Level Ground Trading

What Level Ground Trading does

Level Ground Trading, operating as Level Ground Coffee Roasters, is a privately held Fairtrade Organization founded in 1997 and headquartered in Victoria, British Columbia. The company sources single-origin and craft coffee from producer cooperatives across Colombia, Ethiopia, Peru, Honduras, and Papua New Guinea, and roasts in small batches at its Vancouver Island facility. It also sells Fair Trade teas sourced from small-scale growers in Assam, India, and organic dried fruits and cane sugar packaged by Fruandes, a Fair Trade Organization in Colombia. Decaf offerings are processed using the Swiss Water chemical-free decaffeination method.

The core technology stack is operational rather than digital: small-batch roasting equipment on Vancouver Island, Shopify-powered DTC e-commerce at levelground.com, Judge.me for customer reviews, and a Square-based gift card system for the on-site Roastery Café at 1757 Sean Heights. There is no proprietary software, no AI/ML capability disclosed, and no mobile app. Product assortment is structured across three tiers: a standard line (300g bags from $18.99 CAD), larger 2lb and 5lb formats (up to $106.99 CAD), and a premium Roaster Series with traceable lots such as Honey Washed Colombia and Hand-Selected Papua New Guinea.

Revenue is generated through four streams: direct e-commerce sales to Canadian consumers, a 5lb coffee subscription service on 4/6/8-week cadence with 10% savings, wholesale distribution to independent grocers and London Drugs, and on-premise sales at the Roastery Café. US customers are served through the Ethical Trade Co marketplace. The customer base consists primarily of individual coffee consumers, with two named individual reviewers and one named institutional retail partner (London Drugs); no enterprise contracts or large-anchor accounts are disclosed.

Name

Level Ground Trading

Legal name

Level Ground Coffee Roasters

Website

https://levelground.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Level Ground Trading is a privately held Fairtrade coffee roaster founded in 1997 in Victoria, BC, that sources single-origin and craft coffees from cooperatives in Latin America, Africa, and Asia, selling direct-to-consumer online, via a 5lb subscription service, through wholesale to grocers including London Drugs, and through a Roastery Café.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Coffee Roasting

NAICS

Coffee and Tea Manufacturing (311920), Specialty Food Retailers (4452)

SIC

Retail-Food Stores (5400), Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYAFAFADAJ

Specialty Coffee & Tea (Single-Origin, Micro-lot, Premium) Processing

Agriculture & Food Production/Beverage Production/Coffee & Tea Processing (Roasting, Blending, RTD)

SECONDARYCRADAHAG

Coffee (Roasted, Ground, Whole Bean)

Consumer Products & Retail/Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) Manufacturing & Brands/Non-Alcoholic Beverages (Coffee, Tea, Soft Drinks, Water)

SECONDARYTHAFADAE

Coffee Roasters with Cafe (Roastery Cafes)

Travel & Hospitality/Foodservice & Beverage (Restaurants, Cafes, Bars)/Cafes & Coffee Shops

SECONDARYCRAHAGAI

Specialty Coffee & Tea Retail (Beans, Leaves, Accessories)

Consumer Products & Retail/Grocery & Food Retail/Specialty Food Stores (Deli, Cheese, Gourmet, Bakery)

Keywords

• Specialty coffee roasting
• Fair trade coffee
• Single origin coffee
• Wholesale coffee distribution
• Tea and dried goods

Headquarters

HQ city

Victoria

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Direct E-commerce Sales: Online retail sales of coffee, tea, and dried goods through levelground.com with shipping to Canadian consumers
2. Coffee Subscriptions: Recurring 5lb coffee subscription delivered every 4, 6, or 8 weeks with 10% savings, providing predictable recurring revenue
3. Wholesale Distribution: Bulk sales to independent grocers and retailers including store-level distribution through grocers like London Drugs
4. Roastery Café: On-site café at Victoria headquarters serving coffee and pastries to walk-in customers

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Level Ground Trading is a small-batch specialty coffee roaster based in Victoria, BC, producing single-origin and blended Fair Trade certified coffees, loose-leaf teas, and dried pantry goods (organic cane sugar, dried mango, dried pineapple). Roasted coffees, teas, and dried goods are sold through the company's direct-to-consumer e-commerce site, wholesale partnerships with independent retailers, a recurring 5 lb coffee subscription, and its on-site Roastery Café.

