Roasting Business and Salary Survey 2021 - Insights on Coffee Roasting Businesses and Employee Compensation - Roast Magazine
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2021 ROASTING BUSINESS and SALARY SURVEY
2021
Roasting
Business
and
Salary
Survey
Insights on Coffee
Roasting Businesses and
Employee Compensation
SEP TEMBER | OCTOBER 2021 25
2021 ROASTING BUSINESS and SALARY SURVEY
The statistics in the following pages provide a
snapshot of the roasting industry, but there are layers
of nuance for roasters when it comes to their career. A
majority of respondents reported a base salary of less
than $40,000—with less than half having received an
increase in compensation during the past year—and
half of respondents reported working more than 40
hours per week. Despite these factors, over 60 percent
of respondents reported being very satisfied with their
job.
“I have worked here nine years, currently
supervising our production department, am a
production roaster, and am the company’s Preventive
Controls Qualified Individual (PCQI),” says a roaster
from the Pacific region in the United States. “It’s a fair
amount of responsibility but I like the job. It feels easy
most of the time and when it’s hard, it’s fun.” Another
respondent who owns a roasting business in the East
North Central region of the United States says, “I love
the whole process of coffee roasting and find it is a
very rewarding career.”
Photo by Juan José AS THE COFFEE INDUSTRY TRIES However, many respondents pointed to the
Sánchez Macías to find its footing again after one of the most pandemic restrictions and rapid changes that were
challenging years for roasting and retail businesses, made within their companies since March 2020, noting
we wanted to share the results of our Roasting that they have had to take on more responsibility, often
Business and Salary Survey, conducted this past April. without a formal promotion or wage increase. “Pay is
This year’s survey, a follow-up to our three previous lower than I would like, but covid-19 restrictions have
iterations conducted in 2008, 2012 and 2016 aimed to greatly reduced company turnover,” says one roaster
better understand the landscape for coffee roasting from the United Kingdom. “I would be paid more for
businesses, help our readers gain a clearer picture my qualifications in almost any other industry, but I
of the roles coffee roasters play in the industry, and hope that 2021 will bring the opportunity for increased
provide insights into the current state of compensation income.”
for professional roasters in the United States. Another roaster from Australia says, “Due to
Since 2016, when Roast published its third roasting covid-19 and other crises within the company, my
industry survey, the coffee market has evolved roles have increased from roaster and barista trainer to
significantly. As in past years, the majority of our green bean buyer, quality control, wholesale, defacto
survey responses came from wholesale roasters. operations manager and admin/help desk. While my
Over half of respondents reported annual revenue of salary is decent, my company is getting more than its
$500,000 or more—a reversal from past surveys. We pound of flesh for the last year.”
received responses from roasters located across the We invite you to dig into the following pages for
United States, with nearly a quarter of entries coming more comments from roasters, and information and
from oversees. insights into roasting businesses of all sizes.
26 ROAST MAGAZI NE SEP TEMBER | OCTOBER 2021 27
2021 ROASTING BUSINESS and SALARY SURVEY
Section 1 About the Business HOW MANY EMPLOYEES DOES YOUR BUSINESS HAVE?
101+ 10%
51–100 8%
1–3
29%
21–50 13%
4–7
13-20 8%
18%
8–12 14%
ANNUAL COMPANY REVENUE
“ We are located in a residential/neighborhood community. The relationships we have built with our neighbors
(now customers) have been fantastic. We are the first (and only) specialty coffee in the area. Introducing people
Less
$5 million
to fresh roasted specialty coffee has been a lot of fun.” and above
than
—Roaster, East North Central region, United States 15%
$100,000
23% $1 million to
$5 million
19%
$100,000
to $500,000
WHAT BUSINESS CATEGORY BEST DESCRIBES YOUR ORGANIZATION? 25% $500,000 to
$1 million
18%
Franchise or Regional Chain
1%
Wholesale
Roaster National Chain
52%
“
3%
Consistency can be challenging. Coffee is such a moving
Other target. So many factors can affect coffee, and as a wholesaler it
8% can be hard to get accounts to care enough as well. We are lucky
to have created a following and take great strides to create that
Single-store Multiple-store consistent product, but it takes real vigilance.”
Independent Independent —Owner, New England region, United States
21% 15%
28 ROAST MAGAZI NE SEP TEMBER | OCTOBER 2021 29
2021 ROASTING BUSINESS and SALARY SURVEY
U.S. REGIONS KEY WHERE ARE THE BUSINESS HEADQUARTERS LOCATED?
