Case Study Harness Michelle Tagler Canned Coffee Scale • Active: Customer Website
Freshness Limit: 48-72h JIT
Select Operational View:
Test Pickup Date Shifts (200 Can/Day Capacity Spill):
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☕️ Handcrafted in Northwest Indiana • Canned Fresh with 2 Real Espresso Shots • Locations: Michigan City (Direct Walk-In) • La Porte (+2h) • Hammond (+6h) Order Catering Below ↓
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THE BREW BOX
CRAFT COFFEE & CANNED DRINK BAR
Famous Farmers Market Cans • Now Booking Catering

Handcrafted Canned Lattes & Cold Brews, Canned Fresh For Your Event.

Every single latte features two freshly pulled shots of specialty espresso with your choice of organic whole milk, lactose-free Fairlife, or barista oat milk and in-house syrups. Zero artificial preservatives. Because our coffee is completely fresh, we mathematically calculate the earliest pickup date to ensure your batch is canned within 24 hours of pickup.

2 Shots Fresh Espresso per Can
Lactose-Free (Fairlife) & Oat Options
Michigan City (Direct) • La Porte (+2h) • Hammond (+6h)
Strict 48–72h Freshness Guarantee
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Handcrafted Canned Coffee Menu

Configure your milk preference, select quantity (1–5 or +6, +12, +24), and add multiple variants of any drink to your cart.

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Kitchen Production & Weekend Batch Dispatch

Central Commissary Hub • Batch #24-09D (Saturday Morning Run) • Real-Time Recipe BOM & SMS Dispatch

Active Batch Queue
246 Cans
120 Market + 126 Catering Cans
Espresso Extraction
9.74 lbs
492 double shots pulled (High-TDS)
Fresh Milk Consumed
9.38 Gals
Fairlife (4.1g), Oat (1.5g), Whole (3.8g)
202 Can Ends in Pantry
174 Left
246 seamed • Reorder alert active
Weekend Orders & Packout Tickets:
0 / 6 Orders Dispatched
Active Batch Recipe BOM Consumed:
Batch #24-09D
Raw Ingredient Formula / Can Consumed in Batch
Remaining Pantry Inventory:
Live Post-Batch Levels
Live Dispatch & SMS Activity:
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Manager Command Center

Pantry depletion tracking, automated supplier PO drafts, and margin analytics

Raw Ingredient Inventory Meters:
Specialty Roasted Coffee Beans 38.5 lbs / 50 lbs (Safe)
Fairlife Lactose-Free & Barista Oat Milk 12.5 gals / 25 gals (Order Soon)
202 Easy-Open Can Ends 420 units / 2,000 sleeve (CRITICAL)
Hub Transit & Shelf-Life Configuration
Michigan City (920 Franklin St): Direct Walk-In (0h Transit)
Downtown Delights (La Porte): +2 Hours Transit Buffer
The Brew Box (Hammond): +6 Hours Courier Route
Financial Intelligence

Working Financial Model & Dual-Build Economics

Granular real-world accounting comparing Michelle's current retail café constraints against a scaled, automated commissary hub.

