A specialty coffee shop and micro-roastery in Flintshire has secured a £42,000 micro loan from the Development Bank of Wales to support the next phase of its growth.
Founded by Harry Dempsey, Cracked Coffee opened on Mold’s High Street in May last year, and has since built a strong following for its specialty coffee, locally sourced food and freshly roasted beans. It serves customers from across Mold and the surrounding area, with the coffee shop welcoming a steady flow of regular visitors throughout the week alongside takeaway trade and passing customers. The business also supplies roasted coffee to wholesale partners and sells beans directly to consumers through its website and coffee shop.
The £42,000 micro loan from the Development Bank’s Wales Flexible Investment Fund has allowed the business to buy and install a new commercial coffee roaster, allowing them to roast more coffee on-site. Before the investment, Cracked Coffee was producing around 60kg of roasted coffee per week and had reached roasting capacity, limiting its ability to take on more wholesale customers. The new equipment increases production capacity by around five times, creating opportunities to expand wholesale supply while growing retail and online sales.
Harry Dempsey, founder of Cracked Coffee, said:
“Cracked Coffee has always been about bringing high-quality coffee to the local community and creating a space people want to come back to week after week. The support from the Development Bank has helped us invest in a new roaster at exactly the right time.
“We’d already seen demand grow far beyond our original projections, but our roasting capacity was holding us back. We wanted to work with more wholesale customers and continue growing our retail coffee sales, but we simply couldn’t produce enough coffee each week.
“The new machine is like a dream. It’s transformed what we’re able to do and has given us the capacity we need to grow in a controlled and sustainable way. Demand has risen very quickly since it was installed and we’re excited about what comes next.”
Charlotte Price, Investment Executive at the Development Bank of Wales, said:
“Harry has built an impressive business in a relatively short period of time, underpinned by a clear passion for quality coffee and strong support from the local community.
“Cracked Coffee had identified a clear growth opportunity, but reaching production capacity was restricting its ability to meet rising demand. By investing in a new commercial roaster, the business has removed a key operational bottleneck and created the foundations for future growth across its wholesale, retail and online operations.
“We’re pleased to support Harry and look forward to seeing Cracked Coffee continue to develop as a thriving Welsh business.”
