NZ-Owned vs NZ-Roasted Coffee: Why the Difference Matters for Our Local Coffee Scene
Walk into almost any café in New Zealand, and you’re most likely to be served a coffee roasted on home soil. But there’s an important distinction many coffee lovers aren’t aware of: NZ-roasted doesn’t necessarily mean NZ-owned. And as international investment companies continue acquiring once-independent roasters, it’s time we talk about what that means for our coffee culture, our economy, and our communities.
So what is the difference?
NZ-Roasted Coffee means the green (unroasted) coffee beans are roasted within New Zealand. The company may operate roasters here, employ local staff, and distribute from local warehouses. But the profits, strategic decisions, and sometimes even branding direction might be dictated offshore - especially if the company is part of a multinational portfolio.
NZ-Owned Coffee refers to coffee businesses where ownership, profits, and key decisions stay within New Zealand. Whether it’s a one-man-band operation or a larger local roaster, these companies are of and for Aotearoa. They tend to buy from local suppliers, support other small businesses, and reinvest in their local economies.
So why does this matter?
NZ-owned businesses circulate a greater percentage of their revenue back into the local economy - through wages, spending, and taxes. International investors typically prioritise profit extraction, sending earnings offshore and concentrating wealth in boardrooms far removed from the coffee communities they serve.
Profits is the resulting factor, no matter how small or large, of a well-run business, and is typically distributed to owners. Owners based in New Zealand, are more likely to spend and reinvest those profits (barring when making international trips), back into the New Zealand economy, whereas owners based in other countries, aren’t as likely to be doing so. It’s the money-go-round cycle.
New Zealand’s coffee scene is known for its unique style - from the iconic flat white to the fiercely independent café culture. Independent roasters often reflect their region’s flavour, values, and community. When they’re acquired by offshore companies, branding and values often become homogenised, with marketing driven more by global scalability than local authenticity.
Small NZ-owned roasters are often the true innovators of our coffee scene - experimenting with roast profiles, exploring new origins, and pioneering sustainability practices. When these businesses are acquired by investment firms, the focus often shifts away from craft toward consistency, volume, and scalability. We also see a stronger push into mass-market secondary products — think supermarket shelves and service station grab-and-go - rather than treating coffee as the specialty beverage it truly is.
For wholesale customers, partnering with a locally owned roaster typically means working directly with the owner or someone deeply invested in the business. In many NZ roasteries, the owners are hands-on — roasting, delivering, and jumping in when a machine breaks down or a team needs training. It’s a level of care that’s hard to match. Owners, unlike GMs or sales reps, have skin in the game — and they know your success directly impacts theirs.
That doesn’t mean handing out $30,000 machines for 7kg-a-week accounts — it means responsive service, personal relationships, and decisions made with long-term partnership in mind.
Of course, there are exceptions. Some absentee owners still run great businesses, and I’ve seen ex-owners who stayed on after selling to a corporate group continue to provide excellent support. This isn’t about painting with a broad brush — it’s about recognising the shifting dynamics in our industry.
The reality is, with deep-pocketed marketing budgets and international backing, large-scale coffee groups are making it harder for independent roasters to compete head-to-head. And if nothing changes, we risk losing the rich diversity and depth that made NZ coffee culture so unique in the first place.
So what can you do?
As a coffee drinker
Try a few local roasts. Find one that resonates with you — in flavour, values, or both. Many NZ-owned roasters sell direct-to-consumer online, and you can find a growing list of them at www.icrnz.co.nz.
As a café owner
Source your beans from someone local, or at least NZ-owned. Build relationships where your success matters to your supplier. And know that your dollars are helping strengthen our local economy.
As a NZ-owned roaster
Lean into what makes you different. The larger the machine, the slower it moves. That’s your advantage — be nimble, be creative, and keep pushing boundaries. There’s always room in the market for roasters who bring something fresh to the table.
Since 2006, but more so in the last 15 years, a number of well-known New Zealand coffee brands have been acquired by larger multinational food companies and investment groups. On the surface, things may look much the same - familiar branding, the same cafés serving the coffee, and many of the original team members still involved. But behind the scenes, some key decisions are now made at a different level - often offshore and with broader commercial goals in mind.
While this isn’t necessarily negative, it does signal a quiet shift in the landscape. The unique character of New Zealand’s coffee scene - built on independence, local flavour, and strong community ties - may be at risk of becoming more standardised over time. It's a reminder of how valuable our local coffee culture is, and why it's worth paying attention to how it's evolving.