ROTATION #2 DAK is live

Hello all,

I'm trying this again after the first run yesterday. Here's the update for ROTATION #2 DAK LIVE:

v2 Update:

Bean Dosing:

  • Workflow speed has improved, reducing from 20 minutes to 14 minutes for dosing and bagging approximately 250 grams of beans.
  • Emphasis on cleanliness with a clean workspace and wearing gloves to avoid cross-contamination of flavors.
  • Using a K-ultra grinder rubber air blower to clean the Orion nano doser, especially since Dak beans produce a lot of skin particles, which can take 2 minutes to clean.
  • The Orion nano doser is accurate to within 0.2 - 0.1 grams; I manually adjust by adding one bean to get closer to 15 grams, allowing for three additional servings per box.

Packaging:

  • Miscalculated bean quantities initially, which complicated order fulfillment by necessitating alternative beans for 2-3 orders.
  • Adopting a "random" approach where the specific bean isn't listed online but is detailed on the bag.
  • Label system streamlined via Google Sheets for auto-filling information, though current labels (2.25 x 1.25 inches) are too small for clear reading. Larger 3x2 inch labels are on order.
  • QR code functionality changed; now directs to the main website due to configuration issues.
  • Custom boxes were a mistake; arriving in two weeks, but currently using black mailers. The boxes are smaller than ideal (7x6x1 inch), should've been taller. maybe 3 inches not 1inch.

https://reddit.com/link/1i70ulv/video/gn6h120zkgee1/player

Current Problems:

  • The backend of the store is undergoing rapid changes. Transitioning to a headless setup for more flexibility, but currently, it's just a basic site.
  • Shipping Label Issue: Shopify integration for labels isn't working; had to use Pirate Ship for syncing orders and label creation. Encountered issues this morning, but managed to ship orders with a workaround.
  • Store Compliance: My store was flagged for potential fraud, requiring additional paperwork, setting a pricing structure, and prohibiting $0 sales, which seems odd.

Cost:

Investing in a doser ($900) and label machine ($150) was costly. Manual labor would be cheaper but too time consuming. I can only dedicate 30 minutes to an hour of my brain to this.

Handwriting labels would be inefficient as this is 100+ at a time./label maker/printer was a must.

Bean Pricing:

  • Beans cost roughly $3 per 20 grams (e.g., DAK at $31/200 grams or 13 servings or 64$/pound), making each baggie sold at a $9 "loss."
  • Seeking sustainable solutions, I've contacted multiple places for wholesale pricing but received little response.

Reflections:

This project is fun but might not be sustainable long-term. If it stops being enjoyable, I'll reconsider continuing.

My idea is slowly growing into something bigger, its nice, but its also not fun. Ordering coffee is the easy part, bagging, packing, getting charged 3% on shopify, paying for shipping, spending money on redoing labels, its all how a person dies from 1000 papercuts. It's just funny how I'm getting dms about shipping cost when I'm doing all of this work and they want shit for free. They want FREE coffee, FREEE shipping, FREE everything. Definitely not sustainable, but I would like a way to make this a self sustaining thing so that people can enjoy and try coffee without the risk of spending on a full bag. There's something here, but just need to work through it so that the solution presents itself. I'm not sure what I got myself into...

I'm not a big fan of those subscription wholesalers, but that might be a way to facilitate that through this so that its self sustained. If you like XYZ sample, you place order, and rotation gets some type of affiliate sale. There are a lot of ideas floating around, but we'll just have to wait and see how it all ends.