Lincoln & York invest £1m into high-speed line

The private label coffee roaster has announced it will be injecting £1m into its facilities at Brigg in North Lincolnshire, as it looks to double its business (in volume terms) by 2026.

Lincoln & York​​ has seen rapid growth since its inception in 1994; it is now one of the UK’s largest independent roasteries. Today, the company roasts more than 9,000 tons of coffee annually and supplies 150+ customers across 32 markets.

This latest investment follows more than £4m injected into the roastery over the last decade, including a 600kg roaster in 2014​​, a high-speed retail packing line, and new warehouse and storage facilities.

The business has also recently invested into a new coffee lab and innovation space where the team creates its bespoke blends and conducts quality checks. You can step inside the Briggs factory here, with our exclusive behind the scenes video. ​ ​

Reflecting on the roastery’s journey, managing director, Ian Bryson, said: “Over the last 30 years we have invested over £20m in the business to ensure we have the capability and capacity to scale, grow and adapt with our customers’ businesses, while delivering consistent quality across our roasting, blending and packing.”​

“When the UK coffee market exploded in the 1990s, we were ready to meet a rapidly increasing demand and today, as the number of coffee shops continues to grow, investing in our roastery remains a key priority.​

“However, our investment goes beyond equipment, and extends to our employees and their futures too. We now have 90 employees at Lincoln & York and we’re proud to have three of the UK’s 135 coffee Q Graders, the coffee equivalent of a sommelier, on the Lincoln & York team.”​

Last year Lincoln & York entered the Food Manufacture Excellence Awards, putting forward coffee apprentice Mollie Harvey for the Future Talent​​ prize. Harvey fought off tough competition, taking home the title in a ceremony held in early 2024.

Bryson added: “We also regularly invest in consumer insight, including conducting our own independent research, to support our customers with their business goals, meaning we are a trusted coffee partner rather than just a coffee supplier.”​

Lincoln & York has also been focusing on its impact and in 2023, the roastery gained its Carbon Neutral Roastery status. Moreover, it continues to support World Coffee Research, which is on track to launch 100 new arabica varieties by 2030 – crops grown to be more resilient to changing climates.   

The business has also been investing into the wider coffee supply chain and in collaboration with Omwani Coffee Company and Migoti Coffee, Lincoln & York is funding the construction of a community reservoir to provide clean drinking water to hundreds of families in the coffee-farming community of Kinama in Burundi.

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