How To Roast Coffee Profitably in 2026 w/ Luke Waite [Pomelo Consulting]

In this episode of Coffee Think Tank, Luke Waite—founder of Pomelo Coffee Consulting and former operations and sales leader at Metric Coffee and Passion House—talks about what it actually takes to run a profitable coffee roastery in 2026. Luke spent years on the inside of some of Chicago's most respected specialty roasters before launching Pomelo, where he helps roasters get a handle on their people, processes, and finances. He also just wrote The Owner's Manual, a practical guide to sustaining a coffee roaster. In this conversation, we get into... Why roaster profitability is eroding and what the warning signs look like on your P&L What Luke considers the financial danger zone for roasters—and what to do if you're in it Why price increases are usually less painful than roasters expect, and how to communicate them well What it means to "build the sales car before you hire the driver"—and why most roasters do it backwards How coffee buyers have changed in the last few years, and what that means for your wholesale approach Luke's "Core 7" framework for building a healthy, stable, and profitable roastery A peek inside The Owner's Manual, Luke's new book on sustaining a coffee roaster Chapters: 00:00 Introduction & The State of Roaster Profitability 02:05 The Goal of Becoming the First Michelin-Starred Cafe 07:10 What a Michelin-Starred Cafe Would Look Like Today 11:31 The State of Roaster Profitability Heading Into 2026 13:19 How to Know If You're in Financial Trouble 14:13 Luke's Consulting Framework: People, Process, and Profit 18:37 Why Roasters Are Afraid to Raise Prices 25:09 The Power of Relationships in Wholesale Sales 27:31 Advice for Medium and Large Roasters 29:27 Nurturing Wholesale Accounts Beyond the Transaction 31:46 The Owner's Manual: Luke's New Book 36:32 Why Roasters Sell Coffee at a Loss 40:44 Building a Wholesale Sales Program 45:58 How Coffee Buyers Have Changed 46:56 Building the Sales Car Before You Hire the Driver 53:54 Overcoming the Resistance to Sales and Marketing 57:25 Recommended Resources and Inspirations 1:03:55 What Luke Is Working On Next Where to Find Luke Waite Pomelo Coffee Consulting website: pomelocoffeeconsulting.com The Owner's Manual (book): available at pomelocoffeeconsulting.com/book Mentioned in the Episode Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time by Jeff Sutherland (book on iterative process improvement) Lucia Solis (coffee fermentation and producer-side consultant, mentioned as inspiration) Metric Coffee (Chicago roaster, former employer) Passion House Coffee (Chicago roaster, former employer) Fresh Cup Roaster Link (wholesale matchmaking program for roasters and buyers): roasterlink.com/roasters