Retro Coffee

What Retro Coffee does

Retro Espresso Coffee Co, doing business as Retro Coffee and Retro Espresso, is an Australian privately held specialty coffee company founded in 2015 and headquartered on the Fraser Coast in South East Queensland. The company operates three company-owned espresso outlets in Tiaro, Tinana, and Torquay, all positioned along or near the Bruce Highway corridor between Brisbane and Cairns, with its flagship Tiaro cafe housed in a restored 1880s bootmaker's shop decorated with 1960s-70s memorabilia. In 2022 it launched a direct-to-consumer e-commerce store at retrocoffee.com.au to extend its product range nationally.

The company's commercial identity is anchored by a single proprietary blend, the #96 Blend, a complex recipe combining eight different Arabica and Robusta 'A' Grade beans sourced globally, roasted under contract in Brisbane for quality control. The core product portfolio comprises #96 Blend coffee beans (A$24 per bag), fully compostable Nespresso-compatible capsules (A$33 per bag, 40pc or 100pc), Retro Rich Chocolate drinking powder at 24% cocoa (A$14.50 across 1kg-25kg sizes), and accessories including Contigo thermal travel mugs (A$37) and Retro branded Keep Cups in 8/12/16oz sizes. Roasting is outsourced rather than vertically integrated.

The business monetizes through two revenue streams: in-person foodservice at the three cafes (beverages and retail packaged products to walk-ins and Bruce Highway travelers) and packaged product sales via the online store with national shipping. Pricing is uniformly pay-as-you-go with no subscription or recurring contract. Marketing relies on organic Facebook and Instagram presence, the "NO WANK" anti-pretentious specialty-coffee positioning, and physical cafe visibility. The company is founder-owned with 14 employees, no external funding rounds, and no disclosed partnerships, M&A, or institutional investors.

Name

Retro Coffee

Legal name

Retro Espresso Coffee Co

Website

https://retrocoffee.com.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Coffee Retail

NAICS

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

SIC

Beverages (2080)

akta.pro primary industry

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

akta.pro secondary industries

Single-Serve Coffee (Pods, Capsules) (CRADAHAH), Coffee Blending & Flavoring (AFAFADAC)

Keywords

• Specialty coffee beans
• Nespresso compatible capsules
• Drinking chocolate powder
• Espresso cafe beverages
• Branded coffee merchandise

Headquarters

HQ city

Tiaro

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Product Sales (Online Store): Direct consumer sales of coffee beans, capsules, drinking chocolate powder, Contigo thermal mugs, and keep cups through the company's e-commerce platform. One-time purchase model for each product.
2. Cafe/Foodservice Revenue: Revenue from three physical espresso outlets (Tiaro, Tinana, Torquay) selling beverages and potentially food items to walk-in customers and travelers on the Bruce Highway.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Retro Espresso Coffee Co roasts, packages, and sells its signature #96 Blend coffee — a proprietary mix of 8 Arabica and Robusta 'A' Grade beans — via an online store and three company-owned espresso outlets on the Fraser Coast in Queensland, Australia. The product range includes coffee beans, fully compostable Nespresso-compatible capsules, drinking chocolate powder, and branded accessories such as Contigo thermal mugs and Keep Cups.

Product overview

Retro Espresso Coffee Co is a specialty coffee retailer offering a focused product portfolio centered on their signature #96 Blend coffee. The core offering consists of coffee beans, Nespresso-compatible compostable capsules, and drinking chocolate powder. Accessories include Contigo Thermal travel mugs and Retro Keep Cups. All products are available for purchase online and at their three physical espresso outlets in Tiaro, Tinana, and Torquay, Queensland.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• #96 Blend: The company's signature complex blend of 8 Arabica and Robusta 'A' Grade coffee beans, described as internationally celebrated and the foundation of the business's national reputation.
• Retro Espresso Online Store

Products and services

• Coffee Beans #96 Blend The company's flagship internationally celebrated #96 Coffee Blend — a complex mix of 8 Arabica and Robusta 'A' Grade beans sourced globally, roasted in Brisbane under contract. Sold to consumers for home brewing.
• Coffee Capsules (Nespresso Compatible) The #96 Blend packaged in fully compostable Nespresso-compatible capsules, offered to capsule-machine owners in 40pc or 100pc bags for at-home or office brewing.
• Retro Rich Chocolate Rich drinking chocolate blended with 24% cocoa, used for mochas, iced chocolates, cappuccino topping, and latte art; sold to consumers and cafes in multiple bag sizes.
• Contigo Thermal Mug Retro-branded lockable, no-spill thermal travel mug with extreme heat retention, sold as an accessory to consumers.
• Keep Cups Retro-branded reusable Keep Cups available in 8oz, 12oz, and 16oz sizes, sold to consumers for takeaway coffee.
• Espresso Cafe Service (Tiaro, Tinana, Torquay) In-person espresso beverage service at three physical outlets (Tiaro flagship in a restored 1880s bootmaker's shop, plus Tinana and Torquay) targeting travelers on the Bruce Highway and Fraser Coast locals.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• St Ali Coffee Roasters: Melbourne-based specialty coffee roaster and cafe operator with DTC e-commerce. Comparable as an Australian specialty coffee brand combining cafes, roasted bean sales, and capsules with strong brand reputation.
• Griffiths Bros Coffee Roasters: Australian family-owned specialty coffee roaster operating cafes in Melbourne and a national DTC e-commerce platform. Comparable as an independent roaster-cafe operator with proprietary blends and capsule offerings.
• Campos Coffee: Australian specialty coffee roaster and cafe operator offering single-origin and blended beans, capsules, and cafe locations nationwide. Directly comparable as a vertically integrated Australian specialty coffee brand selling beans and capsules via DTC plus owned cafes, with a similar premium positioning.
• Di Bella Coffee: One of Australia's largest independent coffee roasters offering beans, capsules, and wholesale foodservice. Comparable product portfolio (beans, Nespresso-compatible capsules, drinking chocolate) and multi-channel distribution model.
• Market Lane Coffee: Australian specialty coffee roaster with multiple Melbourne cafes and online bean/capsule sales. Comparable in specialty positioning, multi-location cafe + DTC structure, and focus on quality single-origin and blended coffees.
• Genovese Coffee: Australian family-owned specialty coffee roaster with cafes and DTC bean/capsule sales. Highly comparable operating model: founder-led, multi-outlet retail plus e-commerce, proprietary blend focus, and Australian D2C distribution.

Broad incumbents

• Nespresso: Global incumbent in single-serve coffee capsules owned by Nestlé. Retro's Nespresso-compatible compostable capsules directly compete for the same home brewing occasion; comparable technology category though Nespresso dominates scale and brand.
• Lavazza: Italian global coffee brand with Australian presence in beans, ground coffee, and capsules (including compostable A Modo Mio capsules). Comparable as a competing capsule brand with sustainability messaging targeting the same consumer segment.

Regional players

• Gloria Jean's Coffees: Australian-headquartered international coffeehouse chain. Comparable as a multi-state Australian cafe brand with branded packaged coffee retail; relevant for cafe scale and packaged coffee retail benchmarks.
• The Coffee Club: Australia's largest cafe franchise network with 400+ stores. Comparable as a multi-location Australian cafe operator, though franchise-based and broader mainstream rather than specialty; relevant benchmark for cafe unit economics.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/retroespressocoffeeco
• Instagraminstagram.com/retroespressocoffee
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/retro-coffee

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 Retro Coffee