a decent conversation with Swimsuit Coffee.

Swimsuit Coffee do more than just coffee, they’re a real part of their community. We sat down with founder Tait to discuss their exciting new collaboration with Coffee Supreme, how they’ve built a loyal local, and what’s on the horizon.

First up, how did Swimsuit Coffee come about?

I initially found an interest in coffee in college through a coffee course, which is where I became infatuated by it. Fast forward 8 years and I finally had an opportunity to open my own coffee shop in my dream site. Swimsuit came about as I live around the south coast in Wellington, and wanted to bring a bit of the coastal vibe to the city.

What do you think is the most important thing in developing a loyal local?

Providing a memorable experience is huge for us, doing small things like water at every table, nice curation of music and just a nice atmosphere to enjoy your coffee in. We’re also very community based with local activations involved in community activities. 

What’s your favourite thing about working with decent packaging and why did you choose us?

decent has been super helpful for us with helping to get our own custom cups made, as well as pretty much being the one stop shop for all things packaging. Our staff find the ordering very easy and the quality of product is top of the class.

How else do you support sustainability in your coffee shop? 

As well as recycling we have an organic waste that gets turned into compost, as well as donating our leftover food to the local free store.  We also use local, independent suppliers as we love building relationships with other small businesses.

We saw that you recently launched your own coffee beans with Coffee Supreme - epic! What makes these beans so special? 

Bringing out our own blend has been a big goal for us, and Coffee Supreme has been more than happy to help bring that to life. It’s nice selling a product that we’ve been involved with in the whole process, and it makes it all worthwhile seeing our customers enjoying something we created.

Over the past few years, what are the most important lesson(s) you have learnt?

Cash flow is different to profit! We started this with no background in business, all I knew what to do was to make a good cup of coffee. Now with 3 stores, we’ve had to really dive deep into the back end and get everything ready for growth. Also seeing which staff are passionate and nurturing them to become the best they can be. 

How do you look after your mental health/what do you do to wind down/take a break? 

I try to have a day a week to not think about work, whether that be going for a drive around the bays or going for a walk in the sun. I really like being by the water so you'll probably find me at the beach! I’ve also started doing a bit more self care - in this job there are endless things you could be doing, so it’s knowing when to take time to relax, even when there is stuff to do.

What are you most excited for in the future of Swimsuit? 

We’re excited to see where this takes us - we started with an idea and now people are really liking it. Our next step is a website, as well as trying to get more of a national impact across the country through online sales and opening more cafes in other cities. We have big plans so watch this space!

Find Swimsuit Coffee on Instagram.