Using patented 100% solar-powered slow-roasting technology, the DTC coffee brand is crowdfunding to bring its sustainable coffee to more households across Northwest Europe
Sustainability-focused coffee roaster and DTC subscription brand Ray & Jules is crowdfunding to fuel its expansion across Belgium and the Netherlands.
Ray & Jules launched in 2017 when cleantech entrepreneur Koen Bosmans patented his 100% solar-powered slow-roasting technology, which is reported as using three-times less energy than traditional gas roasting.
The profitable business has tens of thousands of subscribers on its coffee delivery platform and generates approximately €2m ($2.3m) revenue annually – most of which comes from distribution in Belgium.
Ray & Jules, named after ‘ray’ (sunbeam) and ‘joule’ (the unit of energy), has raised €1.3m ($1.5m) to-date via a crowdfunding campaign with Dutch-Belgian investment platform Broccoli. The new capital – already 30% above its €1m ($1.12m) target – will enable it to ‘accelerate the flywheel’, with approximately 70% of funds raised to be used for marketing.
“The capital-intensive development phase is behind us, production can be scaled with current capacity, and the e-commerce platform is ready to grow. As a result, the investment is limited to marketing, which will sustain itself as profits grow,” the company said in a statement.
Claiming that production can already scale six times over without additional investment, only 20% of new funds will be used for production and logistics, including a move to a larger roastery site near Leuven. The remaining 10% will be reserved for innovation, with plans to develop cocoa, nut, granola and chickpea production lines – all powered by solar.
Ray & Jules has sold more than 33 million cups of coffee since its founding and has a valuation of €14m ($16.2m), according to Broccoli.
