It all began with Dr. Boris Häfele and Philip Müller, united by a shared passion for fine coffee that had lasted many years and was celebrated in regular joint tastings of their latest discoveries. They had long since discovered many outstanding roasters, whether in Munich, Hamburg or Rome. The challenge was always getting hold of the local specialities.

They had long observed their own high standards for good coffee increasingly reflected in others. A steadily growing desire for premium coffee products – the kind you simply cannot find in a supermarket – had gone unmet. The idea was born: create a platform bringing together all the top roasters to deliver real added value for coffee lovers. In 2014, Dr. Boris Häfele and Philip Müller founded Roast Market UG, funded entirely with their own capital.

A coffee tour across Germany and Italy began. The mission: find all the top roasters and win them over to the roastmarket idea, build partnerships and open up the coffee scene one cup at a time. In a small office in a Frankfurt storage room – where a table tennis table served as the meeting table – the online shop was launched by a team of just three: both founders and one warehouse employee. But the search for great roasters was only the beginning.

Every coffee lover should be able to find the perfect roast, so more partners needed to come on board. The roasters were won over by a platform that finally gave their coffees the attention they deserved. The considered approach of the founders convinced the first experienced investors as early as 2016, and with their support the continuous development was driven forward. In 2017 the office moved to Frankfurt city centre. Growing demand, rising order numbers and an expanding range made a move to a dedicated warehouse necessary in 2019 – after a first doubling of storage space in 2018. An indescribable moment of confirmation that the start-up idea launched in 2014 was capturing people’s hearts.

Knowing that roastmarket was on the right path, 2019 was the moment for co-founder Philip Müller to step back from day-to-day operations and support roastmarket going forward as an advisory board member. In the person of Dr. Gisbert Grasses, an experienced figure had already been brought on board as an additional managing director in 2018. From 2019, he and Boris led the team in a dual leadership structure, enabling a future-facing coffee world together with an innovative and dynamic team of coffee lovers. In 2021 the steadily growing team of coffee enthusiasts moved into a larger office on Stephanstraße, celebrated fittingly with several barbecue parties on the rooftop terrace.

2022 marks an exciting new chapter for roastmarket: with the acquisition by Melitta and Burda subsidiary TEC, Dr. Stefan Scholle takes over as managing director, bringing the highest level of expertise in the coffee market and plans for the first steps towards international expansion. Boris Häfele and Gisbert Grasses hand over roastmarket with pride and great expectations, stepping back from day-to-day operations. The coffee start-up sets out on new, focused paths to bring the joy of exceptional coffee to even more lovers of the brew around the world. On the exciting journey towards international markets, Maike Geilfus joins in 2023 as the new CCO, strengthening the management team alongside Stefan Scholle, after Isis Abou-Aly pursues new professional paths. Her years of experience and expertise in international e-commerce support the company’s goal of reaching new coffee markets beyond Germany and continuing to grow. After Stefan Scholle laid the foundation for our success, he steps down on 30/09/24. We pass the baton to new leadership to continue writing our story digitally and internationally.