Member Article

History graduate launches coffee business straight out of University of York

University of York graduate Bethan Vincent has started her own sustainably sourced coffee business less than a year after leaving university.

Graduating from York in the summer of 2013 with a degree in History, Bethan received support from the university in the form of an Enterprise Internship award, in which successful applicants are given a package of support over 10 weeks and £2000 in living costs.

She also participated in the Springboard programme and was given a £500 proof of concept grant to kick start her idea, and funded her startup coffee business through this and her own savings.

She is already looking to take over another business.

Bethan (pictured) said: “Vincent’s Coffee was started with a very clear aim; to make coffee that tastes fantastic in an honest and ethical way.

“I actually really fell in love with good, (non instant) coffee during my time studying abroad in the Netherlands.

“I studied in Utrecht, a city half an hour south of Amsterdam, which had an amazing café culture.

“I started thinking about setting up a coffee business over my daily cappuccino and realised that I could combine both my interests in coffee and running an ethical business.

“We want our customers to be able to trust that we provide them excellent coffee with a conscience.

“We work hard to ensure we select extremely high grade beans which are then blended to give the best flavour and aroma.

“From the beginning we have actively involved an ethical specialist to ensure that our coffee is sourced from ethical farms that care about working conditions and are constantly on the lookout for ways to maximise sustainability.

“We also want to demystify coffee and make sure that customers understand the difference between our blends and know easily which one will suit their tastes and chosen preparation method.

“We are retail focused, with the goal of being stocked in every major supermarket! However we are also passionate about supporting local and independent businesses.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Clare Burnett .