Wayflyer funded Velo Coffee's packaging and green coffee for Aldi and Tesco orders

Velo Coffee Roasters is an Irish coffee brand founded in 2017 by Rob Horgan, when his roaster arrived in October. Since then, Velo is on shelf in Tesco, Dunnes and Aldi, and in around 20 SuperValu stores. Retail sales grew by more than 50% in the last year.

Retailers review their ranges once a year, so getting listed means proving you can deliver. Rob had supplied retail in the UK before, so he knew what that took. Early on, Velo completed the SuperValu Food Academy, which gave the team a feel for supplying around 10 local stores. Then Aldi opened its Grow with Aldi program.

Aldi was putting you up to, at the time, 140 stores overnight. That was the first real challenge that we hit.

Velo needed green coffee, packaging, a bigger production space and a team to match. Within a short time it went from roasting at the side of a café to supplying a major retailer.

Tesco followed. The Tesco buyer kept asking for more blends, and Rob's team couldn't work out why. She was planning a big shelf presence.

We've nine facings in Tesco, so there are nine different Velo options on shelf. We need nine different types of bags. We need boxes for these nine products and we need green coffee for them.

Every Velo bag is a stand-up pouch with a zip lock and a degassing valve. Nobody in Europe makes that bag at volume, so the packaging comes from Asia. The maker needs 30 days to produce it, and Velo pays upfront. Shipping then takes 45 days, and lately closer to 60.

That timeline doesn't fit a retail order. Replenishment teams send a purchase order and expect delivery, whether the supplier is a small roaster or a global brand. Velo can't miss.

If there's no Velo available there because we've mucked up, they will unfortunately pick another coffee, and it becomes a habit.

So Velo buys coffee about a year ahead and orders packaging months before a PO arrives. It's a lot of cash tied up before any retailer pays.

Velo first used Wayflyer during COVID. Online sales jumped, and the brand needed funding to keep up. Velo started on the basic model and later moved to Wholesale Financing, which funds stock ahead of the purchase order.

Rob says the difference is the people. He explains what's coming, and the Wayflyer team backs it.

That's the piece that's a real win: you can talk to a human and explain to them what you're doing and they'll row in and support you.

The same approach helped when stores moved to 700 gram bags. That meant a whole new layer of packaging, an 80 day lead time and a new listing. Rob told Wayflyer Velo was investing heavily in that packaging and that the return would take time. Wayflyer now understands how Velo plans ahead, and Rob calls that support fantastic.

Speed matters too. When a spike hits, Rob gets a quick answer, whichever way it goes.

Rob recently came back from Saudi Arabia, where initial meetings led to four retailers agreeing to stock Velo. Product registration is under way, with a launch to follow. Rob plans to go back to Wayflyer to help fund it.

I'll be disappointed if we're not actively on shelf in six months out there.

Interested in following in Velo Coffee's footsteps? Wayflyer has funded over 6,000 businesses worldwide with $6 billion worth of working capital, backed by world-leading financial institutions. Apply in minutes and access funds in hours. Start your application today.