Offer a coffee subscription in your Shopify shop
A coffee subscription keeps running when it moves along with how someone drinks coffee. Customers don't drink the same amount of coffee or tea every month, and sometimes want a different flavour without cancelling. Loyalo gives coffee roasters and tea brands a widget and a customer portal built for that, on top of Shopify's own subscriptions.
Why a coffee subscription often stops too early
A fixed delivery rhythm doesn't work for everyone: one customer finishes a bag in two weeks, another takes a month. Someone who has coffee left over sees the stock grow and cancels. Not because the coffee disappoints, but because the subscription does not move with them.
The same goes for flavour and timing. A customer who wants to try another bean should not have to order again. And a delivery that lands during a holiday is a waste of freshly roasted coffee. In all those cases cancelling is the easiest button, unless a better one sits next to it.
Kinds of coffee subscription you can offer
A coffee subscription is not one product. These are the forms a roaster or tea brand can choose from, and how each of them works.
| Kind of subscription | How it works | Fits |
|---|---|---|
| A fixed coffee on a rhythm | The customer chooses a coffee, the grind and the weight and gets it every 2 or 4 weeks, for example | Customers with a favourite |
| Coffee of the month | One product for which you pick the coffee each month; subscribers get what you roast that month | Customers who want to discover what you roast |
| A coffee bean subscription of their own choice | With the box builder the customer puts together a box from your coffees, one-off or as a subscription | Customers who drink several coffees side by side |
| Prepaid or as a gift | A number of deliveries paid at once, for example 3 or 6; as a gift with a recipient, a message and a start date | The holidays and customers who commit for a period |
| Tea subscription | Loose tea or bags with a plan and frequencies of their own, for example every 4 or 8 weeks | Tea brands and roasters who sell tea as well |
| Coffee for the office | A company gets the same order on a fixed rhythm and pays on account: a standing order, in the Scale B2B plan | Offices and hospitality that order the same every time |
How Loyalo solves this
Match the rhythm to usage
Customers pick the frequency in the widget on the product page, with the discount per frequency. In the portal they change the rhythm themselves as soon as their usage changes.
Swap flavours
In the portal a customer swaps bean, grind or weight within the same plan. The subscription and the discount stay; only the contents change.
Reschedule around holidays
Customers move the delivery date or skip a delivery, in the portal or with a button in the email about the next delivery.
Extras with the next delivery
Filters, a sample bag or a pack of tea on top: the customer adds it once to the next delivery, without a separate order.
What your subscriber sees
The portal shows what is coming and when. Below the subscription are the buttons a coffee drinker asks for: skip a delivery, pause, move the date and add something extra. The customer logs in with a link from their email and needs no password.
How to start a coffee subscription business: the choices first
Before you set anything up, you decide five things. They determine whether the subscription fits how your customers drink coffee and whether there is margin left.
| Choice | What to look at |
|---|---|
| Which coffees | Start with the coffees customers already reorder. Put them in one plan, so subscribers can swap between them |
| The rhythm | Offer two or three frequencies and work back from the weight of the bag: someone who finishes a bag in two weeks has no use for a monthly rhythm |
| The discount | Work from your margin per delivery, after shipping and payment costs. You set the discount per frequency |
| Roasting and shipping | The Deliveries page counts per coffee how many bags go out in a period. That is what you plan your roasting days on |
| Payment | By card through the Shopify checkout, or with iDEAL for the first order and automatic collection after that through your own Mollie account |
How a coffee roaster sets it up
An example of settings that suit coffee and tea. You set everything up without code, and change it while your subscriptions are running.
| Part | Example |
|---|---|
| Frequencies | Every 2 weeks, every 4 weeks and every month, with a 10% or 5% discount |
| Swapping | All coffees in one plan, so customers can swap beans freely |
| One-time extras | Filters and espresso cups, with 10% off for subscribers |
| Rescheduling | Up to 60 days ahead, enough for a long holiday |
| Cancellation reason 'too much coffee at home' | Offer: skip the next delivery |
| Prepaid | 3 or 6 months up front, also as a gift |
| Points | Customers earn 'beans' on every delivery, with extra beans on the coffee of the month |
Live in four steps
- Create plansCreate a subscription plan for your coffee and tea, with the frequencies you want to offer and the discount per frequency.
