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Kansas City-based Coffeekris founder Kris Carlson says her green coffee business sold the equivalent of more than 10 containers in its first year, exceeding her cautious goal of one. The business represents 11 importing partners and connects roasters with their coffees; Carlson says clients pay the same prices as when buying directly from importers.
Kansas City-based Coffeekris founder Kris Carlson says her green coffee sourcing business sold the equivalent of more than 10 containers in its first year, exceeding her initial hope of selling one. In an interview published Oct. 21 by Daily Coffee News, Carlson described a model that connects roasters with coffees from 11 importing partners through one point of contact.
Coffeekris launched in 2025 after Carlson spent more than a decade working across cafes, roasting, wholesale, green coffee sales and sourcing. Rather than act as a conventional importer, the company represents a network of importing businesses and helps roasters explore their offerings. Carlson said importers compensate Coffeekris for referrals, while roaster clients pay the same prices they would by purchasing directly from those importers.
The portfolio includes suppliers such as Swift Coffee Sourcing, founded by Emily McIntyre; Optimist Coffee Traders, founded by former Mighty Peace Coffee co-founder Jim Ngokwey; and Benchmark Coffee Traders, founded by Vikram Patel. Carlson said she favors partners led by women and people from historically underrepresented groups, while keeping a range broad enough to serve buyers ordering from a few bags to commercial volumes.
According to Carlson, she began with a cautious first-year target of one container’s equivalent in sales, but Coffeekris exceeded 10. The interview does not independently verify that figure or define the precise sales period and accounting basis. Carlson said growth has not made starting a business easy and described herself as continuing to learn.
A Different Route to Green Coffee
Coffeekris offers roasters a way to access coffees from several specialized importers through a single sourcing contact, while Carlson says the arrangement does not add a price premium for her clients. That structure may be useful to buyers who want to compare offerings or work with multiple suppliers without beginning each relationship separately. The interview does not provide enough information to assess how widely the model is being adopted or how it affects prices across the market.
The business also puts Carlson’s stated emphasis on equitable sourcing relationships into a commercial setting. She argues that including people and businesses overlooked in a traditionally male-dominated industry can benefit the wider coffee trade. That is her view, not an independently measured outcome in the report. The first-year sales figure, if read as reported, indicates demand for Coffeekris’s service, but does not by itself establish the profitability or longer-term performance of the company.
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From Cafe Work to Sourcing
Carlson’s route into green coffee began in cafes. After moving back to Kansas City as a young adult, she worked at Take Five Coffee + Bar in Overland Park, which closed in 2015, and later joined Revocup Coffee Roasters, a Kansas City-area company founded by Ethiopians. Carlson said learning about coffee’s origins and the people involved in its production prompted her interest in understanding the global trading system and advocating for greater equity.
She later moved from bar work into management, roasting and wholesale, and took part in industry activities including the Glitter Cat Roaster program and U.S. Coffee Roasters Championship stage management. A 2022 Diedrich Roasters scholarship through the Coffee Roasters Guild was among the support she received. Her green coffee experience included work with Mighty Peace Coffee, which focused on the Democratic Republic of Congo and has since ceased operations, followed by Anthem Coffee Imports.
Carlson told Daily Coffee News that her work has included cupping and selecting lots and building relationships with producers and exporters across Latin America, East Africa and Asia. Coffeekris grew out of those connections and her experience working with importers and roasters.
“Unlike most brokers, I’m transparent. You know exactly who I’m working with, why, and where the coffee is coming from. There’s no gatekeeping knowledge.”
— Kris Carlson, speaking to Daily Coffee News
Sales and Model Details
The reported figure of more than 10 containers comes from Carlson; the source does not provide audited sales data, revenue, profit, or a breakdown by coffee volume. It also does not specify whether “containers” refers to shipped, contracted or otherwise equivalent quantities. The article reports that Coffeekris currently has 11 importing partners, but does not detail the terms of each agreement or how commissions are calculated.
The source material provides only the opening portion of Carlson’s response about what troubles her most about coffee. It includes her comments about sexism and missed opportunities but does not supply the full answer, so further claims about her views should not be inferred. No independent assessment of the company’s sourcing practices or the effects of its model is included.
Coffeekris’s Next Growth Stage
Carlson did not announce a new launch, target or expansion timetable in the interview. The immediate next step for Coffeekris is continued operation with its existing partner network, though the source does not set out specific plans. Further reporting could clarify the company’s sales basis, its commercial terms with importers, and how roasters evaluate the service compared with buying directly.
For now, Carlson’s account points to a business that has grown beyond its founder’s first-year expectation while remaining centered on relationships among importers, roasters and coffee producers. Whether sales growth continues, and whether the model can maintain its stated pricing and ethical commitments as it expands, remains to be seen.
Key Questions
What is Coffeekris?
Coffeekris is a green coffee sourcing business founded by Kris Carlson in Kansas City in 2025. It represents importing partners and helps roasters find coffees from their portfolios.
How much coffee did Coffeekris sell in its first year?
Carlson told Daily Coffee News that sales exceeded the equivalent of 10 containers, compared with her initial hope of one. The report does not independently verify the figure or define its accounting basis.
Do Coffeekris clients pay more for the coffee?
Carlson said roaster clients pay the same prices they would pay when buying directly from the importers. She said the importers compensate Coffeekris for making the connection.
How many importer partners does Coffeekris have?
The interview says the Coffeekris portfolio currently includes 11 importing partners. Named examples include Swift Coffee Sourcing, Optimist Coffee Traders and Benchmark Coffee Traders.
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