The Coffee Bean Company

What The Coffee Bean Company does

The Coffee Bean Company is a privately held B2B coffee equipment and consumables supplier founded in 2007 (Company Reg No. 06232270) and headquartered near Romsey in Hampshire, United Kingdom. The company exclusively serves the hotel, catering, hospitality, and small office trade across a defined regional footprint spanning Hampshire, Dorset, West Sussex, Wiltshire, and the Isle of Wight on the South Coast of England, explicitly declining enquiries from outside this operational area. Its customer base is segmented across seven verticals — Hotels & Hospitality (primary), Visitor Attractions, Leisure, Healthcare, Restaurants/Bars, Coffee Shops/Cafes, Education, and Business & Industry — with named enterprise logos including Ageas Bowl, Balmer Lawn Hotel, FJB Hotels (7+ year customer), Weld Hospice, the Tank Museum, Winchester Science Centre, Southampton FC (St Mary's Stadium), Holiday Inn Winchester, and Botleigh Grange Hotel.

The product portfolio is organised around five machine categories — traditional espresso machines from Iberital and Sanremo, bean-to-cup systems from LaRhea, Bravilor, and Primo, the exclusive Douwe Egberts Cafitesse liquid roast and bulk brew system (achieving 600–1,000 cups/hour), office machines, and pre-used espresso machines — paired with a recurring consumables offering that includes own-label espresso beans (Blend 51, Molino Blanco), L'OR pod capsules, Birchall teas, Douwe Egberts liquid roast coffee, hot chocolate, syrups, and branded accessories. A cornerstone of the offering is the company's role as a Full Service Distributor for the Douwe Egberts Cafitesse range within its territory.

Revenue is generated through a mix of one-time machine sales (purchase, lease, or rent), free-on-loan placements tied to minimum consumable usage agreements (creating recurring consumables revenue), service and maintenance contracts (Level 1, Level 2, annual breakdown cover with quarterly billing), and ad-hoc breakdown call-outs. Go-to-market is consultative and field-led: prospective customers are assessed on-site, given showroom demonstrations and free trials (often with a £100 Amazon voucher or free water cooler incentive), and supported post-installation by in-house engineers, weekly consumables deliveries, and on-site barista training. Marketing is conducted via blog content, email newsletter, Twitter, weekly outbound mailshots, local event sponsorships (including Southampton Boat Show and Salisbury Fabulous Family Fun Day), and charitable partnerships such as Monkey World and the Southampton FC Saints Foundation.

Name

The Coffee Bean Company

Legal name

The Coffee Bean Company

Website

https://coffeebeancompany.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Coffee Bean Company is a privately held B2B coffee equipment, consumables, servicing, and training supplier headquartered near Romsey, Hampshire, serving hotels, hospitality, healthcare, leisure, education, and small office customers across the South Coast of England.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Commercial Coffee Equipment Supply

NAICS

Coffee and Tea Manufacturing (311920)

SIC

Beverages (2080)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industries

Coffee, Tea & Cocoa Trading/Wholesale (AFAIAKAD), Specialty Coffee & Tea (Single-Origin, Micro-lot, Premium) Processing (AFAFADAJ)

Keywords

• Commercial coffee machines
• Bean to cup machines
• Coffee equipment servicing
• Coffee beans supply
• Hospitality beverage solutions

Headquarters

HQ city

Southampton

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Coffee Machine Sales and Purchase: Sale of new and pre-used espresso, bean-to-cup, bulk brew, and pod coffee machines to businesses. Machines available as purchase, lease, or rent options. Pre-used machines come with a 360-degree warranty.
2. Free on Loan Machine Programmes: Many coffee machines, particularly Douwe Egberts Cafitesse bulk brew machines, are supplied free on loan tied to a minimum consumable usage agreement. This creates an ongoing consumables revenue stream.
3. Coffee and Consumables Supply: Ongoing supply of coffee beans (whole, ground, instant), liquid roast coffee, tea, hot chocolate, milk, syrups, cups, and other consumables. Weekly calls for orders and same-day or next-day delivery.
4. Machine Servicing and Maintenance: Level 1 and Level 2 servicing plans, annual breakdown and servicing cover, and breakdown call-out charges. Annual service contracts include parts up to £250 and quarterly payment options.
5. Staff Training Services: On-site junior barista training for traditional espresso machines, covering cleaning, maintenance, drink preparation, and customer service. Training included during installation and as train-the-trainer sessions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Coffee Bean Company is a B2B coffee solutions provider that supplies commercial coffee machines, coffee beans and other consumables, and ongoing maintenance and training services to the hotel, hospitality, healthcare, leisure, education, and office trade across the South Coast of England. The company operates a free-on-loan model where equipment is provided in exchange for a consumables supply agreement, alongside outright purchase, lease, and rental options, supported by an in-house engineering team for service and breakdown cover.

