Bellwether Expands Green Coffee Marketplace, Doubles Roaster Installed Base as Cafés Shift to In-House Roasting

Expanded Green Coffee Marketplace and European launch give cafés more ways to roast, brand, and sell their own coffee.

BERKELEY, Calif., March 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Bellwether Coffee has doubled the installed base of its Shop Roaster and expanded its Green Coffee Marketplace to more than 30 global coffees, as cafés and retailers increasingly turn to on-site roasting to improve margins, control quality, and differentiate their brands.

The company shipped more roasters in 2025 than in the previous five years combined, reflecting growing demand from both first-time café owners and established operators seeking greater control over their coffee programs.

Bellwether offers a range of services that customers can choose to use, including coffee menu guidance, an integrated green coffee marketplace with Bellwether-developed roast profiles.

Building on these services, Bellwether's Marketplace continues to grow, giving customers access to an expanding selection of coffees from around the world.

Originally launched with five coffees, Bellwether's Marketplace now spans Latin America, East Africa, and Southeast Asia, with every major origin represented by year's end. Offerings include Costa Rica, Brazil, Colombia, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Rwanda, Sumatra, and Tanzania, with new origins like Ecuador and El Salvador coming soon. The Marketplace is optional—customers may source through Bellwether, independently, or use a mix of both.

"We offer everything cafes and coffee retailers need to start roasting — sourcing, roast profiles, menu guidance, packaging — but it's all optional," said Ricardo Lopez, Bellwether's founder and CEO. Customers can use as much or as little as they want."

Function Coffee Co. founder Tony Daussat launched from a home office in the Dallas–Fort Worth area with a goal of selling 100 bags in his first year. He sold 100 in his first month and is now preparing to open a new cafe location this spring.

Michael Safarov of Teremok Coffee and Desserts in Missouri installed a Bellwether Shop Roaster after noticing the lines at the Starbucks next door. He soon began drawing those same customers into his cafe with coffee roasted on-site and branded under his own label. Today, he estimates he's saving $1,200 per week by roasting Bellwether Marketplace coffee in-house.

At Juliette's Cafe & Coffee Culture in Newport Beach, California, co-owners Juliette Chung and John Hughes built an exceptional coffee program around Bellwether's roaster and Marketplace inside a converted 1964 bank building that could not accommodate traditional gas roasting infrastructure. "We wanted to build a serious coffee program in a historic space," said Hughes. "Bellwether gives us access to coffees that perform across espresso and pour-over. Our customers notice the quality–even our decaf gets rave reviews."

For established cafés, the shift is often economic. Operators who move from buying wholesale roasted coffee to roasting green coffee on-site typically reduce coffee costs by 30 to 50 percent while serving coffee roasted days or weeks rather than months earlier. Roasting on-site allows businesses to maintain existing flavor profiles, strengthen brand identity, and keep more margin in-house.

"Freshly roasted coffee is better coffee," added Lopez. "But cafes, coffee shops and restaurants also like roasting in-house because it makes financial sense. They can create a better-tasting product and improve their margins at the same time."

Bellwether now operates in 40 U.S. states and serves customers in 26 countries, with its newly launched European Marketplace extending the same curated sourcing model abroad. The company showcased its expanded Marketplace at New York Coffee Fest (booth #2726) on March 8–10, and will be on hand at the Specialty Coffee Association's World of Coffee (Booth #1419) in San Diego April 10-12.

About Bellwether Coffee

Bellwether Coffee helps cafés and retailers roast fresh coffee in-house, making it easy to serve better-tasting drinks every day. Its all-electric, plug-and-play roasters deliver consistent quality and unlock new revenue, without gas lines, construction, or prior experience. Designed for single cafés and multi-location retailers, Bellwether also provides access to curated beans from around the world, helping businesses finally realize the ROI of on-site roasting. Bellwether's Shop Roaster was named Best New Product at World of Coffee Copenhagen 2024. For more information, visit https://bellwethercoffee.com/.

SOURCE Bellwether Coffee