Scenarios:
Material COGS / Can
$1.98
Beans ($0.58) + Milk ($0.32) + Syrup ($0.55) + Can/End ($0.47)
Direct Labor / Can
$0.87
157s / can (1.45x café multitasking drag)
Gross Contribution Margin
56.2%
$3.65 unit contribution @ $6.50 retail
Monthly Net EBITDA
$4,424/mo
$53,088 annualized bottom line
1. Pricing & Production Volume
Average Retail Price ($/can): $6.50 / can
Weekly Production Output: 400 cans / wk
As-is Michigan City café ceiling is hard-capped at 400 cans/wk due to Thu/Fri retail multitasking.
2. Direct Material Recipe BOM
Espresso Beans ($/lb roasted): $14.50 / lb
18.0g double espresso pull per can (0.0397 lbs)
Dairy / Oat / Lactose-Free Milk ($/gal): $4.80 / gal
8.5 fluid oz blend per 12oz can (0.0664 gal)
Craft Syrups & Spices ($/can): $0.55 / can
12oz Can + 202 End + Label ($/unit): $0.465 / unit
3. Labor & Equipment Automation
Burdened Labor Wage ($/hr): $20.00 / hr
Targeted Machine Upgrades (Cycle Time Reductions):
4. Facility Overhead & Logistics
Facility Lease / Rent ($/mo): $625 / mo
Build 1: $625 (25% MC café) | Build 2: $950 (Downtown Delights commissary)
Utilities & Walk-in Cold Storage ($/mo): $250 / mo
Equipment Depreciation & Maintenance ($/mo): $180 / mo
Tri-City Inter-Store Transit Logistics ($/mo): $0 / mo
Refrigerated shuttle connecting La Porte ↔ MC ↔ Hammond
Financial Line Item & Operational Driver Build 1: MC Café (As-Is: 400 Cans/Wk) Build 2: La Porte Hub (Optimized / Scaled) Variance / Strategic Impact
1. Production Volume & Gross Revenue
Weekly Can Output 400 cans / wk (Hard Ceiling) 800 cans / wk +100% capacity lift
Monthly Can Output (4.33 weeks/mo) 1,733 cans / mo 3,467 cans / mo Tri-city network reach
Gross Monthly Revenue (@ $6.50 retail avg) $11,265 / mo $22,536 / mo +$11,271 / mo (+100%)
2. Direct Materials (COGS)
Specialty Espresso Beans ($14.50/lb vs bulk) ($996 / mo) • $0.575/can ($1,678 / mo) • $0.484/can Bulk 50lb sacks (-16%)
Organic / Lactose-Free Dairy Blend ($4.80/gal) ($553 / mo) • $0.319/can ($898 / mo) • $0.259/can Dairy distributor direct
Craft Syrups & Spices ($0.55/can) ($957 / mo) • $0.552/can ($1,109 / mo) • $0.320/can In-house batch simple syrups
12oz Sleek Cans + 202 Ends + Vinyl Labels ($806 / mo) • $0.465/can ($1,120 / mo) • $0.323/can 3,000-can pallet tiers (-30%)
Purge, Fill Spill & Seam Reject Buffer ($116 / mo) • 3.5% decay ($52 / mo) • 1.0% decay Pneumatic rotary precision
Total Direct Material Cost (BOM) ($3,428 / mo) • $1.98/can ($4,857 / mo) • $1.40/can -$0.58 / can savings (-29%)
3. Direct Production Labor
Labor Hours / 100 Cans (Cycle Time) 4.36 hrs / 100 cans (157s / can) 0.92 hrs / 100 cans (33s / can) Eliminates extraction choke
Total Production Labor Hours / Month 75.5 hrs / mo (Café chaos) 31.9 hrs / mo (Dedicated flow) -43.6 hrs / mo saved (-58%)
Burdened Production Labor Cost (@ $20/hr) ($1,510 / mo) • $0.87/can ($638 / mo) • $0.18/can -$0.69 / can labor (-79%)
GROSS CONTRIBUTION MARGIN $6,327 / mo (56.2%) $17,041 / mo (75.6%) +$10,714 / mo (+169%)
4. Operating Expenses (OPEX) & Facilities
Facility Lease / Kitchen Rent ($625 / mo) • 25% MC café ($950 / mo) • Delights commissary Dedicated uninterrupted kitchen
Utilities, Water & Walk-in Cold Storage ($250 / mo) ($300 / mo) Submetered commercial coolers
Equipment Depreciation & Tooling Amortization ($180 / mo) ($320 / mo) $10.2k turnkey gear / 36 mo
Tri-City Route Transit & Fuel (MC ↔ LP ↔ Ham) $0 / mo (Local only) ($450 / mo) Refrigerated van logistics
Perishable Spoilage (Freshness decay at 3-day limit) ($451 / mo) • 4.0% decay ($270 / mo) • 1.2% decay Brew Box OS JIT pre-orders
Merchant Card Processing (2.6% + $0.15) ($397 / mo) ($685 / mo) SAQ-A secure hosted checkout
Total Operating Expenses (OPEX) ($1,903 / mo) ($2,975 / mo) +56% fixed overhead scale
NET OPERATING PROFIT (EBITDA) $4,424 / mo $14,066 / mo +$9,642 / mo (+218% lift)
Net Operating Margin % 39.3% 62.4% +23.1 percentage points
Net Operating Profit / Can $2.55 / can $4.06 / can +$1.51 more profit per can
Demand Engineering

Multi-Channel Demand Levers & Empirical Curve

Isolate growth channels, model crosstalk cannibalization, and balance Mon–Sun production shifts to prevent weekend sellouts.

