Colombian Specialty Coffee Roastery

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Max Pruna, Founder of La Mulita Coffee, located in Rye, NH, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

La Mulita Coffee is a Colombian Coffee roastery focused on sourcing coffee from small (2-5 acres) to mid-size (5-15 acre) coffee farms in Colombia, the country where Andrea Pruna and I were born. We travel every year to Colombia to meet and visit the farms from where they buy coffee.

La Mulita Coffee buys specialty coffee that has been graded 84 points and above and roasted in small batches to guarantee freshness and great coffee flavor on every roast and cup they serve. La Mulita Coffee pays three times more per lb of green coffee for quality coffee beans, which in turn also helps coffee farmers have a better and well-deserved living. La Mulita Coffee customers are those who enjoy a nice cup of coffee and love to support a small business that has a sustainable approach.

Tell us about yourself

Max was born in the city of Medellin, Colombia. Coffee is a big part of Colombian culture, and it's introduced to everyone at an early age. His mom would serve "cafecito" (coffee with lots of milk and sugar) for breakfast, and it became a staple in his life; however, now he enjoys black with no sugar. Fast forward to 1999, he graduated from college, got married to his wife Andrea, and they both moved to New Hampshire to pursue their dreams - higher education in the USA - after a few years in the corporate world, his love for Colombia and coffee, accompanied by his desire to start his own company led him to found La Mulita Coffee Roasters.

The first year, coffee roasting took place from his home's garage, but after outgrowing that space, he decided to start searching for a commercial space in Portsmouth, NH, to launch his own Colombian coffee brand. I went through countless spaces, but after a year of not finding one that would comply with zoning regulations and not be outrageously expensive, I decided to start looking elsewhere. One morning as I was driving my kids to school, I noticed a new "for lease' sign at 15 Sagamore Road in Rye (formerly a floor fashion business), and without even looking at the inside, I knew that it would be a perfect spot for La Mulita Coffee Roastery.

The doors opened in Sept 2019, and shortly after Feb 2020, the doors had to be closed due to Corona Virus and only reopened in July 2020. Even though it was a roller coaster at the beginning (ups and downs), this year, things have really taken off. What motivated Max during those ups and downs was knowing every cup of coffee he served, or every bag of coffee he sold, was helping coffee farmers from Colombia have a better living.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

My biggest accomplishment thus far has been able to survive Corona Virus without any government stimulus money and less than a few months in business. It's hard to start any business, but it's harder when you start a hospitality business before a pandemic:)

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

There are many hard things that I've had to face in this short journey as an entrepreneur, but the most recent one has been adjusting to the new reality of high inflation. The steep increase in shipping costs and the delays in coffee shipping from Colombia to the USA has increased our cost by more than 30%. We've had to readjust our pricing to be able to keep in business and to be able to pay a fair and equitable price to the coffee farmers.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

Start small while you test your product, your market, and your cash flow before committing to a bigger investment; in other words, minimize your risk.
Determine clearly what your differentiator is/what makes you unique from other businesses. Find your unique offering and focus on it, don't try to be like the rest.
Know your financial numbers, measure and track the key performance indicators of your business, and if the numbers are not working in the first year, try to pivot to go in another direction that allows you to grow or close, don't fall into the trap of trying to make something better when it's not working.

We would like to let everyone know we ship bags of freshly roasted coffee across the US, so if anyone is interested in having a great cup of Colombian coffee, don't hesitate to visit our website www.lamulitacoffee.com to find out more.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://lamulitacoffee.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lamulitacoffee
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lamulitacoffee/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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