Wholesale, White Label, or Private Label?

How to choose the right path for your brand, and why your customers will taste the difference.

Wholesale, White Label, or Private Label - the choice comes from your customers.

Have you ever walked into a space and thought:

“This coffee should feel more like us.”

If you run a specialty market… a beautiful boutique… a restaurant… a hotel… a spa… or a gathering place where people expect quality, you already know that coffee is part of the experience.

And the coffee you choose says something about your brand.

Today, more and more thoughtful businesses are moving away from generic chain suppliers and partnering with local craft roasters — because their customers can taste the difference, and they’re willing to pay for it.

But what’s the right model for you?

Let’s break it down — simply, clearly — so you can make the best choice for your unique brand.

Wholesale — share our blends under The Tree

This is perfect if you want to serve (or sell) our signature blends — like Rooted Espresso — exactly as we roast them.

• we roast

• we supply

• you serve

• your customers enjoy specialty coffee from a local craft roaster

Works beautifully for:

cafés, bakeries, restaurants, offices, co-working spaces

White Label — our roasts, your brand

You want your brand name on the bag — but you don’t want to source, roast, test profiles, or manage packaging.

White label means:

• you choose from our curated specialty coffees

• we roast + package it under your brand identity

Ideal for:

lifestyle retailers, gourmet markets, bookstores, gift shops, boutiques

It's all about your brand and your audience

Private Label — your own signature coffee

This is the premium path.

We sit down together.

We cup coffees.

We blend, taste, refine.

We create a coffee that no one else has because it is built around your story.

Perfect for:

boutique hotels, luxury spas, destination restaurants, premium operators

This isn’t coffee as a commodity — this is coffee as a differentiator.

So, wholesale, white label, private label - Which one fits your story?

There’s no “right” answer for everyone.

There’s only the right fit for your brand and your audience.

What matters most is that your customers will feel the difference when your coffee has identity.

And we love helping businesses unlock that.

In 2026, generic coffee won’t impress anyone. Signature coffee will.

Next steps

Start now.

We are choosing a small number of Wholesale, White Label and Private Label partners to co-create their 2026 coffee experience — beginning today.

If you want to level up your coffee program next year, now is the moment to shape it.

We are selecting partners who value craft, care about provenance, and want to bring a more elevated coffee experience to the people they serve.

If that’s you?

→ Let’s talk

Send us a message and tell us what kind of business you run.

Our team will help you find the right path — and if it’s a good fit — we’ll build something meaningful, together.

Start Your Coffee Program

Before you go…

Coffee becomes more meaningful when we share our perspectives.

Which idea from this article resonated with you today? Drop a line in the comments or send us a message here.

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Luis Barrionuevo is Founder & CEO of The Tree Coffee House - Roaster and Espresso Bar, based in Waterloo, ON, Canada