- Place the widgetPut the block with the subscription choice on the product page in the theme editor, with the saving per delivery and the next delivery date.
- Set up the portal and emailsChoose what customers may change themselves and put your logo and colours in the emails. You send the reminder for the next delivery a few days ahead.
- Add extras and labelsChoose the products customers can add once, and put the subscription label on the product tiles of your collections.
What happens when
| Situation | Approach in Loyalo |
|---|---|
| A customer drinks faster or slower | They change the frequency themselves in the portal |
| A customer wants to try another flavour | They swap variant or product within the same plan |
| The delivery falls during a holiday | Reschedule or skip, from the email too |
| A customer wants an extra bag or filters | A one-time extra with the next delivery |
| A micro-lot is sold out | You choose: collect anyway, wait a few days or skip the delivery |
| Your purchase price goes up | You plan a new price with a start date; customers are told beforehand |
| A customer wants to cancel | They pick a reason and get a fitting offer once |
Know what to roast
Roasting fresh means planning. The Deliveries page counts, for the period you choose, how many deliveries are coming and how many bags that is per coffee. So you roast what goes out the door next week, and no more.
You export the list as CSV for your roastery or your packing table. One-time extras that ship with a delivery are shown on the subscription and on the order in Shopify.
Earning beans on every delivery
With the Customer Loyalty add-on your programme gets its own name and your points are called whatever you like. Subscribers earn on every delivery and redeem their points on the next delivery, for free shipping or a free bag, for example. With a special you give extra points on the coffee of the month, and customers who order often move up to a tier with a discount.
Launch checklist
- A subscription plan with the frequencies and discounts for your coffee and tea
- The widget on the product page, with the next delivery date
- The portal reachable through a login link or the Shopify customer account
- Emails for confirmation, pause and the next delivery in your brand style
- One-time extras ready, such as filters or sample bags
- For iDEAL: your Mollie account connected and the iDEAL button switched on
What it costs
Subscriptions are in every plan: Growth costs € 99 per month up to 250 active subscriptions, Scale € 299 above that. Customer Loyalty, for points and tiers, is an add-on of € 199 per month. You pay nothing per order and try everything free for 14 days.
Frequently asked questions
How do you start a coffee subscription in your online shop?
Choose the coffees and the rhythms, set the discount per frequency, put the subscription choice on the product page and set up the portal and the emails. In Shopify you do that with a subscription app such as Loyalo; your products, stock and orders stay in Shopify.
Does it work for a tea subscription too?
Yes. A tea subscription works the same as a coffee subscription, with a plan and frequencies of its own. When a customer orders tea and coffee with the same rhythm at once, they end up in one subscription and are delivered together.
Can a customer switch coffees along the way?
Yes. In the portal a customer swaps variant or product within the same plan, without cancelling. They keep their discount.
What happens when a customer goes on holiday?
The customer moves the delivery date or skips a delivery, in the portal or with a button in the email about the next delivery. You set how many days ahead that is possible.
Can we send filters or an extra bag along?
Yes. You choose which products customers can add once to their next delivery, with a discount for subscribers if you like. The extra is charged with that delivery.
Does this work with our existing Shopify products?
Yes. Loyalo builds on Shopify's own subscriptions, so your products, variants and stock stay in Shopify. Every delivery is a regular order.
Can customers pay with iDEAL?
Yes. Through your own Mollie account the customer pays the first order with iDEAL. The next deliveries are collected automatically.
Can someone give a coffee subscription as a gift?
Yes. You switch on the gift option in the widget, usually with a prepaid bundle. The buyer enters the recipient, a message and the start date; the recipient does not enter any payment details.
Setting up subscriptions for coffee or tea?
See in a demo how the widget, the portal and the extras work for your shop.
Request a demoReady to sell subscriptions inside Shopify?
No per-order fee, no redirect, no hassle. Just native subscriptions.