🔒Hit hard by COVID, Good As Gold evolved its business model, prepares to expand

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Worcester coffee manufacturer Good As Gold Coffee lost 85% of its sales almost overnight. Suddenly, the 50-year-old, family-owned specialty coffee roaster saw all of its restaurant accounts close, forcing Dan Goldman to change his business model, quickly. Goldman and his father founded Good As Gold in 1969. Ever since, the company has sold directly to businesses, wholesaling coffee beans to the likes of cafés, restaurants, and banks. That model held steady until 2020. “COVID threw the world in a loop, and our business,” Goldman said. In response, the company overhauled its website and leaned into direct-to-consumer sales in a way it never had before, building out a new revenue stream that has since recouped that 85% loss. Now, the company is ready to expand.

“COVID brought specialty coffee home for a lot of people,” said Peter Giuliano, senior advisor at the California-based Specialty Coffee Association. The demand has only increased, with 46% of American adults reporting they had specialty coffee in the past day, according to the National Coffee Association, based in New York City. Now back on steady ground, Good As Gold is roasting coffee up to six days a week at its 13,000-square-foot facility on Green Street. With more than 2,000 accounts nationwide, the 18-employee company is adapting to a shifting coffee market by doubling down on quality and a relationship-driven approach to growth.

Diversified offerings

Even when businesses started ordering again from Good As Gold after the height of the pandemic, most did not come back in full force, said Mike Goldman, Dan’s son and part owner. With hybrid and remote work, some accounts only came back at 20% of the capacity they once were. As a result, the manufacturer built out its distribution model to provide a wider range of products to those remaining businesses. In addition to its own coffee, the company wholesales products like Mighty Leaf Tea selections, Dr. Smoothie drinks, specialty syrups, and chocolate and milk powders. Good As Gold leaned into promoting its air roasting method. The company switched from a traditional drum roaster to an air roaster in 2015, using hot air to lift and circulate the beans instead of roasting them in a heated metal drum. This approach typically produces a more consistent roast, with less risk of scorching the beans. This process helped attract the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, including Director of Hospitality Operations Marty Dudek.

Holy Cross began using Good As Gold coffee shortly after the installation of its air roaster. Today, the college buys an average of 350 pounds of coffee per month during the school year. The school sells customized Good As Gold medium and dark roast and espresso at Cool Beans, the college’s busiest on-campus coffee shop. Good As Gold does “business the right way,” said Dudek. “They look for partners. They don't look to just sell you coffee.” Dan and Mike stood out to Dudek as he was shopping for local roasters by inviting Dudek’s entire Holy Cross team to the manufacturing site for a tasting and talking about the farms Good As Gold sources from.

Building relationships

This type of personal relationship is what specialty coffee enthusiasts are craving right now, said Giuliano. Customers, especially younger generations, are demanding transparency. “A coffee company that notices that and invites consumers into their story is so right on,” he said. “Companies that do that are really succeeding.” At any given time, Good As Gold is roasting 20 different origins of coffee, including beans from Mexico, Hawaii, Ethiopia, Colombia, and Costa Rica. “The Starbucks of the world deals with these big, huge farms. [Good As Gold] is dealing with small farms,” said Dudek. “For our students, that's kind of the thing they want to hear.” Starbucks’ share of spending at U.S. coffee shops was 48% in 2025, according to the Associated Press. But that market share dominance doesn’t faze Good As Gold. Actually, quite to the contrary. “A lot of times Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts helps our business,” said Dan. Those industry giants introduce customers and build demand for the types of drinks that Good As Gold provides the ingredients for, whether it’s teas, iced coffees, or lattes. Good As Gold customers, like independent cafes, then can ride that wave by offering higher quality alternatives. “The way that our customers can compete is by having a product that's better,” said Dan. The manufacturer is gearing up to expand its operations and capacity. Dan and Mike are looking to upgrade from a 30-kilo roaster to a 70-kilo roaster, and eventually, expand its facility and hire more employees. The expansion cannot come at the cost of the relationships that have sustained the manufacturer for more than five decades, said Dan. “It's more important for us to take care of our customers than to put on additional new business,” he said. “If our customers are successful, we’ll be successful.”