The founders of New Morning Coffee Roasters identified a market gap in the industry and quickly filled it, building on their experience to build a rapidly growing private-label coffee business.
Paul Wisneski, Dan Jansen and Greg Van Zeeland had all worked for Madison-based Victor Allen’s Coffee Company prior to a private-equity buyout that was a part of an industry trend that saw coffee roasters gradually becoming part of larger multinational companies.
Wisneski says there are many great small coffee roasters producing premium coffee that can’t supply the medium to large private label market.
“We’ve positioned ourselves to work with independent, private label distributors,” Wisneski says. “We identified that there was a gap there, and that’s why we started our business.”
It didn’t hurt that the three of them had more than 60 years of industry experience and a love for coffee. They started in a small, garage-type space in Appleton but four years ago built a 20,000-square-foot office and production space on Appleton’s east side. Last fall, they broke ground to double that space to 40,000 square feet, which Wisneski says was badly needed and will allow the company to continue growing.
While New Morning Coffee does sell a very small amount of coffee under its own name, Wisneski says 99% is produced for private labels, including some retail. However, much of it is for offices, convenience store chains and food service distributors.
An average order for New Morning Coffee is six to eight pallets, but there are also customers who order by the semi load. New Morning distributes to most states east of the Mississippi as well as Minnesota and the Dakotas.
The 15-person company produces enough coffee each day to make 500,000 cups, according to Wisneski.
“Every day we roast, I picture 500,000 people having a cup of coffee,” he says. “It’s an incredible number, and we’re small in the big scheme of roasters in the United States.”
It’s not just market position that has led to success. New Morning Coffee also has invested in state-of-the-art equipment and formed business partnerships that help it deliver the product on time in high-quality packaging.
There are computer-controlled silos and roasters that help manage the blend and roasting to meet the flavor profiles required by customers. The process also helps reduce the amount of physical labor needed to move coffee from green bean to packaged coffee (both bean and ground).
Customers want consistency, so Wisneski is constantly tasting and testing coffees to ensure they match the flavor profiles and price points customers are seeking.
“Coffee is still a relationship-based industry,” Wisneski says. “They’re trusting you with a product that’s really important to them.”
