CrowdRoast

Overview

CrowdRoast is a web platform that helps coffee roasters crowd-purchase green coffee together to unlock bulk pricing and simplify supply chain coordination. Roasters join city-based hubs (e.g., “Austin Hub”) where group buys are launched, allowing them to commit to fractional bag quantities from a shared inventory. Coffee sellers — including importers, exporters, and farmers — list available lots with transparent quality data, minimum volume thresholds, and optional samples. Each lot functions like a Kickstarter campaign: if the collective commitments reach the goal, payments are captured and the coffee is shipped to the hub; if not, funds are automatically returned. The platform integrates Stripe Connect for secure escrow-style payments, manages sample requests, and includes dispute resolution tools to ensure trust between buyers and sellers. Hub owners receive and distribute shipments locally, providing operational transparency and reliability at every step. Designed to support both warehouse-stock and forward-contract purchases, CrowdRoast lowers the barrier for small roasters to access world-class coffees through coordinated buying power.

Technologies