Grounds for Success: Coaltown Coffee’s Journey from Garage to Global

“We believe that planet, people and profit are all equal when it comes to how we run our business” – Coaltown Coffee

The former mining town of Ammanford in South Wales, population circa 5500, is probably the last place in the UK  you might expect to find a world class  coffee roastery that supplies the House of Commons in London and up-market  retailers such as  Selfridges, as well as being the wholesaler for 268 partners around the world. 

Until 2003, when the last mine closed, the economy of Ammanford was based on the mining of anthracite (aka “Black Gold”). Some 100 miners lost their jobs with the closure and the town lost   its purpose.

Then aged 10, Scott James, the founder of Coaltown Coffee, is the son of local cafe owners Gordon and Jenine James. His great grandfather, Ben Addis, had been a miner and was the inspiration for the venture. Scott is dyslexic and admits that he found it difficult to learn if there was no obvious purpose to it so he left full-time education as soon as he could. When he did so he decided that he wanted to do something for his hometown and in 2013, at the age of 19, he came up with the idea and launched Coaltown Coffee. Because of the lack of jobs, young people of his age were having to leave the town in order to find employment so his idea was that the business   would replace the coal mines and   produce  the new “black gold” – coffee.

With the help of his father, he built a roaster out of an old barbecue and the fan from a Ford Ka car. Equipped with this home- made roaster, which still works, he launched the business in the garage of his parents’ home before opening a small 17-seater unit in “The Arcade” in central Ammanford.  By November 2018, however, the business had built a UK-wide customer base and it moved into its present roastery where there is a cafe with a pizza oven, a kitchen and a training mezzanine. The business, which now has bigger, more efficient modern roasters, employs 30 people and has attracted some 40,000 visitors to the town. In 2022 it had assets worth £873,000 and Scott had plans to grow the business further by building more cafes. In November 2022 he opened a “pop up” outlet in the centre of the Welsh capital, Cardiff.  “We want to open in smaller towns like Ammanford” he explained at the time. “Cardiff would probably be the only exception because it’s a city with a post-industrial past”. His aim is for Coaltown to collaborate with heritage brands and for it to become the coffee brand for post industrialisation.

Apart from being a successful, profitable enterprise, Coaltown Coffee is an ethical business that only uses fresh, high quality beans ethically sourced from some of the best, most sustainable producers in the world.  These are then roasted by local employees, many of whom are neurodivergent. All of the employees receive a fair wage above the national minimum and are trained in the firm’s on-site commercial training academy.

Not only does the business not exploit either its employees or its suppliers it   is committed to environmental sustainability.  The roastery runs on zero carbon electricity while its coffee bags and cups are compostable and sourced from a B-Corp supplier. Waste coffee chaff and grounds are donated to local gardening groups for composting and staff uniforms are made from 100 per cent organic cotton and toxic free dyes. The business also educates its wholesale clients about sustainability.

With an impact score of 98, Coaltown Coffee became, in December 2019,  the first UK speciality coffee roaster to be awarded B-Corp certification. It is a Harmonious Enterprise in which profit, planet and people are in harmony with each other. It addresses SDGs 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), 10 (Reduced Inequalities), 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) and 17 (Partnerships for the Goals). Plus, according to their website, they “work together with industry leaders to develop new and innovative green practices that benefit not just the consumer, but the coffee industry as a whole” (SDG 9).

References.

Ahmed, R., (2022), One of Wales’ biggest independent coffee roasters is coming to Cardiff. Wales Online.4^th November.

Aitken, C., (2024), I got a D in GCSE business, but my firm is thriving. BBC News 22^nd August.

Williams, D (2022). Welsh Business Heroes: Scott James of Coaltown Coffee. 4^th April.

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