The three founders: Martin Emmerich, Bruno Stein and Maximillian Buder. Coby’s
When three young influencers release coffee as a concentrate, you quickly think it’s a typical product for the Gen Z Insta generation. Or? “In fact, for a short time Heidrun was the name that ordered from us most often,” says Bruno Stein. He has to know. Stein says he packaged the first batch himself and included a handwritten thank you card in each package.
Together with Martin Emmerich and Maximillian Buder, all in their early 20s, he founded Coby’s: coffee, 30-fold concentrated, if you like, also with vanilla, hazelnut or caramel. The fact that not only Gen-Z and Y order from them surprised even the founders, because: “We are primarily on social media and are an e-commerce startup,” says Emmerich.
What Emmerich means, among other things, when he says the founders are primarily on social media is that, in addition to their startup Coby’s, they run an Instagram and TikTok channel called “Yourcoffeedude”. There the 962 thousand followers on Instagram and 564 thousand followers on TikTok (as of March 22, 2024) can find videos with unusual coffee recipes: Banana Cream Iced Coffee, Choc Cookie Frappucino, Foamy Pistacchio Mocha. Sounds like Starbucks.
But that’s exactly where coffee drinkers should no longer have to go, if the founders have their way. “Our coffee concentrates can replace a visit to Starbucks,” says Stein. “You can leave the six euros in your pocket.” For comparison: a bottle of coffee concentrate from Coby’s costs just under 20 euros and should be enough for 30 servings. That’s 67 cents per coffee – and there is definitely a market for coffee products in this country.
From social drinkers to nerds
On average, four cups of coffee are drunk per day. This means that the annual consumption of coffee in Germany is higher than that of mineral water and beer. For some it’s just a wake-up call, for others it degenerates into science: Aeropress, filter coffee, French press, espresso maker and Chemex, portafilter – the right water temperature, the right amount of coffee, the perfect degree of roasting. The three founders are also coffee nerds.
When it comes to coffee, there is no hate like you see on social media.
Bruno Stein, Co-Gründer Coby’s
They would have really started drinking coffee at the age of 16. During school time, they say. Now everyone can remember their first sip of coffee. “It wasn’t tasty, but it was such a communal thing,” says Emmerich. But the community thing was over with the Corona lockdown and cafes remained closed. Emmerich, Stein and Buder started trying out and experimenting with different types of coffee “just for fun” – especially with the Berserker brand, which, according to their own statement, is the “strongest coffee in the world”.
Read too
From Hartz IV to startup: How these founders want to make instant coffee popular
This turned into Instagram videos and a community that loves them. “When it comes to coffee, there is no hate like you see on social media,” says Stein. Unplanned viral hit last year? Iced coffee with mashed strawberries. “Max didn’t like it at all,” says Stein. “I uploaded the recipe anyway because the video looked cool. And then you started seeing iced coffee with strawberries all over TikTok.”
It was precisely this community that gave the three founders the idea of bringing their own coffee concentrate onto the market after Buder tried it for the first time in Asia in 2022. Followers on social media asked how they could recreate “Yourcoffeedude” recipes without a coffee machine? And without much effort. “We noticed that people want to make good coffee quickly at home, but they lack the equipment,” says Emmerich.
Founding and launching products with a community behind you is very rewarding. Influencer products show that anything is possible. Examples: Pamela Reif with her own snacks and hair products, Crispy Rob with chips or Dagi Bee with oat milk. Rapper Capital Bra also shows what can be sold with a fan base – whether iced tea, pizza or cleaning products for sneakers.
But: If the founders have their way, Coby’s shouldn’t be an influencer brand. Your product should run and function independently of “Yourcoffeedude”. Although they used the reach at the very beginning to get their first customers and get feedback on taste and logistics, they did not advertise Coby’s on “Yourcoffeedude”. The reason for this separation is pragmatic. “Yourcoffeedude is an international channel,” says Stein. “But initially we only sell in the DACH region. If we were to advertise our product on “Yourcoffeedude”, it would probably harm the algorithm. If we expand at some point, the canal will of course be a super weapon.”
Read too
How founders can use the superpower of influencers – even without a budget
Until then, the Coby’s brand should grow organically on its own social media channel. The founders are convinced that anyone who follows them is seriously interested in the product. Of course there are coffee recipes on this channel too. Behind-the-scenes videos will follow. This is how they want to stand out from other competitions on the market, such as TryMoin. Coby’s should become a love brand. “We already have a formula that we say is better than other brands,” says Stein.
Other young founders as investors
It took the founders a year and a half until they had all the necessary licenses for their product that are needed for food. They worked with a food chemist to develop the recipe. That also means: lots of tests, lots of caffeine, lots of shaky hands. The biggest hurdles in product development were German bureaucracy and the search for a bottler that also produces in small batches. Four months of cold calling were necessary. There are no such lengthy processes for social videos.
Emmerich, Stein and Buder already have their first investors: the Oak25 founders Emil Woermann and Jakob Leffers. Oak25 makes reflective backpacks for cyclists. The startup made an exit in June last year. The founders of Coby’s also finance their startup through part-time jobs and income from influencer marketing with “Yourcoffeedude”. They have an office in the Gründerschmiede of the HTW Dresden. All three founders are in the final stages of their business studies.
Read too
Oak25 founder: “Money was never the incentive. We wanted to do what we enjoy.”
Who is the target group?
Is your coffee concentrate also suitable for making black coffee in the office? Yes, say the founders. However, you would have experienced that people like to take their time at the coffee machine, especially in the office.
They see the strength of the product in two points: You can take the bottles with the concentrate anywhere, for example when camping. There could actually be a need. According to the German Coffee Association, 30 percent of campers take soluble instant coffee with them to their campsite. For coffee lovers, this isn’t exactly a revelation.
The other thing is: If you want iced coffee, you don’t have to make an espresso first and let it cool down, you can drink your banana-strawberry-iced-latte macchiato straight away.