Startup Stories: Alice Wainwright, Co-founder of Subscription Service RISE Coffee Box

RISE coffee box offers carefully selected coffee from the most exciting and independent roasters from across the UK, direct to its subscribers’ door. Every month we scour the UK coffee scene to identify the most delicious beans out there to keep our ever-expanding subscriber base topped up with outstanding coffee. More than just a supplier of coffee, we want our customers to feel educated in where their coffee is from as well as the processes in place which make it so yummy.
 

The background

 
We launched during lockdown, after we found ourselves missing our morning flat white from our favourite cafes and finding the supermarket shelves less than inspiring, we took to Google to find a coffee subscription.

Upon finding limited choice, supplying the same coffee beans month after month, the idea was born: a subscription box which would open up a world of coffee to customers – bringing exciting beans to the homes of coffee lovers like them. With experience in the food and drinks industry under our belts, with Alice working previously as a barista and Ben in the ‘fine dining’ industry working with Gordon Ramsay, we’re on a mission to help the UK say NO to mediocre coffee.
 

 

Product philosophy

 
We are determined to discover the most exciting and diverse coffee on the market to supply to our customers. We will leave no stone unturned in their adventure to find coffee that not only tastes great but has a fantastic story behind it, with ethical and environmental practices key in the decision process. With the environment intrinsic to the way RISE coffee box operates, all our coffee suppliers are carefully picked to ensure they operate sustainably with limited to no plastic, fair wages for the farmers and a proactive stance on climate-friendly production practices. The box itself is sustainability manufactured using certified wood and natural glue to ensure they are bio-degradable.
 

 

The future

 
We have ambitious plans for RISE coffee box over the coming months and heading into 2021. Later this year we will be launching an innovative partnership with Imperial College’s Enterprise Lab, and have developed a number of partnerships with up and coming food and drink businesses for future boxes. We’ve also designed some unique gift boxes in the run up to Christmas working with a local illustrator, including a ‘positivity’ themed box. Heading into the new year we will be disrupting the brown and gold shelves of supermarket coffee with our own coffee brand, and have already sourced beans and a roasting partner. Beyond this, we hope to work and live in a creative barn space, which will act as the home of RISE as well as a centre of support for other up and coming brands.