Most cafés think they're in the business of selling coffee.
They obsess over beans, machines, and latte art. They compete on price and location. And they wonder why customers treat them like a commodity.
What they miss: when you walk into a truly great café, you're not buying caffeine. You're experiencing a brand personality. The story. The theatre. The ritual. The education. That's what people remember. That's what keeps them coming back.
I recently spent time at one of our standout client locations—Rosso Coffee's North Melbourne roastery. Reviewers have called it "the cream of the crop." And what they've built goes way beyond a café or even a roastery.
They've built an ecosystem driven by a distinct brand personality.
Buried in that ecosystem is one of the most powerful lessons any business owner can learn: how to identify and develop your brand personality so it becomes the foundation of everything you do.
Let me walk you through what I saw.
This article is adapted from a video walkthrough I recorded at Rosso’s North Melbourne roastery. You can watch the full video here.
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Rosso Coffee didn't happen by accident. Their brand personality was engineered.
Founder Rames left the corporate world to pursue something he genuinely cared about. He built Rosso on a simple but bold philosophy: coffee with character.
And that character—that brand personality—shows up everywhere.
They roast small batches every morning. They serve locals their daily fix. They ship beans across the country. They supply cafés that want precise, Melbourne-style craftsmanship.
What sets Rosso apart is how they've expanded—intentionally, not randomly. Every location plays a strategic part in the larger brand story. This isn't just a business model. It's brand architecture built on personality traits that customers can feel.
Businesses that blend in open more locations. Businesses with a strong brand personality let it guide every decision.
Rosso chose the second path.
Inside the roastery, Rames walks visitors through the roasting process—the ideal resting time for beans, the meticulous approach behind each blend, from bright and complex to rich and chocolate-forward.
Nearby sits a fully restored 1960s Probat roaster, a piece of engineering theatre in its own right.
But the real magic isn't in the equipment. It's in the brand experiences they've designed around their craft. These experiences communicate their brand personality better than any tagline ever could.
Twice-daily coffee cupping sessions. Always fully booked. Coffee's version of wine tasting—an education in flavor, process, and sensory appreciation. This is brand personality in action: knowledgeable, generous, community-focused.
The "Make Your Own Coffee" bar. A crash course for the public to learn how to make incredible coffee at home. Another expression of their brand traits: approachable, educational, empowering.
Roastery + Espresso Bars + Wholesale + Online. These aren't departments. They're chapters in a single brand story—guiding customers from curious observer to informed connoisseur.
Most cafés sell a transaction. Rosso sells a journey. That's the power of a well-defined brand personality.
Build brand experiences around your personality, then let marketing amplify those experiences. That's how you create longevity.
Walking through Rosso's setup, you quickly see what many business owners never figure out.
Craft alone won't save you.
In Melbourne, cafés are everywhere. Beans, machines, latte art—none of these are unique anymore. Skill won't separate you. A clear brand personality will.
You need two things dialed in:
Then you build a bridge between them.
Rosso nails this. They don't just roast beans—they explain the process through the lens of their brand. They don't just pour espresso—they teach people why it tastes the way it does, reinforcing their personality traits with every interaction. They invite customers into the brand story behind the product.
Casual drinkers become loyal fans. Locals become evangelists. You build a business people talk about.
When you truly understand your audience and communicate your brand personality with precision:
Communicate that brand personality consistently, and you stop blending in. You become the brand people remember.
Let's talk about the specific personality traits that make Rosso's brand resonate with their audience.
Educational without being pretentious. They teach you about coffee in a way that makes you feel smarter, not stupid.
Approachable but expert. They're masters of their craft, but they don't talk down to customers. That balance is a core part of their brand identity.
Community-driven. Everything they create—from cupping sessions to the maker bar—brings people together. It's not transactional. It's relational.
Quality-obsessed. Small batches. Precise roasting. Attention to detail. These aren't just operational choices—they're brand values that customers can see and feel.
These personality traits aren't random. They're deliberate. And they show up in every customer touchpoint.
That's the difference between brands that fade and brands that last.
Rames also told me about their experience in the Lean Marketing Accelerator.
For years, their marketing coordinator was doing what most internal teams do—taking action without a cohesive brand framework or structure.
The Accelerator changed that. It gave them clarity on their brand personality, a process for communicating it, and a system for consistent execution across every channel.
In Rames' words, it "dramatically improved performance."
When you develop a clear brand personality framework and shift from random marketing activities to a repeatable system, growth stops being accidental. It becomes inevitable.
Your brand personality becomes the filter for every decision: Does this align with who we are? Does this reinforce our personality traits? Does this serve our audience the way our brand promises?
Rosso isn't winning because they roast better beans (though they do).
They're winning because they've built:
Understanding your craft gives you the foundation. Developing a clear brand personality multiplies your impact. Connecting the two consistently becomes the engine that grows your business.
People don't fall in love with what you sell. They fall in love with what you stand for, what you teach, and how you make them feel.
Your brand personality is what makes them feel something.
Rosso has mastered that balance.
Whether you run a café, a gym, a consultancy, or a coaching business, the rule stays the same.
Get clear on your brand personality. Then communicate it so clearly, so consistently, and so authentically that your audience can't help but feel it.
The market doesn't reward the "best" product. It rewards the most memorable brand personality.
Strong brands have distinct personality traits that customers recognize instantly. Weak brands sound like everyone else because they haven't done the work to identify what makes them different.
Rosso has their brand personality dialed in.
Do you?
Most business owners know they're different—they just can't put it into words. They haven't identified the personality traits that make their brand unique.
That's why we created a simple framework to help you develop your brand personality in under 30 minutes.
Use this personality framework to get crystal clear on:
Once you nail your brand personality, everything else—your messaging, your marketing, your positioning—becomes ten times easier.
Small hinges swing big doors. Brand personality is one of the biggest hinges in your business.
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