Product overview

The Coffee Bean Company is a B2B coffee equipment and consumables supplier serving the South Coast of England. The company operates as a unified offering combining coffee machines (Traditional Espresso, Bean to Cup, Bulk Brew/Bulk Brew System, Office Machines, and Pre-Used Espresso Machines) with a comprehensive range of consumables (Espresso Coffee Beans, L'OR Pod Capsules, Douwe Egberts Liquid Roast Coffee, Birchall Tea Range, Hot Beverage Ingredients, and Roast/Ground/Instant Coffee) plus servicing and support services. The portfolio centers on the Douwe Egberts Cafitesse system for high-volume operations, Iberital and Sanremo traditional espresso machines for hospitality settings, and various bean-to-cup machines (LaRhea, Bravilor, Primo) for offices and smaller venues. Additional offerings include Staff Training, Level 1/Level 2 Servicing, Annual Breakdown Cover, and Marketing Support products including menus, loyalty cards, and branded merchandise. The company also supplies the AA First Arctic Star 55 Water Cooler and complementary consumables including sugar, stirrers, and takeaway cups.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CBC Espresso Bean Range: The company's own branded espresso coffee beans including Blend 51, Blend 41, and Decaffeinated options.
• The Coffee Bean Company Blend 51
• Dock Gate 04 Coffee Co.

Products and services

• Traditional Espresso Machines
• Bean to Cup Coffee Machines Automatic bean-to-cup machines that grind and brew fresh coffee at the point of use, designed for offices, hotels, healthcare, and leisure venues requiring consistent self-serve quality.
• Bulk Brew / Liquid Roast Coffee Systems (Cafitesse) High-volume bulk brew and Cafitesse liquid roast coffee systems for sites with significant hot beverage demand, such as healthcare, visitor attractions, and large hospitality venues.
• Pre-Used Espresso Machines Refurbished pre-owned commercial espresso machines offered to trade customers seeking a lower-capital route to commercial-grade espresso.
• Office Coffee Machines Compact and mid-size coffee machines sized for office, business, and small-workplace environments, including pod/capsule and bean-to-cup formats.
• Water Coolers Plumbed and bottled water coolers supplied to offices and commercial sites as a complementary offering to the company's coffee machine portfolio.
• Espresso Coffee Beans Wholesale espresso coffee beans supplied to trade customers on a recurring basis, typically tied to free-on-loan equipment agreements.
• L'OR Coffee Pod / Capsule Range Douwe Egberts L'OR espresso and lungo coffee pods and capsules supplied for use with compatible pod/capsule office and hospitality machines.
• Birchall Tea Range Birchall branded tea products supplied as part of the company's hot beverage consumable range to trade customers.
• Roast, Ground & Instant Coffee Roast, ground, and instant coffee products supplied as additional coffee consumable formats for trade customers requiring filter or instant brewing options.
• Hot Beverage Ingredients (Hot Chocolate, etc.) Hot chocolate and complementary hot beverage ingredients supplied alongside coffee consumables to support full hot beverage menus for trade customers.
• Annual Service & Breakdown Cover Subscription-based annual cover providing scheduled servicing and breakdown protection for customer coffee machines, delivered by the company's in-house engineers.
• Level 1 Service Plan Entry-level servicing plan covering routine maintenance of customer coffee machines, with defined visit frequency and parts scope.
• Level 2 Service Plan Enhanced servicing plan providing more extensive maintenance cover for customer coffee machines, including additional visit scope and parts support relative to the Level 1 plan.
• Breakdown Call-Out Service Reactive, pay-per-callout engineering service for coffee machine breakdowns, available to customers not covered by an annual service plan.
• Staff Barista Training Training service delivered to customer staff on the operation of supplied coffee machines, beverage preparation, and basic maintenance, supporting consistent beverage quality on customer sites.

