African Coffee Roasters

What African Coffee Roasters does

African Coffee Roasters EPZ Limited is a B2B coffee roasting company founded in 2016 and headquartered in Kenya's Export Processing Zone in Athi River. The company operates a single roasting facility with annual capacity of 2,200 metric tons and supplies over 2,000 stores across Europe through three service lines: Private Label (custom blends roasted and packaged to a customer's specifications and brand), White Label (20+ pre-formulated blends and single origins available for rebranding), and Toll Roasting (precision roasting of customer-supplied beans to specification). Products are delivered in whole bean, ground, and capsule formats, and pricing is quote-based, structured around volume and service requirements rather than published rates.

The company's go-to-market is sales-led B2B, targeting retail and grocery groups, hospitality operators, and beverage solution providers with direct enterprise engagement. Its core differentiator is origin roasting — performing the value-added roasting step at source in Kenya rather than at destination — supported by carbon-negative/CO2-negative production claims, full farm-to-cup traceability, and EPZ-enabled global logistics. The company was acquired by Slow, a regenerative agriculture platform, integrating upstream farming systems with origin roasting and global distribution under a single accountable value chain, and has recently begun US market entry via a partnership with Presso Coffee.

Name

African Coffee Roasters

Legal name

African Coffee Roasters EPZ Limited

Website

https://acr.co.ke

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

African Coffee Roasters is a Kenya-based B2B coffee roaster offering private-label, white-label, and toll-roasting services from its 2,200-metric-ton Athi River facility, supplying 2,000+ European retail and hospitality customers and expanding into the US market via Presso Coffee.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Coffee Roasting and Private Label Manufacturing

NAICS

Coffee and Tea Manufacturing (311920)

SIC

Beverages (2080)

akta.pro primary industry

Coffee Roasting & Grinding (AFAFADAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Coffee (Roasted, Ground, Whole Bean) (CRADAHAG), Specialty Coffee & Tea (Single-Origin, Micro-lot, Premium) Processing (AFAFADAJ)

Keywords

• Coffee roasting services
• Private label coffee
• White label coffee
• Toll roasting
• Sustainable coffee production

Headquarters

HQ city

Athi River

HQ country

Kenya

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Private Label Coffee: Crafted coffee products designed to specifications and branding requirements of retailers and B2B customers. Provides end-to-end solution from sourcing to roasting to packaging.
2. White Label Coffee: Ready-made coffee products from 20+ blends and single origins available for branding under customer names. One-time purchase model for existing formulations.
3. Toll Roasting: Processing customer-owned beans with company's roasting expertise. Customer provides beans, company provides precision roasting to specifications.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

African Coffee Roasters is a B2B coffee roasting company operating at origin in Kenya that crafts roasted coffee for retailers, hospitality operators, and beverage solution providers. It offers three core services — Private Label (custom blends, flavours, and packaging built to a customer's brand specifications), White Label (20+ pre-formulated blends and single origins ready for rebranding), and Toll Roasting (precision roasting of customer-supplied beans). Finished products are delivered in whole bean, ground, and capsule formats, with an annual roasting capacity of 2,200 metric tons supplying 2,000+ stores primarily across Europe.

Product overview

African Coffee Roasters is a B2B coffee roasting company operating at origin in Kenya that offers three interconnected service lines: Private Label (custom-crafted to customer taste and brand), White Label (20+ pre-formulated blends and single origins ready for rebranding), and Toll Roasting (customer-supplied beans roasted to specification). Products are available in three formats: whole bean, ground, and capsule coffee. The company supplies over 2,000 stores across Europe with an annual roasting capacity of 2,200 metric tons.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Private Label Coffee

Quantifiable outcome

• Supplying over 2,000 stores across Europe
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• SlowcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAfrican Coffee Roasters is part of Slow, connecting regenerative farming systems with local roasting and global distribution. Slow acquired African Coffee Roasters to create a shorter, more accountable value chain with greater transparency, resilience, and positive impact across climate, nature, and livelihoods.
• Presso CoffeeflagshipChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorStrategic collaboration to bring African coffee essence to the American market. Presso Coffee sources hand-roasted beans from African Coffee Roasters facilities in Kenya. By keeping the roasting process local, the partnership ensures every cup has positive impact on farmers in Africa. This marks the company's first entry into the American market.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Peers

• Sucafina:

Broad incumbents

• JDE Peet's (JACOBS DOUWE EGBERTS): World's largest pure-play coffee company, with significant private-label and roasting operations across Europe. Overlaps with ACR in private-label retail but with much broader brand portfolio and scale.
• Nestlé (Nescafé / Starbucks at Home): Global packaged coffee giant with private-label and contract manufacturing capability, including capsule systems relevant to ACR's capsule coffee format. Adjacent rather than direct given scale and brand orientation.
• Lavazza: Major Italian coffee company with extensive private-label and foodservice operations across Europe. Overlaps with ACR in B2B/private-label channel but operates at vastly larger scale and broader product portfolio.

Direct peers

• Tchibo: German coffee roaster and retailer with significant B2B and private-label offerings. Comparable European distribution footprint and private-label coffee program model.
• Massimo Zanetti Beverage Group: World's largest private-label coffee roaster, serving retailers and foodservice across Europe with own-origin and multi-origin roasting. Highly comparable B2B private-label model, though at much larger scale and primarily non-African origin.
• Strauss Group (Elite / Strauss Coffee): Global B2B coffee company with significant private-label and roasting operations across multiple origins, including emerging-market roasting. Closely comparable multi-origin private-label strategy and customer profile.
• Paulig: Finnish family-owned coffee roaster with strong private-label and foodservice business across Europe. Comparable B2B/private-label model, sustainability positioning, and European customer base.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/african-coffee-roasters

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 African Coffee Roasters