How RePodly began
Hi, I'm Gary.
I'm the founder of RePodly.
Repodly is my baby, but I also have 2 actual babies… my beautiful daughters who are 8 and 12.
For as long as I can remember we've talked about the things they want to buy and discuss the longevity of the items. How long will it last? Is it worth the money? And we also discuss the ecological impact of the plastic tat they are drawn to like moths to a flame… or mosquitos to my legs when we're on holiday!
On one occasion around May 2022 I was shopping with my then 6 year old daughter who was begging me for a rather expensive magazine she wouldn't read for the free gift of a thin plastic toy that I'm surprised was still in one piece after being loaded onto the shelf, it was practically see through it was so flimsy.
I made my usual comment… "but it's rubbish, it's just landfill"
At which point my daughter pointed to my shopping basket at the coffee pods in my basket and said "well you've got landfill!", before standing wide legged, hands on hips and staring at me with the look of a child who'd just had to point out the flamin' obvious to her adult.
And she was right. Annoyingly, but revelatory, she was right! From the mouths of babes.
So I went down a rabbit hole of alternatives, all mostly more landfill.
The pods that broke after one use or the ones that clogged so fast you were lucky to get a coffee from it in the first place.
When I finally found the perfect, durable and reliable pod I started down another rabbit hole of research and great costs.
Sadly, most supermarket coffee is terrible. Low quality, packed months before and just a bit sad really. The online roasters can be a bit hit and miss and you don't always know what you're buying. After 15 years of working behind the scenes in shopping TV I wasn't prepared to settle for mediocre coffee is I was going to start shouting about the pods. The pods are good but only as good as the coffee that is put into them and I wasn't prepared to settle for anything other than grade A, top quality, tongue fizzing brilliant morning juice!
And then, by a miracle, like the Oompa Loompa's found Willy Wonka… the Rockstar Roasters found me.
My gorgeous and frankly rather lovely parter Zoi had a business networking breakfast meeting. One of these things where usually sane people get up in the dark before they have too to discuss how they can help each other in their businesses.
I'm not a "morning person".
2 guys showed up from another group who were in town who said how disgusting the coffee was at the meeting and gave a business card for a roastery who are a member of their group that could help them out. Zoi called me excitedly to tell me she may have found the answer to my problem.
I called them and they couldn't have been friendlier or more accommodating.
The Rockstar Roasters told me that they are roasting fresh coffee all day everyday and usually only deal with independent coffee shops but, they loved the idea of the green ethos of Repodly so much, they'd change the way they work to allow for a home delivery service which sends out smaller bags than the huge ones to their coffee shop customers.
With this missing piece of the jigsaw found I could now focus on the job of creating the secret blends of my coffee. I was warned by the Rockstars that they don't source inferior coffee, if they were going to roast it, it had to be brilliant quality or they'd pass on the opportunity. I just loved this.
Lots of businesses are happy to do whatever you want as long as you're paying. These guys flat out refused to roast rubbish and would rather we went our separate ways than do it. Thats how I knew this was a partnership made in heaven.
I lost count of the amount of coffee I tried during thus time to find the 'secret sauce' that would make Repodly special for more than bringing reusable pods and coffee together.
With more than a little guidance Discovery was born, then the Goat, Renaissance and Prospero. Then we moved on to what beans from around the world we can source that can be offered as a single origin bean which can stand on its own. There were a number of these beans but some weren't as reliable as we would like and others were a bit, well, common. We will be offering limited edition beans for short times which are amazing but not regularly available.
So that was that.
Until Zoi asked if I was entering the coffee for any awards and I must have given her a funny look because she laughed at me. Turns out there are competitions for food and drink like there are for dogs at Crufts. As she had won an award for her Greek Olive Oil in the past she explained the process and recommended The Great Taste Awards as one which was impartial and fair which would blind judge the coffees.
So I entered 3 and I was amazed to have been awarded for 2 coffees:
Discovery and Ethiopian Mocha Djimma!
Zoi was quick to explain that awards on the first entry is a special achievement as some products will enter several times and leave empty handed.
So that brings us to today. We have a small team working hard to bring you excellence in coffee beans and a brilliant team of highly caffeinated expert roasters who handle the beans and roasting, ensuring only the best and most consistently good beans make it to our valued, change making customers
I'm the founder of RePodly.