Aggregate: 1,540 Cans/Wk
Crosstalk & Empirical Interaction Diagnostics:
1. Cannibalization vs. Walk-Up Market Demand: VIP Reserve is isolated (<200 cans). 0% impulse walk-up displacement.
Low Risk
2. Weekend Production Choke Warning: Weekend demand requires 680 cans. Safely smoothed across Thu/Fri commissary shifts.
Capacity Stable
3. Weekday Production Smoothing Index: 52% of weekly volume prepped Mon–Wed via Corporate & Commuter drops. Weekend crunch eliminated.
52% Balanced
Weddings, beach clubs & corporate events (24/48-can flats booked 48h in advance).
+320 Cans/Wk
Thu: 60 Fri: 100 Sat: 120 Sun: 40 AOV: $156.00
Pre-pay by Friday 6PM. Captures the 35% who arrive after 11AM early sellout.
+160 Cans/Wk
Sat: 90 Sun: 70 Zero Spoilage
Recurring Tue/Wed subscription drops to law firms & clinics in MC and La Porte.
+220 Cans/Wk
Tue: 120 Wed: 100 Fills Weekday Valley!
Co-branded Affogato kits and front display cooler capturing evening dessert foot traffic.
+180 Cans/Wk
Wed: 30 Thu: 30 Fri: 40 Sat: 40 Sun: 40
Pricing shift to 4-packs ($24) / 6-packs ($34) + limited-time flavors (Biscoff, Apple Crisp).
+140 Cans/Wk
Fri: 30 Sat: 60 Sun: 50 2.2x Unit Volume Lift
Scheduled courier drop (+6h transit) to 5231 Hohman Ave serving Chicago commuters.
+120 Cans/Wk
Mon: 30 Tue: 30 Wed: 30 Thu: 30
Mon–Sun Empirical Demand & Production Balancing
Shows how growth levers fill the Monday–Thursday valley and expand total throughput beyond the 400-can weekend wall.
Gray: As-Is Baseline (400)
Amber: Lever Projected
Red Line: 200/day As-Is Cap
Blue Line: 400/day Hub Cap
Shift Cadence & 72-Hour Freshness Compliance Schedule:
Day of Week Projected Demand Primary Growth Drivers Dedicated Prep Shift (Build 2 Commissary) Freshness Window Status
Industrial Engineering

Bottleneck Engineering & Machinery Automation ROI

Eliminating the 2-shot espresso extraction and manual seamer cycle time ceilings to scale from 400 to 2,400 cans/wk.

Suite Payback: 5.8 Months ($10,200 Capex)
1. Espresso Extraction

Commercial pressurized batch espresso extractor cuts cycle from 53.3 min to 12.0 min/100 cans.

Investment: $4,500
Payback: 5.5 Mo • Saves 40.8 hrs/mo
2. Oktober Model 8 Seamer

Pneumatic rotary seamer expands from 4 to 18 cans/min (6.0 min/100 cans) with push-button seaming.

Investment: $2,850
Payback: 7.4 Mo • Saves 19.2 hrs/mo
3. Glycol Plate Chiller

Inline sanitary heat exchanger cools hot espresso (165°F → 36°F) instantly inline without ice baths.

Investment: $1,200
Payback: 4.0 Mo • Saves 15.0 hrs/mo
4. Dual Can Filler

Calibrated dual-head pneumatic piston filler stops foam purge and eliminates hand-wand fill variances.

Investment: $1,650
Payback: 6.9 Mo • Saves 12.0 hrs/mo
Turnkey Commissary Automation Package ($10,200 Capex)
Reclaims 87.0 hours of manual labor per month, eliminating operator physical exhaustion and unlocking a 2,400 cans/wk capacity ceiling.
5.8 Months
Breakeven Payback Window