It’s interesting because I’d guess (and this is a total guess) that the bigger money for small-medium sized roasters is in stocking local or nationwide cafes with a regular wholesale deal. I know one roaster that started this way. Through friends and connections they agreed to stock a handful of shops exclusively which allowed a level of security in starting the business.
However, as we’ve discussed at length, 99% of consumers probably don’t even know the coffee is good or bad, and likely to be an enormous improvement on the instant granules they drink at home.
Retail customers pay a higher price, but I’d still estimate that it makes up quite a small percentage of profits compared to wholesale which means the demand is actually coming from people who probably don’t know what good coffee is, rather than the other way round. Hence the perpetuality of mediocre coffee.
I guess what I’m saying is that in some ways, it’s more commercially viable to be mediocre than it is to be good.
Obviously there are roasters that are good either way, but I think the above might partly explain why there are so many that aren’t.
