A coffee roasting company based in Hamilton has grown its business and recruited more staff with the help of a business loan from UMi Debt Finance Scotland.
Blendly owner Mark Wilson set up the company 10 years ago, after spotting a gap in the market for custom-ground coffee.
Blendly’s online marketplace lets customers select a purchase plan, pick the beans they want blended, and choose their preferred grind and roast, usually with a two to three day delivery.
The site allows coffee lovers to create, compare, improve and taste match brands, and have them delivered directly, saving time and money.
“Roasting coffee hasn’t changed for hundreds of years, and the industry is very traditional in what it offers customers,” explained Wilson. “I really wanted to inject much more choice into what people can buy and how they can distribute value to each other making the coffee drinker more central to the process.”
The UMi Debt Finance Scotland loan scheme, supported under the Scottish Growth Scheme, is designed to help Scottish businesses innovate, grow and diversify.
Wilson said the loan helped Blendly expand its offering through more digital tools and take on more staff: “In the longer term, we’ll improve our structure for further growth, while contributing more to the local communities that are involved in the coffee industry and develop more ways of sharing value with them, as well as connecting to newer distribution channels and increasing access for all coffee lovers across the UK and Europe.”