Africa
EAST NORTH CENTRAL
1%
Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois,
Indiana, Ohio Latin America
North & Caribbean
EAST SOUTH CENTRAL America 4%
Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, 76% Asia and Pacific
Alabama 7%
Europe
MID-ATLANTIC New York, 12%
Pennsylvania, New Jersey
MOUNTAIN Idaho, Montana,
Wyoming, Nevada, Utah,
Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico
NEW ENGLAND Maine, REGIONAL BREAKDOWN FOR THOSE WITH U.S. HEADQUARTERS
New Hampshire, Vermont,
Massachusetts, Rhode Island,
Connecticut East
North Central
Pacific
15%
PACIFIC Alaska, Washington, 21%
Oregon, California, Hawaii
East
South Central
West 2%
SOUTH ATLANTIC Delaware,
South
Maryland, District of Columbia, Central Mid Atlantic
Virginia, West Virginia, North 9% 13%
Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia,
West Mountain
Florida
North
11%
Central
WEST NORTH CENTRAL North 8%
Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska,
South New
Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa,
Atlantic England
Missouri
15% 6%
WEST SOUTH CENTRAL
Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas,
Louisiana
30 ROAST MAGAZI NE SEP TEMBER | OCTOBER 2021 31
2021 ROASTING BUSINESS and SALARY SURVEY
NUMBER OF ROASTING MACHINES PER SQUARE FEET SQUARE FOOTAGE OF ROASTING FACILITY
5+ roasters 5+ roasters
3 roasters 3 roasters 4% 6% 5+ roasters
6% 3%
4 roasters Other
4 roasters 17% Less than
2 roasters 8% 6% 2% 100 sq. ft.
2 roasters 3 roasters 4 roasters
12% 29%
4% 3 roasters 9% 16%
11%
2 roasters 3 roasters
21% 2 roasters 15% More
29% than 101 to
2,000 sq. ft. 500 sq. ft.
1 roaster 1 roaster 1 roaster 2 roasters 34% 15%
82% 68% 63% 44%
1 roaster
48%
500 to
1 roaster 1,001 to 1,000 sq. ft.
15% 2,000 sq. ft. 11%
22%
Less than 101 to 501 to 1,001 to More than
100 sq. ft. 500 sq. ft. 1,000 sq. ft. 2,000 sq. ft. 2,000 sq. ft.
32 ROAST MAGAZI NE SEP TEMBER | OCTOBER 2021 33
2021 ROASTING BUSINESS and SALARY SURVEY
NUMBER OF ROASTING MACHINES PER COMPANY
None/
Co-Roasting
3%
1 6+ Roasting
Roasting machines
machine 4%
44%
5 Roasting
machines
4%
4 Roasting
2 machines
Roasting 5%
machines
3 Roasting
30% machines
10%
NUMBER OF ROASTING EMPLOYEES PER COMPANY
1 5+
Roasting Roasting
Employee Employees
42% 12%
4
Roasting
Employees
2
Roasting 1%
Employees
3
32%
Roasting
Employees
13%
34 ROAST MAGAZI NE SEP TEMBER | OCTOBER 2021 35
2021 ROASTING BUSINESS and SALARY SURVEY DOES YOUR COMPANY HOLD ANY OF THE FOLLOWING INDUSTRY CERTIFICATIONS? B Corp 7% Bird Friendly 4% Rainforest Alliance 16% USDA Organic 23% Fairtade America/ Fairtrade International 13% Fairtrade USA 16% LEED 3% Other 18% WHICH TRADE SHOWS/EVENTS HAVE YOU AND/OR YOUR COMPANY ATTENDED IN THE PAST FIVE YEARS? SCA Expo 25% Coffee Fest Shows 22% Private Workshops/Labs 18% Regional Roasting Events/Workshops 14% Coffee Roasters Guild Retreat 9% SCA World of Coffee 7% USDA Organic 5% 36 ROAST MAGAZI NE SEP TEMBER | OCTOBER 2021 37
2021 ROASTING BUSINESS and SALARY SURVEY
Section 2 Employees
“ The most rewarding part of roasting is the satisfaction of a really good
roast that makes people happy. I also do a lot of teaching and education for
new roasters. It’s really rewarding to help a person who knows nothing about
coffee roasting start their journey into the coffee world.
The biggest challenge has been the unpredictability of the last year and
the stress of keeping employees employed.”
