Normal Wholesale Collective
Normal Roasting Company is more than a specialty coffee roaster. Alongside direct-to-consumer sales, they serve a growing collective of independently owned coffee shops across Nebraska, South Dakota, Iowa, and Kansas — many rooted in small, rural communities.
These shops are more than accounts. They’re gathering places. Fuel for long days in the fields. Gift shops for neighbors down the road. Community anchors in towns that rely on connection.
As Marketing Director, I saw an opportunity: instead of simply promoting our coffee, we could spotlight where it lives — inside the spaces and stories of our wholesale partners.
This became the foundation for the Normal Wholesale Collective storytelling campaign.
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The Ask
We needed to:
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Increase awareness of Normal Roasting Company as a trusted Midwest wholesaler
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Strengthen relationships with existing wholesale partners
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Attract new coffee shop owners to the Collective
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Differentiate ourselves beyond “quality coffee” messaging
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Connect emotionally with both B2B and B2C audiences
Rather than saying:
“We’re a great wholesaler.”
We asked:
How do we show it?
The Idea
Tell their stories.
I traveled to select Wholesale Collective shops across the Midwest to:
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Photograph their baristas in action
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Capture customers gathering over coffee
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Document their spaces and culture
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Interview shop owners about their journey
Instead of positioning ourselves as the hero, we positioned our partners as the hero — and Normal as the thread connecting these small-town stories.
This approach accomplished three strategic goals:
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Showed where our coffee goes
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Elevated our wholesale partners with professional marketing collateral
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Positioned Normal as a community-centered, relationship-driven roaster
We shifted from product-first marketing to people-first storytelling
Dragonfly Bakery
Execution
This wasn’t a one-time post. It was a replicable storytelling framework.
1
On-Site Storytelling
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Traveled to wholesale partner locations
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Conducted owner interviews
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Captured lifestyle and operational photography
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Documented authentic moments of connection and craft
2
Multi-Channel Content Series
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2–3 part social media storytelling series per shop
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Long-form blog features highlighting each owner’s story
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Dedicated email spotlights to our subscriber list
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Print collateral for in-store use
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Testimonials collected for future marketing use
3
Cross-Promotion Strategy
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Collaborative posting with featured shops
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Mutual tagging and audience sharing
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Encouraged partners to use provided photography and storytelling assets
Results
01
Significant increase in social engagement during each feature series
03
Higher-than-average email open and click-through rates driven by narrative storytellin
05
Strengthened loyalty and relational equity within the Wholesale Collective
02
Growth in followers due to cross-promotion and shared audiences
04
Valuable testimonials from shop owners used across website and future campaigns
06
Long-term marketing assets that can be used year-round — while making wholesale partners feel seen, valued, and celebrated.
The
Hatchery
