The Collective Is Here…

It takes a wild mix of skills and just a little bit of risk for a Qantas aircraft engineer to reshape himself into a nationally recognised coffee entrepreneur - but that is just one of things that Rob Mergard has been able to tick off his bucket list.

Rob made the jump from the aviation sector over 20 years ago and has taken his small roasting business from start-up to national supplier in the years since.

But it is his latest venture which brings him the most satisfaction - helping other small to mid sized coffee roasters and hospitality start-ups get going.

“We started back in 1999 with a single coffee cart in the Brisbane CBD. But as the coffee culture exploded in Australia we quickly realised that we needed the capacity and capability to service many different tastes and many different markets – and the only way to achieve this was to bring the best brands in the business together.

We now send freshly roasted coffee beans around Australia (and soon into the US and Asia)  for our member companies and roasters, along with supplying cafes, restaurants and premium hospitality venues with coffee, machinery, training and expertise.”

The Coffee Roasters Collective operates from Ipswich and provides roasters with a chance to cut costs by using a shared machinery and production model. Business owners can either have their production needs covered under a contract roasting agreement or can source all their green beans at a substantial market discount and pay a small membership fee to use a fully kitted facility (with additional access to office space if needed).

In Rob’s words…”Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.”

Contact one of the team at: rob@coffeeroastersco.com.au if you are interested in getting involved.