My name is Ian, and I am a co-owner of Daydrink, a coffee shop located in Iowa City, Iowa. Starting a business during the pandemic is a bit crazy, especially a business where you need customers to visit a physical location. After experiencing the thoughtfulness and passion that went into operating Daydrink, I decided to join the team as a co-owner.
I like the idea that you can build a sustainability-focused company in the middle of Iowa and still make a global impact. Since Daydrink has only used glass jars for to-go and retail containers, we’ve been able to help reduce single-use plastic in our community. We’ve also turned the local conversation around sustainability towards single-use, and we’ve proven that you can build an incredible, thoughtful company here in the Midwest.
Business Description
We’re a coffee shop. But, we like to think that we’re more than just a coffee shop. We offer a range of beverages, and we roast and sell our own coffee right here in Iowa City, Iowa. We occasionally have other products and merchandise that we sell at our physical location and online sales.
We started almost two years ago – during the pandemic – since no other coffee shop in the area was focused on sustainability for the entire supply chain. We wanted to fill this gap!
What is the Purpose of This Loan?
We’re applying for this loan to help accelerate some of our goals for this year. We are growing month-to-month, but a small loan through Kiva would open up a lot of doors for us.
If we can secure this loan, we could purchase a fridge with enough room to begin selling cold brew bottles at scale. We would also be able to purchase more coffee for our retail since we consistently run out so quickly, given the small batches we currently produce. A portion of this loan will allow us to upgrade our equipment in-house (a new espresso machine) and pay for some costs associated with marketing our products. The capital this loan would provide will help with much behind-the-scenes work and increase our customer experience immensely.