Product overview

Level Ground Trading (Level Ground Coffee Roasters) is a Fairtrade coffee company and specialty roastery based in Victoria, BC, operating since 1997. The product portfolio centers on Fair Trade and organic certified coffee products offered as single origin roasts (Colombia, Peru, Ethiopia, Honduras) and craft blends (French Roast, Andes, Espresso, Decaf), supplemented by a Roaster Series featuring premium specialty releases (Honey Washed Colombia, Hand-Selected Papua New Guinea, Roastery Espresso, Decaf Espresso, Trailhead). The company also offers tea (Black, Earl Grey, Green, Chai) and dried goods (Organic Cane Sugar, Dried Mango, Dried Pineapple) sourced through Fair Trade Organization Fruandes in Colombia. Additional offerings include a 5lb Coffee Subscription service delivering on a 4, 6, or 8 week cadence, gift cards, and a physical Roastery Café location. Products are vegan and allergen-free, with most items certified organic and Kosher (dried goods and sugar).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Colombia Single Origin Coffee
• Peru Single Origin Coffee
• Ethiopia Single Origin Coffee
• Honduras Single Origin Coffee
• Andes Blend Coffee
• French Roast Coffee
• Espresso Coffee
• Trailhead Coffee
• Roastery Espresso Coffee
• Decaf Coffee
• Decaf Espresso Coffee
• Honey Washed Colombia Coffee (Roastery Series)
• Hand-Selected Papua New Guinea Coffee (Roastery Series)
• Black Tea
• Earl Grey Tea
• Green Tea
• Chai Tea
• Organic Cane Sugar
• Dried Mango
• Dried Pineapple
• 5 lb Coffee Subscription
• Online Gift Card
• Roastery Café

Quantifiable outcome

• Products certified Fairtrade and most items certified organic

Named customers3 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• FruandescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFair Trade Organization (FTO) in Colombia that packages Level Ground's organic cane sugar. Fruandes sources fresh fruit from small-scale farmers and employs women to process dried mango, dried pineapple, and cane sugar. Located in Huila and Cundinamarca, Colombia.
• Swiss WatercoreTechnology or IntegrationSwiss Water Process decaf facility processes Level Ground's decaf coffee in Canada without chemicals, providing chemical-free decaffeination for their decaf product line.
• Ethical Trade CominorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMarketplace partner hosting Level Ground products for US customers via ethicaltradeco.com. Provides US market access through an existing fair trade marketplace platform.
• Small-scale Tea Growers (Assam, India)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganic tea growers in Assam, India who grow and process their own tea at garden sites. Farmers use traditional rice-pounding method ('dheki') requiring no electricity. These organic gardens provide habitat for birds and microorganisms.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Tim Hortons: Dominant Canadian coffee QSR/CPG brand retailing packaged coffee at mass scale; included as the broad incumbent setting price benchmarks and shelf expectations for Canadian coffee at grocery, alongside which Level Ground competes for the specialty and fair-trade premium shopper.
• Intelligentsia Coffee: Large US-based specialty coffee roaster with direct-trade sourcing and wholesale café partnerships; provides a benchmark for how a premium specialty roaster scales DTC, wholesale, and café channels beyond regional play.
• Stumptown Coffee Roasters: Established US specialty coffee roaster offering direct-trade single-origin and blended coffees through wholesale, cafés, and DTC; broadly comparable in product depth and channels while operating at much larger scale.

Direct peers

• Kicking Horse Coffee: Canadian fair-trade and organic specialty coffee roaster headquartered in British Columbia; directly comparable in country of origin, ethical sourcing posture, single-origin and blend portfolio, and DTC/wholesale distribution model.
• Salt Spring Coffee: Canadian fair-trade and organic small-batch coffee roaster based in British Columbia; directly comparable product mix, ethical-sourcing story, and DTC-plus-wholesale distribution approach to Level Ground.
• Ethical Bean Coffee: Canadian specialty Fairtrade coffee roaster with single-origin focus and DTC plus grocery distribution; near-direct competitor operating in the same Canadian fair-trade specialty segment.
• 49th Parallel Coffee Roasters: Vancouver-based specialty coffee roaster sourcing premium beans and operating own cafés; highly comparable direct peer operating in the same BC/Pacific Northwest specialty-coffee category with overlapping single-origin and wholesale-café offerings.
• Just Us! Coffee Roasters: Canadian fair-trade and organic coffee roaster with retail café, wholesale, and online sales; directly comparable specialty-roastery business model anchored in ethical sourcing and small-batch roasting.
• Bridgehead Coffee Roasters: Ottawa-based Canadian fair-trade coffee roaster with a comparable specialty-coffee DTC plus wholesale-café model; same Canadian fair-trade heritage and small-batch positioning as Level Ground.

Others

• Ethical Trade Co. Fair-trade-focused online marketplace that distributes Level Ground's products into the United States; included as an ecosystem/channel partner rather than a direct competitor, illustrating the cross-border route Level Ground relies on.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/levelgroundtrd
• Facebookfacebook.com/LevelGroundTrading
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/level-ground-trading

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Level Ground Trading