Mystic Monk Coffee aims to purchase an $8.9 million ranch to recreate Mount Carmel. They plan to increase coffee production through a new roaster producing 130 pounds per hour. However, their current sales of around $75,000 per year and 11% net profit margins will not be enough to afford the property. While expanding sales to churches and shops, increased production and reduced costs are needed to generate sufficient income for their goals. Donations have also helped the monks obtain land for their monastery.

1. The vision for Mystic Monk Coffee is to make enough money to buy a nearby ranch that
is listed for $8.9 million in order to re-create Mount Carmel in the U.S. Rocky Mountains to do
this they plan on selling more coffee. Besides this idea to increase coffee production in part by
buying a new roaster that will produce 130-pounds-per-hour there is no long-term or short-term
goals for Mystic Monk Coffee. The coffee sales are their only means of support from the outside
world that would be able to help them provide financial resources to purchase the land along
with any donation that they receive.
Mystic Monk Coffee’s strategy by targeting the catholic population is a good way to
making profits for now, but the operation will need to expand if they want to reach their
fundraising goal. Its business model is selling to individuals on its website and occasional phone
orders. It has recently just expanded its business model by selling wholesale to churches and
local coffee shops. Mystic Monk Coffee’s customer value proposition is based on the top benefit
to its target customer stating that they can “use their Catholic coffee dollar for Christ and his
Catholic church.” They are also receiving high value coffee beans that are bought at fair trade
value.
A SWOT analysis for Mystic Monk Coffee shows that their strengths are in the fact that
they use high-quality fair trade/organic Arabica coffee beans. By offering a variety of blends,
roasts, and flavors they are able to appeal to wider range of coffee drinker preferences. Their
website also features other items for sale such as T-shirts, gift cards, CDs and coffee mugs.
Their weaknesses include the fact they are limited in production to 540 pounds-a-day
until they get the new roaster. Another issue is that they are limited by time that is devoted to

2. prayer, silent meditation and worship which only give each monk the potential to work for up to
six hours a day.
The opportunities that Mystic Monk Coffee has in its unique approach toward coffee in
that they are marketing towards the U.S. Catholic population who drink coffee and want to
support the monastery’s mission . The other opportunity is presented in other coffee drinkers
who are not necessarily Catholic, but are concerned about their health and social concerns. Since
about 30 million coffee drinkers in the United States preferred premium-quality specialty coffee
there is a huge opportunity for sales there.
For threats there is basic competition and some people may not want to purchase Mystic
Monk Coffee based on its religious background and meaning.
While Mystic Monk Coffee has a lot of attractive quantities with its differential features
and competitive pricing they are able to create a strong customer value proposition. I do see a lot
of problems with its current sales and 11 percent net profit margin as not being able to generate
$8.9 million in earnings within a reasonable enough time frame in order to purchase the property
that they want. Even with the new larger roaster daily production would increase but this would
be limited since each monk can only work up to 6 hours a day. While Mystic Monk Coffee does
have somewhat of a basic business plan it is severely limited.
By revising the business plan and by relying on about half of the purchase cost of the
$8.9 million to come from donations. Father Daniel Mary should also utilize the resources
available to him from the Catholic Church to find major donors willing to contribute in the
creation of the New Mount Carmel.

3. Its profit formula = Sales – (total cost of goods sold + operating expenses + affiliate
commissions). Currently without the new larger roaster they make an average net profit margin
of $6,215 per month. The 540 pounds-per-day could be put in 12 ounce bag this would average
about 45 bags of coffee per day that could be sold. These 45 bags could give profits up to $448
per day.
With the purchase of the new roaster this would increase to 780 pounds-per-day based on
the 6 hour per day work limit. This level of production would allow Mystic Monk Coffee
increase its sales by a factor of 6. By taking their current annual profits of $75,000 and
multiplying it by the factor of 6 we could project an annual profit of $450,000 provided that
demand could be increased to match the 6-hour capacity of the larger roaster. With this increase
in production Mystic Monk Coffee should be able to negotiate better terms with suppliers,
shippers and the coffee broker to get the costs of goods sold to go down from 52 percent to about
48 percent because of this volume increase. Economies of scale will play in role in lowering
operating expenses from 37 percent to about 33 percent since the overall cost per unit will be
decreasing with the new number of units being produced.
An increase in production would cause the net profit margin to increase from 11 percent
to 15-19 percent this improvement in the margins would result in an annual income for Mystic
Monk Coffee of $566,000-$717,500. In regards to the 18 percent commission that is paid to
affiliate Web sites it would be beneficial for Mystic Monk Coffee to stop doing business with
these sites or drastically reduce the commission percentage paid since the current 18 percent
commission cannot be supported. Other ways to gain business is to send e-mails to Catholic
churches in the U.S. asking that Mystic Monk Coffee be used for their church events and that
parish members be told of the Mystic Monk Coffee Internet coffee sales. Provide churches that

4. purchase Mystic Monk Coffee with a sign that promotes their website that can be placed near a
coffee urn. Mystic Monk Coffee could even obtain permission to place banner ads or links on
church and parish websites. Promote the Wyoming Carmelite’s vision of a new Mount Carmel
and try to get Mystic Monk Coffee served at Catholic religious conferences.
While they were unable to get the property near Irma Lake they were able to obtain a
different property due to the support of donations and coffee sales. The success of their
foundation website has also helped them in being able to reach their goal. “Thanks to the
generosity of many benefactors, the New Mount Carmel Foundation was able to purchase a
solitary, beautiful ranch at the end of a private road near Meeteetse, Wyoming, in 2010” (New
Mount Carmel Foundation, Inc., 2013). While they have been able to get the land that they
wanted they still need a lot of support with the sales of their coffee. According to a blog posting
on WordPress from John Zuhlsdorf August 11, 2015 he wrote that “their plans are well under
way, and should be extraordinary when finished. The monks themselves continue to assist in the
work of construction, especially the stone masonry. It’s amazing to think that so much has been
built in just over a year. I believe they are hoping to be finished in a little over three years.
They’ve also said that their coffee sales have gone a large way to paying off their expenses.” I
am glad they were able to get the property they wanted but continued support and an increase in
awareness for them is still important.
New Mount Carmel Foundation, Inc. (2013). Welcome to The New Mount Carmel. Retrieved
from
http://www.newmountcarmelfoundation.org/
Zuhlsdorf, J. (2015, August 11). Wyoming “Mystic Monk Coffee” Carmelites – Progress with

5. their monastery! Retrieved from
http://wdtprs.com/blog/2015/08/wyoming-mystic-monk-coffee-carmelites-progress-with-
their-monastery/

6. their monastery! Retrieved from
http://wdtprs.com/blog/2015/08/wyoming-mystic-monk-coffee-carmelites-progress-with-
their-monastery/