Coffee subscriptions just got better
Coffee subscribers are the core supporters of Skylark's mission, and we listen when they tell us things. That’s why we’re revamping our subscriptions with widely requested new options, innovative packaging, and a new, nicer platform for managing your coffee schedule.
There’s also a small price increase because the cost of coffee, packaging, and shipping have all become more expensive lately.
Read on:
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Last year, our colleague Tabitha (who has been with Skylark since day one) turned her attention to communicating with customers, and the feedback has been wonderful. Tabitha has been pondering how to better support our customers — especially subscribers — with relationships that are just as strong as our friendships with farmers, our staff, and cafes. This means that we might take the long road sometimes: We don’t use AI to communicate with you; we take on staff who face barriers to employment; we get very nerdy with our packaging research and take unusual risks to try to live our values.
There’s always more that we could do, and we’re brimming with ideas. The first batch of changes is ready and we think this will make coffee subscriptions more enjoyable and sensible. These have been carefully crafted so that they’re a good experience for you while aligning with the mission that makes our coffees so exceptional.
Here’s what we’re launching this week:
- New subscriptions: Extra Fancy and Decaf
We’ve been asked so many times to include a Decaf option and we have finally brought that to life. We've also released a new Extra Fancy option for all the coffee nerds out there. This is NOT a downgrade on the Roaster's Choice options, but it will focus on the most unusual and expensive coffee varietals and experimental processes.
- Beautiful, sustainable, letterbox-friendly packaging
Our new bags have an improved oxygen barrier to keep the coffee fresher, plus gorgeous new artwork from designer Jamie Eke while maintaining the original spirit of Jackie Morris and Robert Macfarlane’s concept. These bags now ship in a slim box that fits through a standard door slot — they hold 1 or 2 bags and open like a book. And the best part? These new bags are designed for paperstream recycling with industry-leading pulp recovery rates, so you can put them straight in your recycling bin and they’ll get turned back into paper.
- Subscription price increase
We’ve held subscription prices relatively stable over the years even though the price we pay for the coffees has steadily gone up. We’re committed to constantly improving the quality of the coffees in the subscription rather than edging cheaper, so we’re going for a very small price raise to keep things ticking along while also streamlining fulfillment costs to help make up the difference. We greatly appreciate subscribers as the people who keep the lights on around here. Prices are going up by either 50p or £1 per bag (depending on subscription) and this increase will take place on 25 May 2026.
- New subscription software
We are migrating all subscription accounts to a new software platform to improve your ability to easily access and edit your account and improve your overall experience.
- Subscribe and Save
Subscriptions aside, you’ll soon be able to click ‘subscribe and save’ on some of our year-round favourites like Brazil Futures, Bette Buna Natural, or Guerrero Natural, plus core blends. These coffees all come from our primary purpose social projects with local partners in particularly disadvantaged regions of coffee-producing countries. Buying them on a regular basis contributes to them directly.
We love figuring these things out and it’s one of the best parts of our job to receive your feedback, positive or otherwise. Please reach out if you need any support following these changes, or even to say hello to Tabitha!