Quantifiable outcome

• Cafitesse bulk brew machines can produce up to 1,000 cups per hour
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Douwe Egberts White Ox Range (11 Independent Coffee Companies)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 August 2019Alongside 11 other independent UK coffee companies and Douwe Egberts, The Coffee Bean Company launched the new White Ox heritage coffee blend. The blend draws on Douwe Egberts' 265-year roasting heritage, with branding and front-of-house materials provided.
• Thurston Image SolutionsminorOthers · 1 January 2019Thurston Image Solutions designed and produced the new vehicle fleet branding for The Coffee Bean Company's fleet of service and delivery vans unveiled in January 2020.
• Southampton FC (Saints Foundation)coreGTM or Marketing Partner · 10 October 2018The Coffee Bean Company supplies coffee and machines to Southampton FC's St Mary's Stadium, including bean-to-cup coffee carts at every match day and bulk brew machines in kitchen and conference facilities. For every cup of coffee sold at matches, a donation is made to the Saints Foundation (the club's official charity). This partnership combines supply revenue with charitable giving and local brand building.
• Douwe Egberts (JDE)coreTechnology or IntegrationThe Coffee Bean Company is an exclusive distributor of the Douwe Egberts Cafitesse range of machines and Liquid Roast coffee products. They are part of the Full Service Distributor (FSD) network for JDE. This exclusive distribution arrangement is central to the company's bulk brew and liquid coffee product offering, which represents one of their core machine categories.
• IberitalcoreTechnology or IntegrationThe Coffee Bean Company is a supplier of Iberital espresso machines including the Iberital Vision, Iberital IB7, Iberital Intenz, and Iberital Expression. These traditional espresso machines are sourced from Spain's leading espresso machine manufacturer.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Matthew Algie Coffee Company: UK-based B2B coffee roaster and supplier to hotels, restaurants, and offices. Closest direct comparable: a regional/national coffee service company selling equipment, beans, and servicing to UK hospitality customers.
• UCC Coffee UK & Ireland: B2B coffee service provider offering machines, beans, and managed services to UK hospitality and foodservice accounts. Direct overlap in product range, customer verticals, and equipment-plus-consumables model.
• HB Coffee (Hot Beverage Company): UK B2B coffee equipment and consumables supplier serving similar hospitality and office verticals. Closest regional-direct comparable in operating model and customer mix.

Broad incumbents

• Pelican Rouge (UK): Established European coffee services incumbent with UK operations providing bean-to-cup and traditional espresso machines plus consumables to hospitality and workplaces. Broader geographic reach and scale.
• Selecta (UK): Pan-European vending and coffee services operator with significant UK presence. Competitor in the office and hospitality coffee segment with national infrastructure and digital ordering capabilities.
• Lavazza Professional UK: UK arm of the Italian coffee major supplying espresso machines, beans, and full-service coffee programmes to hotels, restaurants, and offices. Competes for the same South Coast and UK accounts.
• Nestlé Professional UK (Nescafé & Starbucks Coffee at Home): Major branded coffee solutions provider offering machines and soluble/specialty coffee to UK foodservice. Represents the largest competitive threat on price and brand recognition.
• Costa Professional (Costa Coffee Wholesale): Wholesale arm of Costa Coffee supplying machines, beans, and branded solutions to UK hotels, offices, and QSR. Major branded competitor particularly in hotel back-of-house and high-volume accounts.

Emerging players

• Iron & Fire Coffee: UK specialty coffee roaster with growing B2B wholesale and equipment arm serving hotels, restaurants, and offices. Emerging competitor in the regional specialty coffee supply space.
• Origin Coffee: UK specialty coffee roaster supplying premium beans, equipment, and training to hospitality customers. Overlaps with The Coffee Bean Company in single-origin/specialty positioning and B2B channel.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/thecoffeebeanco
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/coffee-bean-company

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 The Coffee Bean Company