Repodly is my baby, but I also have 2 actual babies… my beautiful daughters who are 8 and 12.
For as long as I can remember we've talked about the things they want to buy and discuss the longevity of the items. How long will it last? Is it worth the money? And we also discuss the ecological impact of the plastic tat they are drawn to like moths to a flame… or mosquitos to my legs when we're on holiday!
On one occasion around May 2022 I was shopping with my then 6 year old daughter who was begging me for a rather expensive magazine she wouldn't read for the free gift of a thin plastic toy that I'm surprised was still in one piece after being loaded onto the shelf, it was practically see through it was so flimsy.
I made my usual comment… "but it's rubbish, it's just landfill"
At which point my daughter pointed to my shopping basket at the coffee pods in my basket and said "well you've got landfill!", before standing wide legged, hands on hips and staring at me with the look of a child who'd just had to point out the flamin' obvious to her adult.
And she was right. Annoyingly, but revelatory, she was right! From the mouths of babes.
So I went down a rabbit hole of alternatives, all mostly more landfill.
The pods that broke after one use or the ones that clogged so fast you were lucky to get a coffee from it in the first place.
When I finally found the perfect, durable and reliable pod I started down another rabbit hole of research and great costs.
Sadly, most supermarket coffee is terrible. Low quality, packed months before and just a bit sad really. The online roasters can be a bit hit and miss and you don't always know what you're buying. After 15 years of working behind the scenes in shopping TV I wasn't prepared to settle for mediocre coffee is I was going to start shouting about the pods. The pods are good but only as good as the coffee that is put into them and I wasn't prepared to settle for anything other than grade A, top quality, tongue fizzing brilliant morning juice!
And then, by a miracle, like the Oompa Loompa's found Willy Wonka… the Rockstar Roasters found me.
My gorgeous and frankly rather lovely parter Zoi had a business networking breakfast meeting. One of these things where usually sane people get up in the dark before they have too to discuss how they can help each other in their businesses.
I'm not a "morning person".
2 guys showed up from another group who were in town who said how disgusting the coffee was at the meeting and gave a business card for a roastery who are a member of their group that could help them out. Zoi called me excitedly to tell me she may have found the answer to my problem.
I called them and they couldn't have been friendlier or more accommodating.
The Rockstar Roasters told me that they are roasting fresh coffee all day everyday and usually only deal with independent coffee shops but, they loved the idea of the green ethos of Repodly so much, they'd change the way they work to allow for a home delivery service which sends out smaller bags than the huge ones to their coffee shop customers.
With this missing piece of the jigsaw found I could now focus on the job of creating the secret blends of my coffee. I was warned by the Rockstars that they don't source inferior coffee, if they were going to roast it, it had to be brilliant quality or they'd pass on the opportunity. I just loved this.
Lots of businesses are happy to do whatever you want as long as you're paying. These guys flat out refused to roast rubbish and would rather we went our separate ways than do it. Thats how I knew this was a partnership made in heaven.
I lost count of the amount of coffee I tried during thus time to find the 'secret sauce' that would make Repodly special for more than bringing reusable pods and coffee together.
With more than a little guidance Discovery was born, then the Goat, Renaissance and Prospero. Then we moved on to what beans from around the world we can source that can be offered as a single origin bean which can stand on its own. There were a number of these beans but some weren't as reliable as we would like and others were a bit, well, common. We will be offering limited edition beans for short times which are amazing but not regularly available.
So that was that.
Until Zoi asked if I was entering the coffee for any awards and I must have given her a funny look because she laughed at me. Turns out there are competitions for food and drink like there are for dogs at Crufts. As she had won an award for her Greek Olive Oil in the past she explained the process and recommended The Great Taste Awards as one which was impartial and fair which would blind judge the coffees.
So I entered 3 and I was amazed to have been awarded for 2 coffees:
Discovery and Ethiopian Mocha Djimma!
Zoi was quick to explain that awards on the first entry is a special achievement as some products will enter several times and leave empty handed.
So that brings us to today. We have a small team working hard to bring you excellence in coffee beans and a brilliant team of highly caffeinated expert roasters who handle the beans and roasting, ensuring only the best and most consistently good beans make it to our valued, change making customers
Me, (Gary) and the inspiration that started RePodly
We have a lot of fun and they inspire me to leave the planet in a better shape than it is now, for their future as much as anything.
