Coffi Lab

What Coffi Lab does

Coffi Lab Ltd is a UK-based specialty coffee roaster and neighbourhood café operator founded in 2021 by James Shapland in Cardiff, Wales. The business is built around three tightly linked pillars: small-batch coffee roasted in Cardiff and sold direct-to-consumer online and through 12+ owned neighbourhood cafés ("Labs"); an in-house artisan bakery in Cardiff that supplies bakes and viennoiserie to the café estate; and a recurring subscription and gifting commerce platform. The company serves UK consumers — primarily home coffee drinkers buying on subscription or one-time, and walk-in café patrons across South Wales (Cardiff, Abergavenny, Monmouth) and South West England (Bristol/Gloucester Road, Portishead, Thornbury, Marlborough) — with a distinctive Labrador-themed brand identity that runs through product naming, packaging and the "Pawsonalise" personalisation service.

The commercial engine runs on a Shopify e-commerce storefront at coffilab.co.uk with subscription commerce, magic-link customer accounts, buy-now-pay-later via Klarna, and wallet payments (Shop Pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay). A Teamtailor-powered applicant tracking system supports recruitment. The coffee range spans seven named roasts (Fox Red, Lab Pal, Yellow Lab, Choc Lab, Black Lab, Silver Lab Limited Edition, Golden Decaf) priced £10–£16, Nespresso-Classic-compatible pods, and Pawsonalise bags printed with a pup's name for a £2 add-on. Recurring subscriptions (weekly/bi-weekly/monthly) are managed through a customer account dashboard, with 10–20% off the first three orders, free Royal Mail delivery on all subscription orders, and milestone loyalty gifts (a free Lab Tote at the 4th order, a free 8oz Reusable Cup at the 6th).

Coffi Lab earns revenue from one-time coffee and merchandise sales, recurring subscriptions, in-store café transactions, gift cards valid across both online and physical channels, and ancillary sales of plant-based reusable cups and tote bags. The company has self-disclosed turnover of £9M, approximately 150 co-workers, and is actively recruiting baristas across Pontcanna, Thornbury and Monmouth — implying ongoing footprint and headcount expansion. The business is privately held with no disclosed institutional shareholders, supported by a Development Bank of Wales funding facility dated 2024-12-13.

Name

Coffi Lab

Legal name

Coffi Lab Ltd

Website

https://coffilab.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Coffi Lab Ltd is a Cardiff-based specialty coffee roaster and neighbourhood café operator selling small-batch coffee, subscriptions and merchandise through a Shopify DTC storefront and 12+ owned Labs across South Wales and South West England.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Coffee Shops & Roastery

NAICS

Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars (722515), Coffee and Tea Manufacturing (311920), Retail Bakeries (311811)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Retail-Eating Places (5812)

akta.pro primary industry

Specialty Coffee Shops (Single-Origin, Third-Wave) (THAFADAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Coffee Roasters with Cafe (Roastery Cafes) (THAFADAE)

Keywords

• Specialty coffee roasting
• Coffee subscription services
• Neighbourhood coffee shops
• Artisan bakery products
• Personalised coffee gifts

Headquarters

HQ city

Cardiff

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices15 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Coffee product sales (one-time): Direct online and in-store sales of bagged coffee (Fox Red, Lab Pal, Yellow Lab, Choc Lab, Black Lab, Silver Lab Limited Edition, Golden Decaf), pods compatible with Nespresso Classic machines, and merchandise. Individual bags priced at £10–£16.
2. Coffee subscriptions: Recurring coffee subscriptions with weekly, bi-weekly or monthly delivery frequencies; shipped Monday–Saturday; customers can pause, modify, cancel or skip deliveries via account dashboard. New subscribers get 10% off first 3 subscription orders and free delivery; free gifts (Lab Tote at 4th order, 8oz Reusable Cup at 6th order).
3. Brick-and-mortar cafe sales (Labs): Revenue from in-store coffee, food and bakery sales across 12+ physical 'Labs' (Abergavenny, Gloucester Road, Llandaff, Llanishen, Marlborough, Monmouth, Portishead, Rhiwbina, Wellfield Road, Whitchurch, Thornbury, Pontcanna) plus an in-house artisan bakery in Cardiff.
4. Merchandise and accessories: Sales of branded merchandise including reusable cups (£9), keyrings (free with £20 spend), tote bags, gift cards and Pawsonalised products.
5. Gift cards: Gift cards redeemable in any Coffi Lab store or online at coffilab.co.uk; valid for one year from purchase, non-refundable for cash; balance carries forward.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Coffi Lab roasts and sells small-batch specialty coffee under its own brand via a Shopify e-commerce store and a network of 12+ owned neighbourhood cafés ('Labs') across South Wales and South West England, backed by an in-house roastery and central artisan bakery in Cardiff. The company also runs a recurring coffee subscription service, a 'Pawsonalise' personalisation service that prints a pet's name on coffee bag labels, gift cards, plant-based reusable cups, and pod-format coffee compatible with Nespresso Classic machines.

