaces, so I'll send you a $10 discount once it's in. Make sure you use the same email address as what you used to order with.
If you ordered two or more unique flavors, let's make it $20.
What should we roast next?
I want to know what your favorite coffee is. Light roast. Single origins? That elusive Jamaican coffee? Tell me all of it. We're looking to expand but want to make sure we're offering what y'all actually like.
Hit reply or email hello@kenmorecoffee.com and give us all your thoughts.
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That's all we have for this month. A lot is going on and more on the way, so stay tuned. In the meantime, take care, and we'll see you next month!