Values
Our values are simple, do deliver the freshest, tastiest coffee you'll get anywhere in this green and pleasant land while doing the minimum damage to it.
So to breakdown what we do to demonstrate these values:
1. We sell a range of reusable stainless steel pods and reusable lids for most popular coffee pod machines. While lots of people do arrange collections or take their used pods to drop off points the sad thing is that the vast majority of people don't. We all lead busy lives and its understandable, but by adopting a reusable pod method you benefit from cheaper, fresher and tastier coffee as well as reducing your plastic/ landfill waste footprint.
2. Our gorgeous coffee is delivered in glue less, compostable boxes with corn based, compostable packing materials. Simply rip off the address label (paper recycling) and your box can go in your green bin or compost heap… or if you're green fingered you can use the card to create plant pots which then go straight into the ground
3. The coffee can be delivered in paper bags, which you'll need to transfer the coffee to a sealed container like a kilner jar or old coffee tin to stay fresh, the bag can go into the paper recycling bag for collection
4. The coffee ground themselves as full of nitrogen which plants need to grow. With a little advice from mr google you can add the used 'washed' grounds to the compost heap or food waste bin.
Failing that, a little tip - slugs and snails don't like the hard, sharp coffee grounds as its uncomfortable for them so they avoid it! No need to kill them, just deter them from the important plants!
5. Our coffee is expert roasted by hand in an artisan way. Only skilled roasters are allowed near your precious beans and this means that while it costs more to roast them, we benefit from knowing we have very little, if any waste.
6. Pricing. Our coffees cost us a huge variety per kilo but it's confusing, we know you have enough going on in your life to decide between blends based on costs and the important thing when choosing a coffee should be on the taste and what's right for you which is why we charge 1 price for all our coffees, across the board. Some barely make sense and others are almost at a loss but we believe in choice and fair, common sense pricing.
7. Our coffee is roasted to order and ground for your needs. Whether you have a bean to cup machine and can grind them yourself or you want super fine espresso grind we can do this for you and to order.
So to breakdown what we do to demonstrate these values:
1. We sell a range of reusable stainless steel pods and reusable lids for most popular coffee pod machines. While lots of people do arrange collections or take their used pods to drop off points the sad thing is that the vast majority of people don't. We all lead busy lives and its understandable, but by adopting a reusable pod method you benefit from cheaper, fresher and tastier coffee as well as reducing your plastic/ landfill waste footprint.
2. Our gorgeous coffee is delivered in glue less, compostable boxes with corn based, compostable packing materials. Simply rip off the address label (paper recycling) and your box can go in your green bin or compost heap… or if you're green fingered you can use the card to create plant pots which then go straight into the ground
3. The coffee can be delivered in paper bags, which you'll need to transfer the coffee to a sealed container like a kilner jar or old coffee tin to stay fresh, the bag can go into the paper recycling bag for collection
4. The coffee ground themselves as full of nitrogen which plants need to grow. With a little advice from mr google you can add the used 'washed' grounds to the compost heap or food waste bin.
Failing that, a little tip - slugs and snails don't like the hard, sharp coffee grounds as its uncomfortable for them so they avoid it! No need to kill them, just deter them from the important plants!
5. Our coffee is expert roasted by hand in an artisan way. Only skilled roasters are allowed near your precious beans and this means that while it costs more to roast them, we benefit from knowing we have very little, if any waste.
6. Pricing. Our coffees cost us a huge variety per kilo but it's confusing, we know you have enough going on in your life to decide between blends based on costs and the important thing when choosing a coffee should be on the taste and what's right for you which is why we charge 1 price for all our coffees, across the board. Some barely make sense and others are almost at a loss but we believe in choice and fair, common sense pricing.
7. Our coffee is roasted to order and ground for your needs. Whether you have a bean to cup machine and can grind them yourself or you want super fine espresso grind we can do this for you and to order.
Our Promise
Our promise is simple, for every full priced bag of coffee we sell, in our branding, we will plant a tree.
This idea is an extension of our values, of stopping the flow of waste to landfill. This promise is an attempt to do some good to make up for some of the damage done by the landfill.
This idea is an extension of our values, of stopping the flow of waste to landfill. This promise is an attempt to do some good to make up for some of the damage done by the landfill.
This may not seem like many trees right now but RePodly is still pretty new… and it's hard to stand out on social media without spending a small fortune in advertising!
