Have your logo on a mug? That’s a start. Here’s how to create a merch strategy that builds loyalty and affinity for your brand.
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This week’s edition is written by Julie Hanell, Founder of The Coffee Dispatch.
✉️ Operator Notes: practical advice from people working in coffee.
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When Every Cafe Sells Merch, a Logo Isn’t Enough
Walk into almost any cafe nowadays and the merch shelf looks the same: a few mugs, some T-shirts, and a tote bag, all with a logo on them.
Usually, it starts with a regular asking if you sell merch. A supplier sends over a catalog with a minimum order that feels manageable, you pick the black tee because black goes with everything, and a few months later there’s still a box of mediums in the storeroom next to the mountains of to-go cups.
Make Your Merch Feel Like Your Cafe
Start with what your customers use. It’s a question many operators struggle to answer, but you need to consider the functionality of the products and how they relate to your customers.
Start by looking at who comes through your door and how they spend their time. If most of your customers are parents with young kids, a reusable child-friendly cup might make more sense than a standard ceramic mug. It’s something parents could take to the playground, use every day, and associate with your brand long after their coffee is gone.
Find the overlap between what your customers need, what they would genuinely enjoy owning, and what best represents your business.
Play with your name. If your name has a double meaning or lends itself to wordplay, use it. Take Proper Coffee, for example. You could play with the idea of being proper through a well-cut collared shirt, a deliberately oversized “PROPER” print, or a small, understated logo that makes the name itself do the work.
Canton, Ohio’s Walkie Talkie is another example of a business name with lots of creative potential. Its concept is to be a place you can walk to and talk with your neighbors, and one of its featured drinks is called the Walkaccino.
There’s so much to work with here: walking, conversation, neighborhood life, even the walkie-talkie itself. The name and the drink already give you the raw material; the interesting part is finding a creative way to bring the brand to life.
Be intentional, so it’s obviously yours. A quality product with a logo isn’t necessarily good merch. The question is whether the product, design, and details feel specific to your brand, or if another cafe could sell exactly the same thing without anyone noticing the difference.
Sometimes the smallest details do the most work: a particular phrase, an unexpected color, a thoughtful material choice, or a design reference that your regulars will understand can help you stand out in the crowd of canvas bags.
Rework something you already sell. You don’t always need to invent a new product to make your merch more interesting. Sometimes the best course of action is taking something you already sell and rethinking the experience around it. Ask yourself what you could add to the bag, the packaging, or the product itself that would make someone want to keep it, share it, or pass it on.
Nine9Postcards is a great example of this thinking. Each bag comes with a postcard with unique artwork and a song suggestion to pair with the coffee. The packaging becomes part of the experience, and the postcard can travel further than the original purchase.
Design your display. How you display your merch matters just as much as what you sell. The display should feel considered, visually appealing, and connected to the atmosphere of your cafe.
When I visited a few well-known cafes in Paris, including Cafe Nuances, Bacha Coffee, and Foret Foret, I was reminded of how presentation shapes the experience of buying something. People don’t want to feel as if they’re being sold to; they want to discover something that feels thoughtfully chosen.
If you’re working with limited space, you don’t need an entire retail corner. One well-designed shelf can be enough. Choose a few items that work together, give each one room to be noticed, and change the selection as you learn what customers respond to best.
Merch can be a great additional revenue stream, but if that’s all you’re thinking about, you’re missing out. Done well, it can keep your brand visible long after someone has left your cafe. It’s one of your first introductions to folks on the street who could turn into regulars, and it probably deserves more of your attention.
Go Deeper
More Than Mugs
Spill the Beans, eteaket, and Intelligentsia show three ways to build a merch line: around a pun, around a tea ritual, and around each neighborhood a cafe serves.
Don’t Be So Serious: How Abbey Chiavario Makes Matryoshka Coffee Shine By Indulging in the Spirit of Play
The Nashville cafe owner talks about her Marty’s Jet Ski Club shirts, a pizza pop-up inspired by her first T-shirt design, and running a cafe that doesn’t take itself too seriously.
This Cafe is Loosely Inspired by a Real Movie
How Guilder and Damn Fine Coffee Bar turned their names into subtle themes, and why one owner keeps copyright in mind when making merch.
How Coffee and Artist Collaborations Create Community and Boost Business
Cafes and roasters team up with local artists and potters on cups, mugs, and totes that customers want to collect.
The Coffee Membership Is the New Subscription
A club T-shirt, car decal, or member card can turn a coffee membership into something people show off.
