How to buy coffee wholesale: a step-by-step guide for retailers and distributors
Buying coffee wholesale works differently from buying a few cases: many coffee brands sell by the pallet, quote each request and expect you to know which formats you need. This guide walks through the process, using the El Café del Padrino range as the example.
Step 1: Decide which coffee formats to stock
Start from how your customers brew coffee. Single-serve formats — Nespresso®*-compatible capsules and ESE coffee pods — are for people with a capsule or pod machine. Bulk formats — ground coffee and whole bean coffee — are for coffee makers, espresso machines and grinders.
Our guide comparing capsules, ESE pods, ground and whole bean coffee covers which format fits grocery retailers, offices, coffee shops and distributors.
Step 2: Understand pallet quantities
Wholesale coffee is planned by the pallet, so check how many units each pallet holds before you order. For El Café del Padrino:
- Nespresso®*-compatible capsules: 180 boxes of 100 per pallet (18,000 capsules, 99 kg of coffee).
- ESE coffee pods: 180 boxes of 150 per pallet (27,000 pods, 207.9 kg of coffee).
- Ground coffee: 3,600 packs of 250 g per pallet (24 packs × 150 cases, 900 kg of coffee).
- Whole bean coffee: 720 bags of 1 kg per pallet (6 bags × 120 cases, 720 kg of coffee).
Step 3: Check the minimum order
Ask each wholesale coffee supplier for its minimum order. At El Café del Padrino it is one pallet of each product you select, so a first order with two formats means at least two pallets.
Before ordering, check that you have storage space for the full pallet and a realistic plan to sell through it.
Step 4: Request a quote
Wholesale coffee prices are usually quoted per request. Send your company name, business type, country, the products you want and the number of pallets of each; El Café del Padrino replies with a proposal built for that order.
Step 5: Confirm import and distribution
Ask who imports and delivers the coffee. For El Café del Padrino, import and distribution are handled by Deliflow Corp, the official importer and distributor.
Checklist before you send a wholesale coffee request
- The coffee formats you want to stock.
- The number of pallets of each product.
- Storage space for full pallets.
- The country where you will receive the order.
- Your company details and business type.