Sharing your experience and how amazing our coffee is with friends and family is the best way we know to get the word out… and it all helps in keeping the prices down!
Sharing your experience and how amazing our coffee is with friends and family is the best way we know to get the word out… and it all helps in keeping the prices down!
Charity
We are small but it doesn't mean charity isn't important to us.
Shortly we'll be launching a couple of coffee blends in aid of Leukaemia UK to support Bodhi and his journey by saying "Pants to Leukaemia"!
The proceeds of these coffees goes straight to Leukaemia UK to continue with their great work!
Recently we have also had the opportunity to donate a number of bags of coffee to a local Bristol charity (as we're Bristolians) called The Mazi Project.
This brilliant charity helps to support disadvantaged young people aged 16 to 24 as they start their journey into the world with food boxes and the skills they need to feed themselves healthily and deliciously.
Food is of great importance and not everyone is taught at home, often because there's a generation of adults who rely on Chef Mike (ie, the microwave) to do the heavy lifting. Understanding what you're eating and the quality is so important, so we are very happy to have donated an amount of ground coffee to them to give these young people a taste of what coffee can be!
Shortly we'll be launching a couple of coffee blends in aid of Leukaemia UK to support Bodhi and his journey by saying "Pants to Leukaemia"!
The proceeds of these coffees goes straight to Leukaemia UK to continue with their great work!
Recently we have also had the opportunity to donate a number of bags of coffee to a local Bristol charity (as we're Bristolians) called The Mazi Project.
This brilliant charity helps to support disadvantaged young people aged 16 to 24 as they start their journey into the world with food boxes and the skills they need to feed themselves healthily and deliciously.
Food is of great importance and not everyone is taught at home, often because there's a generation of adults who rely on Chef Mike (ie, the microwave) to do the heavy lifting. Understanding what you're eating and the quality is so important, so we are very happy to have donated an amount of ground coffee to them to give these young people a taste of what coffee can be!
Choice
Choice is important to us
We can't bring all the coffees all the time however as the beans aren't always easy to source, aren't always available and as a small roastery we can't always compete with 'the big boys'
That's why we've got our 'core range' of coffees which are always available and are of the highest quality. These are our 'single origin' and 'signature collection' coffees.
So that we can focus on other bean varieties and blends we are putting together a Tasting Club for coffee which will allow you to try a small amount and get some information on pairings, roast styles and preferred brewing methods. This is done in partnership with our good friend Paul Burns who has a brilliant podcast called "From The Roast House, with Paul Burns"
To be first to find out when this subscription club is ready to launch, drop your details into the form below and we'll update you as soon as we have something to share!
We can't bring all the coffees all the time however as the beans aren't always easy to source, aren't always available and as a small roastery we can't always compete with 'the big boys'
That's why we've got our 'core range' of coffees which are always available and are of the highest quality. These are our 'single origin' and 'signature collection' coffees.
So that we can focus on other bean varieties and blends we are putting together a Tasting Club for coffee which will allow you to try a small amount and get some information on pairings, roast styles and preferred brewing methods. This is done in partnership with our good friend Paul Burns who has a brilliant podcast called "From The Roast House, with Paul Burns"
To be first to find out when this subscription club is ready to launch, drop your details into the form below and we'll update you as soon as we have something to share!
Our Customers
Enough about what we are doing, we are always listening to what you're interested in and how you see yourselves!
If theres anything you'd like to add to this description we'd absolutely love to hear from you, just send an email to us at hello@repodly.co.uk
From the extensive conversations we've had with you, our valued customers, you seem to follow a pattern in your values.
Existing customers have referred to themselves as change makers, quality conscious and environmentally minded. Future focussed is also mentioned. Our customers most value quality over convenience however, with numerous people telling us that they'd pay more if they had too for their favourite coffee as well as telling their friends to switch to us to see how coffee should taste!
If theres anything you'd like to add to this description we'd absolutely love to hear from you, just send an email to us at hello@repodly.co.uk
From the extensive conversations we've had with you, our valued customers, you seem to follow a pattern in your values.
Existing customers have referred to themselves as change makers, quality conscious and environmentally minded. Future focussed is also mentioned. Our customers most value quality over convenience however, with numerous people telling us that they'd pay more if they had too for their favourite coffee as well as telling their friends to switch to us to see how coffee should taste!