Crowdfunders told to expect loss as Peoples Coffee sold

Peoples Coffee was launched in Wellington two decades ago. (Image: Independent Agent)

Thu, 14 Aug 2025

Peoples Coffee has been bought by a competitor two and a half years after it had crowdfunded to compete in the supermarket wholesale market. In late July, the company’s 218 investors received an email from Peoples Coffee’s founder and managing director, Matt Lamason, telling them “with a heavy heart” that he had sold the brand to fellow Wellington roaster Karamu Coffee.“Regrettably, there is no financial return,” Lamason wrote in the letter, which was shared with BusinessDesk. He acknowledged that i...

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