Munich Startup: What does your startup do? What problem do you solve?
Volker Meyer-Lücke; Founder and CEO: Our goal with Alrighty is to take specialty coffee out of its niche and make the industry fairer and more socially responsible. To achieve this, we promote Underdogs in coffee and place a special focus on protecting diversity. This is because the coffee sector is unfair and faces various challenges – a lack of transparency, structural discrimination, environmental protection, and the effects of climate change, to name just a few. The current generation of coffee growers is aging and struggling to find new recruits. Women generally have little chance of success in the industry. Many African countries are being left behind by major coffee exporters like Brazil and Vietnam. The bottom line is that fewer and fewer producers and countries of origin are involved. This leads to less diversity – both in the industry and in taste – and to the loss of livelihoods in the coffee-producing countries.
Coffee reimagined
Munich Startup: But that's been around for a long time!
Volker Meyer-Lücke: With Alrighty, we want to rethink coffee holistically. To achieve this, we developed the Caretrade philosophy, supporting those who have previously had relatively fewer opportunities in the coffee industry: young farmers, women, and farmers from Africa. Every Alrighty bean is sourced responsibly – ecologically, economically, and socially. All farmers use tools such as soil analysis, coffee field diversification, and shade farming, thus contributing to environmentally sustainable agriculture. We consistently pay fair prices, significantly higher than the market price, to provide farmers with a secure livelihood. We also actively combat the gender gap and structural and geographical discrimination.
We avoid aluminum in our packaging and use only single-use plastics to ensure it's recyclable. We've also opened the first Alrighty roastery in Munich, where the focus is clearly on innovation and sustainability, with a unique, resource-efficient energy supply for the roasters. The roastery is also a café and an event location where coffee-related events take place regularly. Together, we want to positively change the industry, have fun, and educate – without pointing the finger.
A brand that's fun
Munich Startup: What is your founding story?
Volker Meyer-Lücke: We all have a background in the beverage world, share a passionate enthusiasm for coffee, and are committed to putting the people involved in coffee cultivation at the center. My co-founder, Daniel Rizzotti, has over two decades of experience in marketing and sales in retail and the hospitality industry – including at Dallmayr, where we first met. After beginning my coffee career in 1988 at a coffee roaster in Bremen, I was an authorized signatory at Dallmayr from 2000 to 2022. Our third co-founder, Sebastian Kroth, who previously worked in marketing at The Coca-Cola Company for 13 years, also has a great passion for coffee, always takes a fresh look at our topics, and enriches our team with a new perspective. Together, we want to rethink coffee with Alrighty, make specialty coffee accessible to the mainstream, and create a brand that's fun – without sacrificing quality or attitude.
Problems on the coffee market
Munich Startup: What have been your biggest challenges so far?
Volker Meyer-Lücke: The biggest challenge was building a company from scratch – from building the physical infrastructure to distributing the finished product. At the moment, the coffee market is more challenging than I've ever experienced in 35 years. This makes sourcing coffee significantly more complex and difficult. Furthermore, the European Zero-Deforestation Supply Chain Regulation (EUDR) will change the market. This means that, to protect the climate and biodiversity, from January 1, 2025, companies must ensure that forests are neither deforested nor damaged for imported products such as cocoa, soy, or coffee that are sold in the EU. This is an important step for protecting the environment.
At the same time, this means that for every coffee intended for the European market, the exact plot of land where it was grown must be documented. This poses existential challenges, particularly for smallholders in fragmented coffee-growing regions such as Ethiopia or Kenya, because local trade and marketing structures often make it difficult or even impossible to determine the exact origin of the beans. If the directive is not amended, it will make sourcing coffee even more difficult, especially from the underdogs we support.
Alrighty wants to take specialty coffee out of the niche
Munich Startup: Where would you like to be in one year, where in five years?
Volker Meyer-Lücke: Our overarching goal is to bring high-quality, responsibly grown specialty coffee out of the niche and into everyday life. Within a year, we aim to further strengthen our presence in retail and the hospitality industry. In five years, we see a sales potential of between 50 and 100 million euros, which corresponds to an annual production volume of up to 5,000 tons.
Munich Startup: How have you experienced Munich as a startup location so far?
Volker Meyer-Lücke: We feel Munich – and especially our location in the Werksviertel – the ideal location. Factory district is a vibrant spot, is one of the most ambitious construction projects and is green, urban and sustainable – which fits perfectly with our philosophy.
Munich Startup: Risk or security?
Volker Meyer-Lücke: Going from being an employee to self-employed is probably always a bigger risk. But life is full of risks, and in my opinion, you should always follow your convictions.