— Owner, Pacific region, United States
AGE RANGE
18–24
25–34 3%
22% 65–74
4%
55–64
12%
35–44
36%
45–54
23%
GENDER IDENTITY
Prefer not
to answer
2%
Non-binary
3%
Male
78% Female
17%
38 ROAST MAGAZI NE SEP TEMBER | OCTOBER 2021 39
2021 ROASTING BUSINESS and SALARY SURVEY
JOB TITLE
Other/
Multiple roles
18%
Owner
42% Trainer
1%
Green Buyer
6%
Roaster
Manager
26%
7%
YEARS ROASTING PROFESSIONALLY
4–7 8–12 years
years 23%
20%
13–20 years
1–3 11%
years
23% More than
20 years
8%
Less
than 1 year Other
12% 3%
YEARS WITH CURRENT COMPANY YEARS IN CURRENT POSITION
4–7 8–12 4–7 8–12
years years years years
18% 21% 21% 19%
1–3 13–20 1–3
years 13–20
years years years
27% 12% 30%
8%
More than More than
Less 20 years Less
than 1 year than 1 year 20 years
8% 6%
14% 16%
40 ROAST MAGAZI NE SEP TEMBER | OCTOBER 2021 41
2021 ROASTING BUSINESS and SALARY SURVEY
Section 3 Job & Salary
“ In my experience, the title of roaster or head roaster
is not well-defined in the specialty coffee world. The
only consistency is that the job includes roasting coffee.
Almost every position includes a varying number of other
responsibilities including but not limited to green buying,
QC, barista work, sales work, etc. This varies wildly from
company to company, and there is significant overlap
with director of coffee, green buyer and production tech.”
—Owner/roaster, Mid-Atlantic region, United States
WHAT RESPONSIBILITIES ARE PART OF YOUR JOB?
Cupping 82%
Green Coffee Buying 72%
Production Roasting 71%
Sample Roasting 70%
Training/Education 67%
Packaging 67%
Marketing 59%
“ Salary covers QC, QA, development from green storage to roasted to service within cafes. Training and education systems for all
staff, wholesale accounts, and the public. Managing and maintaining the warehouse inventory, receiving, tracking. Travel to support
industry events as an instructor, judge, and company ambassador.”
—Quality assurance & education, Mountain region, United States
42 ROAST MAGAZI NE SEP TEMBER | OCTOBER 2021 432021 ROASTING BUSINESS and SALARY SURVEY
HOW MANY EMPLOYEES DO YOU SUPERVISE?
4–7 8–12
employees employees
19% 7%
13–20
1–3 employees
employees 4%
31%
More than
No 20 employees
employees 6%
33%
HOW MANY HOURS DO YOU WORK IN A WEEK?
Less than
20 hours
per week
13%
More than
40 hours
per week
52%
20–40 hours
per week
35%
PERCENTAGE OF DAY SPENT ROASTING COFFEE?
The entire day
I don't 5%
roast coffee
on a regular
basis Three
quarters of
42% the day
14%
Half of A quarter of
the day the day
18% 21%
44 ROAST MAGAZI NE SEP TEMBER | OCTOBER 2021 452021 ROASTING BUSINESS and SALARY SURVEY
HOW OFTEN DO YOU TRAVEL TO ORIGIN?
Never 11 or more
times per year
55%
2%
6–10
times per year
2%
1–2
times per year 2–5
times per year
34% 7%
BASE SALARY (ANNUAL)
$15,000–$20,000 22%
$20,000–$30,000 10%
$30,000–$40,000 12%
$40,000–$50,000 16%
$50,000–$75,000 20%
$75,000–$100,000 9%
More than $100,000 11%
“ We operate on such tight margins. As much as I wish I earned more, I am familiar with our bottom-line and understand why
that will not be possible. The most difficult aspect is not letting pretension or a competitive mindset poison the enjoyment of coffee
and community that drew us all in at first—I don’t want to lose my passion for coffee or heart for others.”
—Wholesale manager, South Central region, United States
46 ROAST MAGAZI NE SEP TEMBER | OCTOBER 2021 472021 ROASTING BUSINESS and SALARY SURVEY
DID YOU RECEIVE AN INCREASE IN YOUR BASE
COMPENSATION IN THE LAST YEAR?
No Yes
58% 42%
HOW WOULD YOU RATE YOUR
GENERAL JOB SATISFACTION?
Not
Satisfied
Very 7%
Satisfied
61%
Fairly
Satisfied
32%
WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING ADDITIONAL FORMS OF
“ The salary worked well at first, but since
the job has grown so have my responsibilities.
COMPENSATION DID YOU RECEIVE LAST YEAR?
The roastery dept is a vital part of the business
and its goals. I also have brought five years Paid time off (vacation, sick, holiday, comp) 19%
of roasting experience as well as 10 years of Health insurance coverage 15%
experience in specialty coffee. This job does None 11%
require not only a knowledge of roasting but Dental insurance coverage 10%
also QC (cupping, scoring, identifying and Performance bonus 9%
correcting errors), production planning and Retirement savings/401(k) 8%
general coffee knowledge. However, the PTO Travel (per diem) 8%
policy and the work culture are fantastic.” Profit sharing 8%
— Manager, Overtime pay 5%
East North Central region, United States Other 4%
Stock purchase/participation 3%
48 ROAST MAGAZI NE SEP TEMBER | OCTOBER 2021 492021 ROASTING BUSINESS and SALARY SURVEY
HAVE YOU EVER RECEIVED AN INCREASE IN PAY AFTER
EARNING AN INDUSTRY-SPECIFIC CERTIFICATION? L I S T E N
W H I L E
No, I earned
a certificate
but did not Y O U R O A S T .
get a raise
Does not 27%
apply / Have
not earned
a certificate Yes, I got a
66% raise due to
I N T R O D U C I N G
earning a
certificate R O A S T M A G A Z I N E
7%
A U D I O A R T I C L E S .
