Key takeaways
- Record green coffee prices and tariffs in 2025 forced roasters to raise retail prices.
- Some roasters responded with greater transparency around their pricing decisions.
- As market volatility continues, roasters need to communicate to build brand loyalty.
- Producers don’t always receive a higher share in specialty coffee when prices rise, undermining transparency.
Price transparency in specialty coffee was originally built around ethics. Roasters share farmgate (direct payments to producers) and free-on-board prices (which cover all costs, including intermediary fees) in sustainability reports. In turn, they demonstrate commitment to fairer pricing and building long-term working relationships.
Last year, however, made price transparency more complex than ever. In 2025, roasters faced skyrocketing green coffee prices and unprecedented US tariffs. Already operating on razor-thin margins – contending with rising energy, wage, and borrowing costs – many roasters were forced to raise their retail prices.
“Every time the C price peaks, mainstream media outlets report on it,” says Peter Nørgaard Dupont, a co-founder of Coffee Collective in Copenhagen, Denmark, who is now a shareholder in the roastery. “Conversely, we never see significant decreases in retail prices when the C price drops.”
Understandably, some roasters were hesitant to increase prices. Headlines about “the AU$10 flat white” or “the era of the £5 coffee” were cause for concern among many consumers. Although research indicates that consumers will absorb initial price shocks, their behaviour starts to shift if prices continue to rise – seeking out more affordable single origins and blends, or trading down to cheaper brands.
But the complexities of the current coffee market, now including escalating conflict in the Middle East, mean many roasters have little choice but to raise prices. As a result, they are communicating pricing updates to strengthen brand loyalty during a turbulent period.
You may also like our article on why roasters are continuing to collaborate.
Why 2025 forced roasters to be more transparent
Last year’s volatile market put many coffee businesses in a difficult position. The financial pressure on roasters intensified in February 2025, when the C price exceeded US$4.40/lb, up more than 70% from the previous three years.
Then, in April, US tariffs sent shockwaves through the coffee industry. A staggering 50% import levy on Brazil, the world’s biggest coffee producer, in particular reshaped global trade dynamics overnight. Brazilian exports to the US plummeted by 46%, and some roasters reported tariff fees of over US $91,000 for shipments of 240,000 lbs of green coffee from Latin American countries.
Unable to absorb the sudden spike, many roasters raised menu prices, offered smaller bag sizes at the same price point, or increased the price of retail bags. These adjustments were framed as necessary to protect tight margins without compromising quality and supplier partnerships built over the years.
“On average, we raised our prices from US$5.20/lb FOB in 2024 to US$6.03/lb FOB in 2025,” Peter explains. “This was partly because the higher market price made us pay more for some of our lower-priced coffees, and also increased payments for higher quality coffees in other parts of our offerings.”
Sharp price increases risk pushing customers towards competitors, especially those who sell more affordable single origins and blends. “We didn’t see a major shift in B2C sales following price increases, but there is hard price competition in wholesale,” says Peter.
This divergence is, to some degree, shaped by Coffee Collective’s own pricing structure. “We add a fixed nominal margin to our coffee costs to calculate our sales price,” Peter explains. “In a market with lots of competitors working with other price models, this will make our lower-priced coffees relatively more expensive and our higher-priced coffees relatively cheaper.”
In a bid to strengthen brand loyalty as costs soared, some roasters, including the UK’s Square Mile and Norway’s Tim Wendelboe, wrote directly to their customers to explain the reasons behind the increases. New York’s Sey Coffee went further, itemising tariff surcharges within its pricing details.
Understanding the complexity of price transparency
Frenzied headlines about rising coffee prices and increased communication from roasters helped consumers understand why their coffee became more expensive.
But price transparency in specialty coffee is a complex and sensitive topic. For decades, romanticised marketing and storytelling have distracted from the fact that coffee is a historically undervalued commodity.
While consumers may feel the pinch of rising coffee shop prices, much of the pressure originates further upstream in the supply chain. For decades, producers have retained only a small fraction of the final retail price of coffee, despite specialty coffee markets promising higher returns for better quality.
Peter believes a significant number of consumers care about the people who grow their coffee and want confidence that those producers have been paid fairly. He says the specialty industry has invested considerable effort in persuading consumers to pay more for quality, “but now we should take the next step and make sure the farmers are also getting higher prices.”
The reality, however, is that the share of the consumer price reaching producers is sometimes no greater in specialty coffee than in the commodity market. According to the 2025 Specialty Coffee Transaction Guide, the median price for green specialty coffees in 2024/25 was US$4.39/lb. The data also shows that lower-end (i.e., 25th percentile) prices were US$3.70/lb, while the higher-end (i.e., 75th percentile) prices were US$5.50/lb.
While the report shows a general trend of rising FOB coffee prices, not all coffee is necessarily increasing at the same rate. Prices for higher-scoring coffees, such as 88-point lots, are increasing faster than those for 80-86-point coffees.
“Our next challenge in the specialty industry is to include the farmers in the value addition they play a central part in,” says Peter.
Finding new ways to communicate pricing
Coffee roasters face a renewed challenge in helping consumers understand rising prices. Where the conversation once centred on fair pay for producers, it now also includes the long-term financial health of the businesses themselves.
Ultimately, this transparency serves an important purpose. Research suggests that sharing the reasons behind increased costs can lead to a more positive perception of price fairness. When the price increase is smaller, a briefer explanation is more effective. But in the case of coffee, where price increases are more significant, a more detailed explanation helps consumers understand that higher prices are fair.
Many consumers lack a clear picture of how C market prices, supply chains, and political volatility affect what they pay at the counter. The difficult task for roasters is to explain the drivers of price increases without overcomplicating them.
Peter says that when a farmer has been paid a higher price, and the roaster is open about it, sharing farmgate or FOB figures, the explanation becomes more straightforward.
“In my experience, there are lots of people who do understand, and they come back to us with a strong commitment to our brand, which they then often share with their friends and families,” he says.
Ultimately, the decision hinges on roasters’ understanding of their customers and margins. Those who clearly communicate the reasons behind pricing changes and continue to deliver value – whether through quality, sustainability, or customer experience – are more likely to retain trust.
For now, a careful mix of transparent communication, incremental price increases, and diversified products could help coffee roasters navigate rising coffee prices and higher operating costs. In a challenging economic climate, striking this balance will be crucial for roasters seeking to secure longevity.
The coffee industry will continue to absorb significant pressure from multiple directions. Producers and buyers are managing the effects of climate change alongside a volatile market. Roasters are contending with tight margins, rising operational costs, and high inflation, all of which feed through to the end consumer.
“If we can find better ways of being transparent about prices to consumers, then we can start a healthier competition of paying higher prices to the farmers,” Peter concludes.
Enjoyed this? Then read our article on how roasters can drive real innovation in specialty coffee.
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