Blendly Commercial Coffee Roaster is normally only open to trade customers - giving independents the chance to access the green coffee bean market.
But now, given the ongoing global pandemic, the businesses is opening up to domestic customers by selling coffee blends created by baristas and cafes to coffee lovers online.
Started in 2016 by Mark Wilson, the idea behind Blendly was to create a a one stop, online coffee roasting and blending service ideal for Baristas and cafes.
Since the global pandemic and closure of the food and drink industry due to lockdown, Mark decided to open Blendly to customers of these cafes to either buy coffee blends created by their favourite cafes or create their own.
A recent collaboration with itison brought the business to a wider audience by offering vouchers to buy coffee blends created by baristas and cafes, such as Cupcake Coffee Box in Kirkcaldy Fife.
In opening to domestic customers to buy coffee blends, Blendly is giving businesses that are currently closed or operating at a reduced capacity a chance to reach customers they might not normally.
Plus with many more of us getting creative in the kitchen and taking simple pleasure in food and drink, coffee fans can now use this service to delve into the world of blend creation.
Coffee fans can visit the Blendly website to start creating their own coffee blend or buy from already made batches. Created blends can be shared electronically with QR codes or referral links.
Individual purchases can be made or there's a subscription service - Barista Home, from £4.99 per month - which is ideal for customers. Commercial plans start at £12.99 per month.
Speaking about the change in market, the team at Blendly say: "People are always looking out for products that identify with them, reflecting their character and personality, traits that are unique to themselves.
"The coffee market has grown significantly over the past 20 years and blends are consistently evolving to accommodate changing palates and preferences. These are amongst the many reasons why more and more people are switching away from their usual coffee brands to Blendly."
It's not just coffee fans and local businesses that Blendly are focusing on. Regional eProcurement manager, Johnathan Gray explains how the business is helping charities: "Whilst we continue to get a lot of visitors to our website that use our Blend Repository to match the taste of their favourite global coffee brands and have it delivered fresh, giving more access to coffee blending and taste matching profiles, we have been working with organisations such as Spina Bifida Hydrocephalus Scotland to help them take advantage of our National in International network to launch their own coffee blends for their members.
"Once these blends go live, they will be available to purchase online throughout Scotland, UK and most of the EU and help support the many services and good work they do.
"We believe coffee is a big part of the community and the blendly marketplace can have a very positive social impact on communities. We are now being approached by national companies that are looking to build coffee into their communities in this way."
To find out more about Blendly or to start creating your coffee, visit their website.
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