Product overview

Coffi Lab operates a vertically integrated specialty coffee brand built around three tightly linked pillars: a small-batch coffee roasting and retail product line (Fox Red, Lab Pal, Yellow Lab, Choc Lab, Black Lab, Silver Lab Limited Edition and Golden Decaf), a recurring subscription and gifting commerce platform (Coffi Lab Subscriptions, Pawsonalise personalization and Coffi Lab Gift Cards), and a neighbourhood café / bakery network (the physical "Labs" backed by the Cardiff central bakery). Customers can order online via Shopify checkout with BNPL (Klarna) and wallet (Shop Pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay) options, manage subscriptions through a magic-link portal, and pick up orders via Click & Collect at any of the twelve-plus Labs. Reusable drinkware (the 100% plant-based Re-usable Coffi Lab Cup, Lab Tote, Lab Keyring) and the Lab Journal content hub sit alongside the core SKU line as merchandising and retention layers rather than standalone product lines.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Fox Red Coffee Signature Coffi Lab signature roast with tasting notes of Caramel, Milk Chocolate and Tangerine; priced at £10 and sold via the Shopify store and in Lab cafés in multiple grind and whole-bean formats.
• Lab Pal Coffee Premium Coffi Lab roast priced at £12 and available in caffeinated and Decaf variants across multiple grind formats.
• Yellow Lab Coffee Coffi Lab roast with tasting notes of Maple Syrup, White Peach and Lemonade, priced at £12.
• Choc Lab Coffee Coffi Lab roast with tasting notes of Caramel, Cocoa and Walnut, priced at £12.
• Black Lab Coffee Coffi Lab roast with tasting notes of Brown Sugar, Hazelnut and Red Apple.
• Silver Lab Limited Edition Coffee Limited-edition Coffi Lab roast with tasting notes of Blackberry, Fruitcake and Plum, priced at £16 as the premium tier SKU.
• Golden Decaf Coffee Decaffeinated Coffi Lab coffee with tasting notes of Plum, Red Apple, Rooibos Tea, naturally decaffeinated using the sugar cane (EA) method to preserve flavour.
• Coffi Lab Coffee Subscription Recurring fresh-roast coffee subscription with weekly, bi-weekly or monthly delivery frequencies, managed via a customer magic-link portal; new subscribers get 10% off the first 3 orders plus free Royal Mail 48hr delivery, with a free Lab Tote on the 4th order and a free 8oz Reusable Cup on the 6th.
• Pawsonalise Personalisation Service Pet-name personalisation service that prints a pup's name onto the coffee bag label of any roast (e.g., 'Maggie's Roast') for an additional £2; available on any roast, any size, any grind, on both one-time and subscription orders, with a free keyring promotion attached.
• Coffi Lab Gift Card Physical and e-gift cards redeemable in-store at any Coffi Lab Lab or online at coffilab.co.uk; valid for one year from purchase, non-refundable for cash, with balance carry-over until expiry.
• Re-usable Coffi Lab Cup Brand reusable cup in 8oz (~227ml) and 12oz (~340ml) sizes, made from 100% plant-based materials (sugar beet, corn and potato starch); priced at £9 and unlocks 30p off takeaway coffee in Coffi Lab stores.
• Coffi Lab Neighbourhood Cafés (Labs) Network of neighbourhood coffee shops ('Labs') operated by Coffi Lab across South Wales, the West Country and the South West of England, including Abergavenny, Gloucester Road (Bristol), Llandaff, Llanishen, Marlborough, Monmouth, Portishead, Rhiwbina, Wellfield Road (Roath), Whitchurch, Thornbury and Pontcanna; Labs function as gathering spots and support Click & Collect for online orders.
• Coffi Lab Artisan Bakery In-house viennoiserie and artisan bakery operated from a central production unit in Cardiff (CF3), supplying bakes and viennoiserie across the Coffi Lab store network and supporting the Bakery Team Member role within Store Operations.

Quantifiable outcome

• Free UK standard delivery on orders over £30 and on all subscriptions; 10–20% off first 3 subscription orders
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered flagship charity partner, core logistics partner, secondary payment provider, minor compatibility reference, core hr tech vendor and secondary marketing partner.