ARE YOU FAIRLY COMPENSATED? PLEASE INDICATE
YOUR PERCEPTION OF YOUR COMPENSATION RELATIVE
TO YOUR JOB RESPONSIBILITIES.
“ For someone who is as highly
skilled and experienced within
the niche coffee world, I am very
Compensation is
appropriate for underpaid. If you compare my highly
responsibilities specific training and time spent in
60%
the industry to something similar in
a different industry, the pay rate is
My insultingly low.”
compensation —Manager, West South Central region,
is low for
responsibilities Compensation United States
is high for
36% responsibilities
4%
“ Our company is cooperatively owned and “ Working in
entrepreneurial environment,
an
AUDIO ARTICLES
operated. Since ownership is extended to all being required to manage
employees, no matter level of skill, we do not marketing and promotion, roastmagazine.com/audioarticles
reward more skilled employees with compensation. training, client communication,
My skill set would likely fetch a higher price in a and consulting projects is a
bigger company that had top-down ideology, but full plate. Compensation in the
I’m happier overall because of the equality and form of a reasonable base +
access to power within the company structure.” commission / profit sharing is
—Owner, South Atlantic region, United States fair.”
— Manager, Pacific region,
United States
50 ROAST MAGAZI NE SEP TEMBER | OCTOBER 2021 512021 ROASTING BUSINESS and SALARY SURVEY
Section 4 Training & Education
Green grading workshop at Roast Summit in Portland, Oregon. Photo by Juan José Sánchez Macías
“ There is always something
one can do to scratch that insatiable
WHAT IS YOUR HIGHEST LEVEL OF TRADITIONAL EDUCATION?
itch for more industry-related
knowledge, whether it be through Ph.D.
further courses or seminars, 1%
community interconnectivity, Bachelor's
Degree
mentorship, hands-on experience Trade
53% Education
and experimentation, or reading
material. The international travel 2%
and camaraderie aspect is pretty Associate
great, too.” Master's Degree
—Roaster, Degree 8%
West South Central region, 18% High School
United States or GED
18%
52 ROAST MAGAZI NE SEP TEMBER | OCTOBER 2021 532021 ROASTING BUSINESS and SALARY SURVEY
“ I have received no training at all. I’m self-taught
and purchased my own materials to learn roasting.
I’m responsible for maintenance on both machines
but we have no documentation on them, so I read
the manuals I could find of other major roaster
manufacture and wrote my own for the Ambexes,
which were filthy and missing bolts everywhere when
I took over roasting. I also designed our QC program
Coffee cupping. Photo by Juan José Sánchez Macías because we didn’t have one and lead all company
tastings.”
—Roaster, East North Central region, United States
DO YOU HOLD ANY OF THE FOLLOWING
SCA COFFEE SKILLS PROGRAM CERTIFICATES
(OR EQUIVALENT SCAA PATHWAY
CERTIFICATES)?
Introduction to Coffee 18%
Barista Skills Module | Foundation Level 12%
Barista Skills Module | Intermediate Level 9%
Barista Skills Module | Professional Level 8%
Brewing Module | Foundation Level 8%
Brewing Module | Intermediate Level 7%
Brewing Module | Professional Level 7%
Green Coffee Module | Foundation Level 10% DO YOU HOLD ANY OF THE FOLLOWING CERTIFICATES
Green Coffee Module | Intermediate Level 9% FROM THE COFFEE QUALITY INSTITUTE (CQI)?
Green Coffee Module | Professional Level 5%
Roasting Module | Foundation Level 16% Q Arabica Grader 15%
Roasting Module | Intermediate Level 12% Q Robusta Grader 0%
Roasting Module | Professional Level 8% Q Processing Generalist 1%
Sensory Skills Module | Foundation Level 10% Q Processing Level 1 3%
Sensory Skills Module | Intermediate Level 10% Q Processing Level 2 0%
Sensory Skills Module | Professional Level 5% Q Processing Level 3 0%
“ I am pro-certification both for me and my team, but the expense is too much for us until we can grow more.”
—Owner, West South Central region, United States
54 ROAST MAGAZI NE SEP TEMBER | OCTOBER 2021 55You can also read
