"The best coffee businesses I've seen lose to weaker competitors — not because their product isn't better, but because nobody can find them online."
My name is Tom. I'm a digital marketer based in Chiang Rai, Northern Thailand — one of the most exciting specialty coffee origins in the world. But before I was a marketer, I was a coffee business owner.
I built Lanna Mountain Coffee — sourcing direct from smallholder farms in the hills around Chiang Rai and selling online in Thailand. I met the farmers. I understood their harvest cycles, their processing methods, their pride in what they grew. I learned how hard it is to translate that story into something that sells online.
The brand didn't make me rich. But it taught me something more valuable: I saw exactly where the gap was between exceptional coffee and the digital presence needed to sell it. Most small coffee businesses — roasters, importers, exporters — have incredible product and almost no online visibility.
That experience led me to digital marketing, and eventually to specialising in the coffee industry specifically. I've since built websites and digital strategies for around ten specialty roasters across New Zealand, Australia, and the UK — learning what works for this industry across very different markets.