- Specialty coffee’s early focus on quality is no longer enough.
- Market consolidation limits risk-taking, creating space for independent brands to lead meaningful change.
- Specialty coffee roasters can drive real innovation by partnering with producers, collaborating beyond coffee, and developing value-led products.
- Successful innovation strengthens financial resilience and supports the wider supply chain.
When specialty coffee first emerged, it redefined how coffee was grown, traded, and consumed. Quality and traceability became the differentiators, demonstrating how value commanded higher prices.
For a long time, these factors alone were enough for specialty coffee roasters. But today’s challenging market requires them to continue innovating.
At the same time, consolidation is reshaping the industry. In August 2025, Keurig Dr Pepper agreed to buy JDE Peet’s in a US$18bn deal. This will create the world’s second-largest coffee company, behind Nestlé, and shape the global coffee sector for years to come.
However, innovation thrives on risk, and consolidation at this level makes key players risk-averse. For specialty coffee roasters, this is an opportunity to push for genuine change that strengthens business resilience, exceeds consumer expectations, and supports the overall supply chain.
There are many ways for specialty coffee roasters to drive real innovation: mutually beneficial partnerships with producers, collaborations with brands outside the coffee industry, or the pioneering of new brewing techniques. Regardless of which direction they take, it needs to feel authentic, fresh, and relevant.
You may also like our article on how roasters can react to the diversification of specialty coffee.
Specialty coffee roasters need to maintain momentum
Specialty coffee thrives on innovation, and we have seen plenty over the last two decades.
Flat whites, which became a status symbol in the 2000s for those “in the know” about specialty coffee culture, redefined traditional milk-based drinks. Brewing methods and experimental processing have also proliferated, creating unique flavour experiences. Specialty-grade capsules and instant coffee gained traction in the 2010s, offering both convenience and quality. The cold RTD coffee revolution is arguably still underway, introducing Gen Z consumers to higher-quality options.
Even with higher coffee prices, rising operational costs, and intensifying competition, roasters still need to maintain this momentum.
“Innovation matters because taste alone is too fragile a differentiator,” says Michael Cleland, the co-founder of Assembly Coffee in London, UK. “Quality has become baseline, and the whole industry is selling ‘specialty-grade ethical coffee’ in a market that’s struggling to sustain value.”
One way Assembly drives innovation is by collaborating with producers and research organisations to overcome challenges at origin and deepen understanding of coffee processing. In early 2025, the roaster partnered with Brazilian farm Mió and the Coffee Sensorium to utilise controlled fermentation to increase the quality of overripe cherries.
The result was a limited-edition drop of three coffees processed using three methods: carbonic maceration, yeast fermentation, and “volcanic” fermentation. Overripe coffee is typically discarded due to flavour and quality degradation, so the project allowed consumers to experience flavours that might otherwise be unattainable. Mió, meanwhile, addressed a climate-change-driven problem: rising temperatures are placing coffee plants under severe stress.
“Real innovation meets or exceeds expectations while increasing margin, and this gives businesses the resilience they need while everything else becomes harder,” Michael says. “Without this, they risk competing only on price, and a race to the bottom is a quick way to lose.”
But innovation has many definitions
Innovation conjures up images of unconventional processing techniques, hyper-minimalist packaging, and creative signature drinks. But not all roasters define it in the same way.
“I don’t see innovation as a primary ambition for us,” says Ian Bailey, the founder of Vivid Coffee in Burlington, Vermont, US. “We want to be known as an authentic expression of our values rather than as a brand that is always on the cutting edge.”
For Vivid, real change lies in translating values into tangible products. This begins with building direct sourcing relationships with producers that pay higher prices for exceptional quality.
“In many ways, it requires innovation to communicate these values authentically,” Ian says. “For us, it’s less about chasing trends and more about pursuing authenticity in our values and sourcing practices.”
This highlights a key tension within specialty coffee: how roasters can adapt to changing consumer behaviour while staying true to the ethical and quality-driven principles that define the sector.
Could coffee innovation return to its roots?
Consumer preferences are shifting, particularly among younger generations. Matcha drinks and customised beverages are growing in popularity, often at the expense of traditional black coffee. Research indicates that around 75% of younger consumers regularly add flavours to their drinks.
In response, some specialty coffee roasters are developing blends optimised for milk, sweeteners, and cold coffee, while others are creating in-house syrups and seasonal drinks. Cafés are experimenting with flavours such as corn cold foam and black sesame vanilla, inspired mainly by East Asian cuisine, to appeal to younger demographics without abandoning quality principles.
But instead, there could be potential to refocus on the drink that kickstarted the third wave coffee revolution: black filter coffee.
“Black filter coffee represents essence. It’s a longer drink that helps us perceive the full spectrum of flavours,” says Cosimo Libardo, the head of sales at equipment manufacturer Ceado. “In fact, it’s the beverage that best allows us to understand coffee’s complexity, much like a glass of red wine.
“It is the most critical opportunity to build education and culture. Yet it has been taken for granted,” he adds. “We need to bring it back to the centre stage, as the key to understanding and appreciating coffee.”
Ceado designed its radial infusion Hoop brewer to make filter coffee more accessible. Users add ground coffee to the Flow Tower and pour water into the Outer Loop to assist with more even extraction. For younger, more convenience-focused consumers, low-effort, high-yield brewing is more appealing than intricate multi-step pours.
Roasters can use this opportunity to simultaneously drive innovation and build black coffee’s appeal among Gen Z. Brands like Counter Culture, Onyx Coffee Lab, Klatch, and Black & White are partnering with companies such as Cometeer and xBloom to offer flash-frozen capsules and whole bean pods that simplify high-quality brewing.
Encouraging a shift to “tradition”
Price sensitivity may encourage more people to resume drinking black coffee, but roasters can find other ways to innovate and drive consumption.
“The truth is, it’s hard to make black coffee ‘Instagram special’. You can’t post the taste, so the real work has to go deeper,” says Vytautas Kratulis, the founder of Huracán Coffee, Lithuania’s first specialty coffee roastery.
Huracán collaborates with brands outside the coffee industry, including bean-to-bar chocolate companies, a distillery, and an ice cream manufacturer, demonstrating how diversification can strengthen business resilience, diversify revenue, and drive innovation.
The company recently received Gold and Bronze medals for its filter coffee at the European edition of the Global Coffee Awards.
“You educate, but sometimes it’s an invitation. You create an environment where drinking black coffee feels grown-up, confident, even exalted,” he adds. “A student might order it because they want to embody a more mature image, and batch brew is cheaper than customised drinks.”
A focus on black coffee’s health benefits could prove promising for stressed-out Gen Z, who increasingly prioritise their mental wellbeing.
Innovation in specialty coffee has no single definition. For some roasters, it means new products or formats. For others, it means refining sourcing models, improving sustainability, or strengthening storytelling.
What remains clear is that the future of specialty coffee depends on balance. Roasters must continue to honour the values that shaped the sector while finding new ways to remain relevant in an increasingly competitive and consolidated market. Those who succeed will be the ones who innovate with intention.
Enjoyed this? Then read our article on why coffee quality alone is no longer a differentiator for roasters.
Photo credits: Huracán Coffee, Ceado
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