Distant Lands Trading

What Distant Lands Trading does

Distant Lands Trading, doing business as Distant Lands Coffee, is a privately held, vertically integrated specialty coffee company founded in 1968 by William McAlpin, headquartered in Renton, Washington, and owned by parent holding company Java Trading Co. The company operates the full seed-to-cup value chain: it owns and manages flagship farms Hacienda La Minita (Los Santos, Costa Rica, 800+ acres in coffee) and Hacienda Rio Negro (Coto Brus, Costa Rica, 703 acres in coffee), operates two mills (Beneficio Tarrazu and Beneficio Rio Negro, both Rainforest Alliance and Chain of Custody certified), runs US roasting facilities in Renton, WA (17 million pounds capacity) and Tyler, TX (28 million pounds capacity, built 2003), and conducts green coffee trading globally through the La Minita division (400,000+ bags of premium Arabica annually from 12+ countries).

The company's commercial business is organized around three core revenue streams: (1) private label coffee roasting and packaging for grocery retailers, club stores, mass merchandisers, drugstore chains, restaurants, and convenience stores — where three of the top five US grocery chains achieve #1 or #2 specialty coffee category positions using Distant Lands coffee; (2) the La Minita green coffee trading division, supplying premium green Arabica to independent specialty roasters and private label brands worldwide; and (3) the JavaOne single-serve pod program for office and hospitality channels, with 12+ varieties. Supporting services include turn-key marketing (in-house design, Nielsen/IRI-derived consumer insights, packaging, merchandising), exclusive origin-country trademarks (Costa Rica, Colombia, Guatemala, Sumatra, Brazil, Ethiopia), and a direct-to-consumer e-commerce storefront (java-trading.com on Shopify) selling La Minita and Distant Lands Gourmet branded products. Pricing across all B2B channels is quote-based and negotiated per client under multi-year contracts.

The company employs 510+ people across the US (160) and international operations (350+), produces and ships over 45 million pounds of specialty coffee annually, and has earned multiple Costa Rican government recognitions for sustainable coffee production (Bandera Blanca 1997, Bandera Ecologica, 2023 Award of Merit). Distant Lands is the second largest coffee farmer in Costa Rica and is positioned as the only privately-owned vertically integrated specialty coffee supplier in the US.

Name

Distant Lands Trading

Legal name

Distant Lands Coffee Roaster

Website

https://dlcoffee.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1968

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Distant Lands Coffee is a privately held, vertically integrated specialty coffee company (founded 1968, HQ Renton, WA) that owns Costa Rican farms and mills, trades 400,000+ bags of green Arabica annually, roasts 45M+ lbs, and primarily serves US grocery private label, food service, and specialty roaster clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Coffee Manufacturing and Private Label Roasting

NAICS

Coffee and Tea Manufacturing (311920), Coffee and Tea Manufacturing (31192)

akta.pro primary industry

Coffee (Roasted, Ground, Whole Bean) (CRADAHAG)

Keywords

• Private label coffee
• Specialty coffee roasting
• Green coffee trading
• Coffee farm operations
• Food service coffee

Headquarters

HQ city

Renton

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Private Label Coffee Manufacturing: Custom roasting and packaging of specialty coffees for private label grocery and food service clients. The company roasts and packages coffee for grocery stores, club stores, mass merchandisers, drugstore chains, restaurants and convenience stores. This is the primary revenue stream.
2. Green Coffee Trading (La Minita): The La Minita green coffee trading division sources and sells premium Arabica green coffee to specialty coffee roasters and private label brands worldwide. Trades over 400,000 bags annually.
3. Branded Retail Products (E-commerce): Direct-to-consumer sales of branded products including La Minita coffee, Distant Lands Gourmet Coffees, decaf, flavored, blends, and single origin coffees through the java-trading.com online store.
4. JavaOne Single-Serve Pod Program: Office and hospitality single-serve coffee pod program (Food Service channel) featuring 100% Colombian, French Vanilla, Breakfast Blend, Hazelnut Creme, House Blend, Gourmet Decaf, Kona Blend, Costa Rican, Sumatran, French Roast varieties, plus teas.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Distant Lands Coffee is a farmer-first, vertically integrated specialty coffee company that owns and operates farms and mills in Costa Rica and Colombia and roasts and packages coffee at facilities in Renton, WA and Tyler, TX. It primarily sells custom-roasted private label specialty coffee to US grocery, club, mass merchandiser, drugstore, restaurant, and convenience store chains; trades green Arabica coffee to specialty roasters through its La Minita division; and supplies the JavaOne single-serve pod program for office and hospitality.

