From Waiting on Convertors to Printing Private Label Orders the Same Day
Epson ColorWorks removed one of the biggest bottlenecks in Wiara Coffee's growing private label business, giving the team the freedom to design and print labels exactly when orders arrive.
About Wiara Coffee
Founded in 2018, Wiara Coffee is a specialty coffee roastery based in Durbanville, Cape Town, focused on small-batch roasting for coffee lovers, restaurants, offices and businesses across South Africa.
Its green beans are sourced from Ethiopia, Rwanda, Burundi, Brazil and Colombia, with each origin bringing its own character to the roast.
Beyond roasting, Wiara offers wholesale supply to cafés, restaurants and offices, barista training, coffee equipment solutions and, significantly, private label or white label coffee for businesses wanting to sell under their own brand.
That private label side of the business is exactly where labelling became a bottleneck.
Minimum Orders, Long Lead Times and Running Out of Labels Mid-Production
Before bringing label printing in-house, Wiara ordered all its labels from a traditional label convertor.
Several different labels were required for Wiara's own blends, with additional unique labels needed for each private label customer. Minimum order quantities therefore made the arrangement increasingly expensive as the number of SKUs grew.
High minimum label order quantities
Wiara needed labels for its own blends plus separate artwork for private label customers. Ordering minimum quantities for every variation tied up money in printed stock and made smaller requirements expensive.
Long private label production lead times
When a private label customer placed an order, Wiara first had to design the label and then wait for a label convertor to produce it before the coffee could be supplied.
Running out of blend labels during production
On more than one occasion, Wiara ran out of labels for a particular blend before the replacement order arrived, disrupting the normal production process.
Special requests could not ship without a label
Roasted coffee could not simply be supplied without the correct packet label, meaning urgent and special-request orders sometimes had to wait for external label production.
Epson ColorWorks CW-C4000: One Label or Two Hundred, Printed On Demand
The Epson ColorWorks range was introduced to Wiara by Hugh Davies of Zelva Consulting, who identified the technology as a direct fit for Wiara's in-house label printing requirements.
After assessing the company's print volumes and available budget, the Epson ColorWorks CW-C4000 was selected to match Wiara's current requirements.
The key advantage was flexibility. Wiara could now produce anything from a single label to a couple of hundred, while supporting the wide variety of SKUs required by both its own coffee range and private label customers.
The Design Process Stayed the Same — Only the Waiting Disappeared
Wiara was already designing labels internally using Canva, so introducing Epson ColorWorks did not require a completely new design workflow.
The main difference is what happens after the design is finished. Instead of sending artwork to an external convertor and waiting for printed labels to arrive, the Wiara team can now print the finished artwork immediately.
Same-Day Private Label Turnaround — and a Printer That Earns Its Keep Elsewhere
The previous label production lead times have been eliminated entirely.
Urgent and short-notice customer requests can now be designed and printed immediately, materially improving the service Wiara can offer its customers.
This is particularly important on the white label and private label side of the business, which represents a large portion of Wiara's operation.
External label lead times eliminated
Wiara no longer has to wait for traditional convertor production before fulfilling label-dependent orders.
Same-day private label turnaround
A customer's label can be designed, printed, applied to the coffee packet and supplied quickly from the same in-house workflow.
No minimum order quantities
The team can print anything from one label to a couple of hundred depending on the actual order requirement.
Quick changes for new coffee origins
When beans are purchased from a new source, Wiara can create and print the corresponding label immediately.
No more running out of blend labels
Replacement labels can be printed internally whenever stock runs low, removing a previous production risk.
Additional applications discovered
The CW-C4000 is also used for company asset labels and shipping labels for outgoing orders.
Seamless Canva integration
The printer fits directly into the Canva-based label design process Wiara was already using.
Wiara Coffee
Specialty small-batch coffee roastery in Durbanville, Cape Town, supplying wholesale and private label coffee, barista training and equipment solutions across South Africa.
- Contact Ryno Turketti — Director
- Email ryno@wiaracoffee.co.za
- Phone +27 72 594 6701
- Website wiaracoffee.co.za
Zelva Consulting
The Epson ColorWorks solution was introduced to Wiara Coffee by Hugh Davies of Zelva Consulting, who helped identify the CW-C4000 as the right fit for Wiara's print volumes and available budget.
- Contact Hugh Davies
- Email hugh@zelva.co.za
- Phone 083 600 9951
- Website zelva.co.za
Turn Private Label Orders Around Faster with On-Demand Colour Printing
Epson ColorWorks allows businesses to produce professional full-colour labels exactly when they are needed — from a single label to hundreds — without waiting for external convertors or committing to unnecessary minimum order quantities.