Adelaide cafe’s coffee subscription thrives despite industry struggling through ‘tough time’

The three-month trial for a metropolitan cafe owner’s trailblazing coffee subscription model has ended with surprising results. See how it fared and what the future holds.

Nick Young is a young business owner that has been running a coffee subscription service at his three cafes for a three month trial period. The trial is up and they’re planning to keep it going as it’s done the business really well. Picture: Tim Joy

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Three hundred South Aussies have joined coffee subscriptions at three Adelaide cafes over the last three months and business is booming, despite a “tough time” for hospitality.

Nick Young founded the Social Coffee brand with his partner Emma Roberts in February, 2023, starting up a community cafe in Unley.

The business has grown to three coffee shops and a coffee roasting operation in the Adelaide Hills since.

Nick Young at Please Say Please, one of his three cafes running the coffee subscription scheme. Picture: Tim Joy

Mr Young started a Netflix-like subscription service in February, offering unlimited coffees for $13 a week, or $50 a month, at his Unley, Gilbert St and Grenfell St cafes, but that changed pretty quickly.

“We underestimated how much people like their coffee,” Mr Young said.

“It was $13, but now it’s $18 (per week), we had it priced wrong.

“We just needed to adjust it so it would balance and work sustainably.”

Upon activating the service, the cafes doubled in coffee sales “overnight”, Mr Young said.

He said that finances for the business had been positive, even though “hospitality is going through a tough time”.

With the three-month subscription trial period almost up, Mr Young said he did not plan on stopping the business model “anytime soon”.

“It’s been great,” he said.

Nick Young at Unley Social in the early days of the subscription. Picture: Dean Martin

“We’re about building community and this is one of the ways we want to engage that.

“We’re not here for the quick sale but to partner with the customers.

“It’s not about making money, it’s about a place away from home and work where you can get good food and good coffee.”

Mr Young said there had been “so much ongoing feedback” since introducing the subscription, and it had been resoundingly positive.

Though he is currently juggling three cafes, Mr Young said he did not know what the future would bring for him or the Social Coffee brand, but expansion could be an ongoing discussion.

“This time last year I said no more cafes and now we have a third,” he said.

“Never say never.”

Originally published as Adelaide cafe’s coffee subscription thrives despite industry struggling through ‘tough time’