Luke Waite

Luke is the founder of Pomelo Coffee Consulting and the creator of the Core 7, a framework built specifically to help owners of specialty coffee roasters increase efficiency, profit, build strong teams and a sustainable business. He also wrote a book on this framework called The Owner’s Manual: A Guide to Sustaining a Coffee Roaster.

He works with owners and leaders of roasteries from startups to multi-million-dollar operations to uncover potential across their teams, systems, and finances.

Specifically, Luke helps clients with:
- Sales, Pricing & Profit Strategy
- Organizational and Corporate Structure
- Operational Systems

His approach is iterative, honest, and grounded in results using his Core 7 framework and his clients have added tens of thousands in monthly recurring revenue, developed new leadership strategies, and established systems for long-term success.

Before founding Pomelo, he held leadership roles at some of Chicago’s most notable roasters, including Metric Coffee, Five & Hoek, Passion House, and Pickwick Coffee. His experience spans cafés, roasteries, RTD/cold brew, sales, and branding & marketing. As a result of his varied experience, he takes a holistic view of each engagement.

Luke also regularly speaks at national and regional industry events.