Case Study: Rising Tide Roast Collaborative

Rising Tide Roast Collaborative is a women-owned coffee roastery and production facility. Their custom production services, shared roasting space, and hands-on support have helped coffee brands and private label clients bring their visions to life since 2022.

The
Challenge

Rising Tide Roast Collaborative had a lot of excess coffee and compostable material. When coffee roasters conducted research and development, or when Rising Tide hosted trainings and classes, they often ended up with much more fresh coffee than they could sell or give away to class participants.

Our
Solution

We built a network of local nonprofit partners that could take various amounts of excess coffee, whether it was 1-pound bags for families at a local food pantry, 5-pound bags for organizations providing homeless outreach services, or 15 pounds at a time for a local transitional housing shelter. Since Rising Tide had unpredictable amounts of coffee, we built a robust series of partnerships that allowed them to donate coffee quickly and easily in amounts that fit the needs of their nonprofit partners. 

Additionally, we helped connect them to a local urban farm that used their nutrient-rich compost to grow vegetables for other neighborhood food pantries. 

The
Results

Rising Tide is able to ensure that their excess product does not go to waste or take up space in their bustling production facility. Local nonprofits get to offer better coffee options to the people they serve, save money, make people happy, and grow food for the neighborhood.

Rising Tide Roast Collaborative:

  • Makes tax-deductible donations

  • Has easy ways to offload excess product

Various local nonprofit organizations:

  • Get freshly-roasted coffee for a local food pantry, a transitional housing facility, and an organization serving the homeless population in the surrounding neighborhoods

  • Have nutrient-rich compost to grow vegetables for local food pantries

“Kevin made it easy for us to donate our excess coffee and make an impact in our neighborhood. We were able to stay focused on our core business, while he made sure that we were reducing our waste, and supporting a nearby food pantry.”

Sara Gibson, Rising Tide Roast Collaborative Co-Owner