At this year’s London Coffee Festival, there were noticeably fewer roasters exhibiting at their own stands. Instead, more roasters had partnered with equipment manufacturers to brew and sell coffee at their booths. Matcha and functional beverage brands also had a much bigger presence this year compared to previous editions, reflecting broader market trends in the café industry as operators look to diversify from coffee.
As roasters navigate the era of sustained high coffee prices, it’s clear that their priorities are shifting. Fewer have the budget or capacity to exhibit at larger trade shows, and alternatively, are focusing on smaller regional events or hosting their own pop-ups to manage cash flow better while still engaging with the broader industry and consumers.
I spoke with David Jameson at Danelaw Coffee to find out more.
You may also like our article on why roasters are thinking twice before scaling.
Coffee events are changing
Major industry events have long served as a springboard for roasters of all sizes to market themselves and generate more revenue. In recent years, a growing focus on education, competitions, and networking has given rise to a more diverse range of coffee events, particularly in emerging specialty coffee markets.
The London Coffee Festival (LCF) is one of the largest industry events, hosting the global Coffee Masters competition and an array of experiential features, including Latte Art Live, The Lab, the Roasters Village, and Brew School. The 2025 festival welcomed more than 22,000 visitors and 260 exhibitors to the iconic Truman Brewery venue.
Roasters from across the UK and Europe often exhibit at their own booths. However, over the last few years, the presence of mid-sized and larger roasters at LCF has noticeably declined. A number of smaller UK roasters were in attendance this year, aiming to establish more of a presence in the national market.
“Back in the 2010s, I remember the main floor was full of roasters, big and small, with a real coffee focus,” says David Jameson, the founder of Danelaw Coffee, an award-winning specialty coffee roaster in Holmfirth, UK, and 2025 LCF exhibitor.
“But the trend for the last few years seems to be that fewer roasters are exhibiting, and instead, they make appearances at their machine partners’ stands.”
This is a strategic move that could help roasters expand their reach in more cost-effective ways. By collaborating with their equipment suppliers, many of whom are likely to have higher budgets for trade shows, roasters can leverage their brand power. Additionally, roasters can align themselves with established equipment brands, reaffirming their quality-driven branding.
The effects of high coffee prices on industry events
In addition to the growing presence of equipment manufacturers, matcha, functional beverage, syrups, and artisanal food brands had a more noticeable presence at the 2025 LCF.
“It feels as though there has also been a shift toward coffee-adjacent businesses in the past few years,” David says.
This represents broader café industry trends, as operators look beyond coffee, especially while the C price remains high, to diversify revenue streams. Coffee shops can’t ignore the boom in popularity of matcha, mushroom coffee, and highly customised drinks, adding them to their offerings to appeal to Gen Z consumers who increasingly demand experiential beverages.
“Matcha and functional beverage brands want to enter the specialty coffee space, and they have the marketing spend power to do so, whereas coffee brands may not at the moment,” David says.
High and volatile coffee prices have led roasters, in particular, to shift their priorities. Green coffee costs have more than doubled over the last two years, resulting in tighter cash flow. Simultaneously, borrowing money has become more expensive, which makes it harder to plan for the long term.
As a result, many roasters now have a smaller budget to attend larger events, especially as exhibitor and logistics costs have increased over the last few years.
Roasters are now refocusing their attention as coffee prices stay high
It’s a particularly challenging time for roasters currently, with coffee prices expected to stay high for the remainder of the year. Moreover, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to set contract prices, as by the time a roaster agrees on a price with the seller, the C price has fluctuated, often necessitating renegotiation of contracts.
As roasters grapple with price volatility, exhibiting at larger events becomes less of a priority, especially for medium and larger-sized operations that need to focus on securing capital to cover the costs of green coffee.
“There are definitely some challenging decisions to make at the moment. Where are your spending priorities? Does attending this event still have the same benefit it did ten years ago?” David asks. “In 2025, when your working capital for the same volume of green coffee is now roughly double what it was last year or the year before, there’s a trend of ‘battening down the hatches’.”
A growing number of roasters are now questioning the value of exhibiting at larger industry events, and instead, need to dedicate more time and budget to stabilising operations and navigating unpredictable market movements.
“There are certainly risks attached to not attending events, though; you may miss a key contact or be seen as being outside the specialty coffee scene,” David says. “A roaster who is there may have an opportunity to talk to your customer, which could tempt them away. But if the cash isn’t there to support the show, then what option is there?”
Smaller format events may offer a more viable solution
Despite persistent challenges, roasters still need to remain relevant and retain their market presence – and attending industry events is a key part of this.
Rather than focusing primarily on larger festivals and trade shows, we could see more roasters pivot towards local and regional, smaller-format events. With lower exhibitor costs and more intimate settings, these events could provide a more accessible path to connect with potential clients and customers, offering roasters more value.
“If you’re focused on your local market, then the big trade show would be the one to sacrifice; however, if you’re aiming for a larger reach, it may take priority over smaller, in-person local events,” David says. “There’s no substitute for that spark of personal interaction.”
Events like Dublin Coffee Festival, COFFeEAST, Iran International Coffee Festival (also known as Coffeexiran), and Ljubljana Coffee Festival have experienced explosive growth in recent years, as roasters leverage these platforms to expand their networks more strategically.
This year’s Glasgow Coffee Festival, for instance, saw a record-breaking 2,000 attendees, signalling a growing interest in smaller-format coffee events. As major trade shows like World of Coffee expand into different regions, the presence of local and national roasters may increase, making these events more localised rather than international.
Independent pop-up events may also proliferate, as roasters look to have more control over their branding and operations. A number of prominent specialty coffee roasters, including Assembly Coffee, hosted their own pop-up events in conjunction with LCF, while also co-exhibiting with equipment brands at the main festival.
Price volatility poses numerous challenges for coffee roasters, and its impact is evident at industry events. As securing the capital for green coffee becomes a bigger priority, attending large festivals and trade shows may become less valuable.
Instead, we may see a transition towards local and regional events, which inevitably could boost the popularity of smaller-format festivals and allow roasters to acquire new clients and customers in more strategic ways.
Enjoyed this? Then read our article on how smaller roasters can mitigate risk.
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