Subscriptions and fast growth DTC with Kristina Smith from Big Island Coffee Roasters (episode 401)
Kristina Smith is the Head of DTC at Big Island Coffee Roasters. A multi-award-winning coffee business with sustainability at its core, founded seven years ago they launched a DTC Shopify site 3 years ago and are aiming to double sales both this year and next.
Listen now for free:
Subscribe on your Favourite Podcast App
About Kristina Smith
The last time Kristina was on the show, she was with a footwear company based in Portland, Oregon.
Because of different factors, she has since joined two other companies before landing her current role as head of DTC at Big Island Coffee Roasters.
Kristina says she has always been fascinated with the coffee industry and she’s really excited to work with Big Island Coffee Roasters and the founders.
About Big Island Coffee Roasters
- Based in a little town called Mountain View on the Big Island of Hawaii
- Sells globally, with the exception of an occasional decaf coffee or special guest star coffee
- Maintains sustainability principles by sourcing locally, practicing fair trade, and running the roastery on renewable energy
Coffee and More
Big Island Coffee Roasters produce their coffee with the small batch concept in mind, only roasting the product when an order is placed.
One factor for this approach is the limited space on the island, which means there’s a finite volume of coffee beans that can be grown and roasted at any given time.
Even though their products are at a premium price, it’s still a fraction of what you would normally spend at your favorite coffee shop. Kristina says they’re providing affordable luxury to those who know and love coffee.
Beyond coffee and pure coffee products, related goods such as their Espresso Bites allow the brand to continue growing.
Working with the Founders
Kristina has only been with Big Island Coffee Roasters for four months, but she already has three major objectives to move the brand to the next level:
- Establish process to enable efficiency
- Take things off the plates of the founders
- Provide actual marketing strategy based on what she has seen and done previously
She says she’s fortunate to have worked with great companies and smart people over the years, and hopes to bring all she has learned to the table and bring the company’s strategy further.
Coffee Subscriptions
Coffee subscriptions have grown so much over the past several years, and Kristina shares that the pandemic accelerated growth for a number of reasons.
However, she warns that this isn’t something you set and forget. You always have to work on improving the customer experience and also increase sign-ups.
Operationally, you also have to think about growing your membership while keeping your operations running smoothly.
Kristina says doing subscriptions can be the right strategy for the right businesses, and it’s definitely an important one for Big Island Coffee Roasters.
eCommerce Book Top Tip
- The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right by Atul Gawande
eCommerce Traffic Top Tip
- Affiliate marketing/partnership marketing including adjacent brands and industries, content generators, and more.
Tool Top Tip
- Kristina says an Excel spreadsheet is still the best for her.
Growth Top Tip
- Look at the data, find out where your current orders are coming from and who your customers are, and let the information help you make good business decisions.
Interview Links
Related episodes
- 137: Subscription eCommerce – Jon Butt runs a 7-figure eCommerce business, and launched a seperate subscription site in 2017
- 390: Discover the perfect DTC Playbook with DTC veteran Mike Stevens
- 393: Story, content and partnerships for growth with James le Compte from To’ak Chocolate
Without the sponsors the podcast wouldn’t be possible – please do check them out:
Klaviyo is a leading customer data and marketing automation platform dedicated to accelerating revenue and customer connection for online businesses. Klaviyo makes it easy to store, access, analyze and use transactional and behavioral data to power highly-targeted customer and prospect communications.
The company’s hybrid customer-data and marketing-platform model allows companies to grow by fostering direct relationships with customers, without giving up their valuable data to popular big-tech ad platforms. Over 80,000 innovative companies like Unilever, Custom Ink, Living Proof and Huckberry sell more with Klaviyo.
Learn more at www.klaviyo.com.
Osome. Hassle-free accounting and bookkeeping for your eCommerce business. Osome integrates with major online platforms and the team can do all your bookkeeping in real-time and you get access to your own accountant!
9,500+ customers worldwide, serving UK, Europe, Singapore and Hong Kong.
Accountants with years of eCommerce experience take over your accounting documents and convert them into actionable numbers, tax filings and reports.
To get a demo and find out how much time & money Osome could save you… go to ecmp.info/osome, fill in your details, and hit the “Let’s Go!” button.
Make sure you use the link as it will automatically add the coupon EM100 to save you £110.
Discover AppSumo
We’re massive AppSumo fans at eCommerce MasterPlan – Chloe and the team will have used at least 10 tools we’ve bought from their lifetime deals marketplace to create and promote this episode.
Checkout AppSumo today to find a low cost solution to your business problems.
Full transcript to read & download: – H3
Like to be a guest? Apply Here’