• Guide Dogs UKflagship charity partnerGTM or Marketing PartnerCoffi Lab states it is 'proudly supporting Guide Dogs' across storefront, careers site and product packaging imagery. Activities include Guide Dogs UK fundraising events, team-building events and a paid volunteer day for employees. The Labrador dog is also Coffi Lab's spirit animal, tying the partnership to the brand's core identity.
• Royal Mailcore logistics partnerChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRoyal Mail is Coffi Lab's exclusive UK delivery carrier. Shipping options are UK Economy Tracked (Royal Mail, 3–5 days, £3.50) and UK 24hr Tracked (Royal Mail, 2–3 days, £4.50), with free standard delivery on orders over £30 and free 48hr tracked delivery on all subscription orders. Tracking is provided via Royal Mail.
• Klarnasecondary payment providerTechnology or IntegrationKlarna is one of the payment methods displayed in the Coffi Lab storefront footer, alongside American Express, Apple Pay, Diners Club, Discover, Google Pay, Maestro, Mastercard, Shop Pay, Union Pay and Visa — enabling buy-now-pay-later checkout at coffilab.co.uk.
• Nespresso (for pod compatibility)minor compatibility referenceOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerCoffi Lab FAQ states its coffee pods are compatible with Nespresso Classic machines (excluding Vertuo). This is a compatibility reference rather than a formal commercial partnership, but the Nespresso brand is implicitly invoked in product marketing.
• Teamtailorcore hr tech vendorTechnology or IntegrationTeamtailor hosts and powers Coffi Lab's career site at careers.coffilab.co.uk and its applicant tracking system. Cookies set include _tt_session, _ttCookiePermissions, _ttAnalytics (strictly necessary/analytics) with Teamtailor as the vendor.
• Meta (Facebook / Instagram)secondary marketing partnerGTM or Marketing PartnerMeta cookies (_fbp, 90 days) are loaded on the Coffi Lab career site to enable Facebook feed display and interest-based advertising. Coffi Lab also maintains a public Facebook page (facebook.com/coffilab) and Instagram (@coffi.lab).
• YouTubesecondary marketing partnerGTM or Marketing PartnerYouTube cookies (varying expiry) are loaded on the Coffi Lab career site to enable playback of embedded YouTube video content as part of marketing.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights8 records

Direct peers

• Notes Coffee: London specialty coffee roaster and subscription brand with a small wholesale and café presence, comparable to Coffi Lab in SKU range, subscription model and premium specialty positioning.
• Grind: London-based specialty coffee brand combining a direct-to-consumer subscription service with its own chain of physical cafés — the closest UK analogue to Coffi Lab's hybrid subscription + neighbourhood-cafe model.
• Origin Coffee: UK specialty coffee roaster with direct farmer relationships and a small chain of branded cafés, comparable to Coffi Lab's in-house roastery plus multi-site café estate and ethical-sourcing positioning.
• Pact Coffee: UK direct-to-consumer specialty coffee subscription brand with ethical sourcing and roasted-to-order fulfilment — competes with Coffi Lab on the same subscription rails but without the physical café footprint.
• Ozone Coffee Roasters: UK specialty coffee roaster with direct farmer relationships and a small chain of branded cafés, comparable to Coffi Lab on the roastery-plus-café model and ethical-sourcing narrative.
• WatchHouse: UK specialty coffee operator running a chain of design-led neighbourhood coffee bars alongside retail bean sales — directly comparable to Coffi Lab's 'neighbourhood gathering spot' cafe positioning.
• Square Mile Coffee Roasters: Award-winning London specialty coffee roaster supplying both wholesale customers and DTC subscribers — comparable to Coffi Lab as a UK specialty roaster with multiple go-to-market channels.

Broad incumbents

• Pret a Manger: UK high-street food-and-coffee chain with a strong subscription programme, comparable to Coffi Lab as a UK café brand with a recurring coffee subscription and neighbourhood sit-in trade.
• Caffè Nero: UK high-street coffee chain with hundreds of owned stores — competes with Coffi Lab for neighbourhood café occasions and morning coffee share, but at vastly greater scale and with a different brand positioning.
• Costa Coffee: UK's largest coffee chain (owned by Coca-Cola) operating thousands of stores plus an extensive grocery and Ready-to-Drink range — sets the price/quality benchmark Coffi Lab competes against at scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/coffilab
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/coffi-lab-ltd
• Instagraminstagram.com/coffi.lab
• TikToktiktok.com/@coffilab

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Coffi Lab