Product overview

Distant Lands Coffee operates as a farmer-first, vertically integrated specialty coffee company offering a comprehensive portfolio of products and services. The core offerings include a Private Label Coffee Program (custom roasting for grocery, food service, and retail clients), the JavaOne Single-Serve Pod Program (office and hospitality cup system), and La Minita Green Coffee Trading (sourcing and trading premium Arabica coffee globally). Supporting services include Turn-Key Marketing Services with in-house design capabilities, and diverse packaging format capabilities ranging from ground/whole bean retail packaging to single-serve pods and concentrates. The company trades over 400,000 bags of premium Arabica coffee annually and produces/ships over 45 million pounds of specialty coffee.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• JavaOne: Single-serve coffee pod program for office and hospitality, featuring gourmet coffee varieties including 100% Colombian, French Vanilla, Breakfast Blend, Hazelnut Creme, House Blend, Gourmet Decaf, Kona Blend, Costa Rican, Sumatran, and French Roast, as well as teas.
• La Minita
• Distant Lands Coffee Gourmet Program

Products and services

• Private Label Coffee Program Custom roasting and packaging of specialty coffee for grocery stores, club stores, mass merchandisers, drugstore chains, restaurants, and convenience stores, including proprietary blend development, packaging design, and ongoing sales and marketing support.
• JavaOne Single-Serve Pod Program Single-cup coffee pod program for offices and hospitality featuring individually wrapped pods compatible with multiple brewers, offering light roasts, single origins, flavored coffees, decaffeinated options, premium teas, and cold brew, brewed in about 20 seconds.
• La Minita Green Coffee Trading Sourcing and trading of premium green Arabica coffee from 12+ origin countries to specialty roasters and private label brands worldwide, with full traceability and quality control from origin and trading over 400,000 bags annually.
• Food Service Coffee Programs Custom coffee programs for restaurants and convenience stores including proprietary blend development, equipment selection, operating manuals, staff training, menu branding, and marketing support.
• Distant Lands Gourmet Coffees (D2C Branded Products) Direct-to-consumer branded coffee products sold online at java-trading.com, including La Minita, Distant Lands Gourmet Coffees, decaf, flavored, blends, and single origin coffees.

Quantifiable outcome

• Three of the top five US grocery chains' private label brands achieve #1 or #2 in the specialty coffee category
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ShopifycoreTechnology or IntegrationThe company's e-commerce store (java-trading.com) is powered by Shopify, which provides the online e-commerce platform enabling direct-to-consumer sales of branded products including La Minita, decaf, flavored, blends, and single origin coffees.
• Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA)coreOthersDistant Lands is a longtime member of SCAA, a non-profit trade organization dedicated to promoting collaboration for the betterment of the coffee industry by setting and maintaining standards, expanding professional certification programs, and conducting industry-specific research. Members serve on the Environmental Committee and Sustainability Council.
• Roasters GuildcoreOthersThe Roasters Guild is an official trade guild of the SCAA. Distant Lands is a member. The Guild furthers roasters' knowledge and skills in the history, fundamentals, art and science of coffee roasting through international community and year-round events.
• NielsenminorOthersDistant Lands uses syndicated data resources including Nielsen to provide consumer and coffee category insights, informing private brand and category strategy for clients.
• IRIminorOthersDistant Lands uses syndicated data resources including IRI to provide consumer and coffee category insights, informing private brand and category strategy for clients.
• Rainforest AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAll Distant Lands farms and mills are Rainforest Alliance Certified. The company actively assists coffee farmers in achieving certification and is a key sourcing partner for Rainforest Alliance Certified coffees. The La Minita Green Trading Division works to transform conventional farmland to Rainforest Alliance Certified worldwide.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Rogers Family Company: Family-owned specialty coffee roaster (San Francisco Bay Coffee, Organic Coffee) producing private label and branded organic/fair trade coffee. Comparable vertical integration into origin sourcing and direct/private label coffee programs.
• Mother Parkers Tea & Coffee: Family-owned Canadian private label coffee and tea roaster with integrated roasting, blending, and packaging serving grocery, foodservice, and convenience store chains. Closest analog to Distant Lands by business model, customer type, and private label focus.
• Royal Cup Coffee: Privately held, vertically oriented US specialty coffee roaster serving foodservice, office, and retail channels with green coffee sourcing, roasting, and a D.E Master Blenders 1753 heritage. Directly comparable B2B-focused specialty coffee peer.
• Massimo Zanetti Beverage USA: One of the largest coffee manufacturers in North America producing private label and branded (Chock full o'Nuts, Hills Bros, Cain's) coffee for grocery and foodservice. Directly comparable private label manufacturer at similar or larger scale.
• Coffee Bean International: Specialty private label coffee roaster serving grocery, drug, and convenience store chains with custom blending, packaging, and brand development services. Closely comparable private label program operator.
• S&D Coffee: Private label coffee and tea provider owned by Cott Corporation, serving foodservice and convenience store chains with custom roast programs. Comparable private label/foodservice coffee peer at meaningful US scale.

Broad incumbents

• Keurig Dr Pepper: Public beverage giant dominating single-serve pods via Keurig and offering retail coffee brands. Broad incumbent competitor and channel partner in single-serve pods where Distant Lands' JavaOne operates.
• Strauss Group / Strauss Coffee: Global branded and private label coffee company (Elite, Max House, three keys) with vertically integrated origin operations. Comparable vertically integrated specialty/private label coffee peer at global scale.
• Farmer Bros Co: NASDAQ-listed US coffee roaster and distributor serving restaurants, hotels, and convenience stores, including Boyd Coffee. Broader public incumbent with overlapping private label and DSD foodservice coffee capabilities.

Emerging players

• Sustainable Harvest Coffee Importers: B-Corp specialty green coffee importer focused on relationship coffee, transparency, and Rainforest Alliance supply chains. Comparable green coffee trading relationship model to La Minita's specialty roaster channel.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/distant-lands-coffee

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Distant Lands Trading