Workshop Description: Many coffee entrepreneurs start with passion, product knowledge, and a strong vision, but turning a coffee business into a sustainable and scalable company requires structure, strategy, and clear decision - making.
This hands-on beginner-level workshop is designed for coffee shop owners, roasters, producers, early-stage entrepreneurs, and coffee professionals who want to better understand how to grow their business in a changing and increasingly competitive coffee market. Led by Lukasz Mrowinski, former CEO and co-founder of Etno Cafe, the largest Polish-originated coffee shop chain, the session will introduce participants to practical business tools used in growth strategy, partnerships, financing, operations, and market positioning.
Using real-world examples and simple frameworks, participants will explore the key questions every growing coffee business should answer: Who is my customer? What makes my business different? Which growth path is realistic for me? How do I improve profitability before scaling? When should I consider partners, investors, or new locations?
The workshop will follow Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle, combining reflection, discussion, simple exercises, peer exchange, and practical planning. Participants will not need prior knowledge of M&A, venture capital, or private equity. Instead, these concepts will be introduced in an easy-to-understand way, showing how they may become relevant as a business grows.
By the end of the workshop, attendees will leave with a first version of a practical growth roadmap, including short-term priorities, key business risks, and possible next steps for building a stronger, more resilient coffee business.
This workshop is ideal for beginners, early-stage coffee entrepreneurs, small business owners, aspiring founders, and coffee professionals who want to move from passion to structured business growth.
Learning Objectives:
Understand the Foundations of Coffee Business Growth
Participants will learn the basic elements that make a coffee business ready for growth, including customer positioning, product offer, pricing, profitability, operations, and brand clarity.
Identify Realistic Growth Opportunities
Attendees will explore different beginner-friendly paths to growth, such as improving current operations, increasing sales, developing new channels, opening another location, building partnerships, or preparing for future investment.
Build a Simple Growth Roadmap
Participants will create a first practical roadmap for their own business or business idea, identifying short-term priorities, long-term opportunities, key risks, and actions they can take immediately after the workshop.
Learn How to Grow Without Losing Brand Identity
The workshop will help participants understand how to expand carefully while preserving quality, customer trust, team culture, and the unique character of their coffee business.
Date: Friday, June 26, 2026
Time: 14:00 - 16:30
Location: Room 1121
REGISTRATION FEES: €150.00
Booking: To book your place in this Workshop, head to the World of Coffee Brussels Registration & Booking Portal and add a session to your order. Already registered? Simply log in using the credentials created at purchase to access your booking and add other paid events to your badge.
Instructor
Lukasz Mrowinski
Speaker, The Coffee Fund
Lukasz Mrowinski, former co-founder and CEO of Etno Cafe, a Polish coffee brand with 28 cafes in major cities such as Warsaw and Wrocław.
Founded in 2012, Etno Cafe quickly became the largest Polish-originated cafe chain and craft coffee roastery, pioneering bottled Cold Brew Coffee production in Europe.
Under his leadership, Etno Cafe introduced many innovations, including a unique business model or mobile app for Click&Collect ordering, which boosted its recognition in the Financial Times FT 1000 ranking of 2020, securing 196th place among European companies and 7th in Food & Beverages.
Etno Cafe experienced growth through organic expansion and strategic M&A deals, leveraging investor funds for development.
In April 2022, Lukasz exited Etno Cafe to pursue M&A ventures, joining the Harbour Club. This organization offers practical insights and strategies for entrepreneurs seeking to acquire, revitalize, and divest businesses, challenging the notion that significant upfront capital is necessary for successful acquisitions.
Since May 2020, Lukasz has also been hosting the Coffee On Air podcast.
Before joining the coffee industry, Łukasz was a lawyer and tax advisor for over 12 years, including 6 years at KPMG and 3 years at Credit Agricole.