A business that started “from nothing” in a horse stable nearly a decade ago is up for a top award.
Pure Roasters Coffee, which is now based at a factory in the city’s East End, is one of the six finalists for Glasgow’s Favourite Business at this year’s Glasgow Business Awards.
The company offers ethically sourced speciality coffee which is said to be amongst the “top 20% of coffees available in the world”.
Robert McKain, one of the co-founders alongside Don Cunningham, explained that they had previously run a record store in Dumbarton before making the move to the coffee industry.
He said: “The honest inspiration was that more people drink coffee than buy records. Don and I used to be in the record business; we had a store with a café in it.
“Records are good fun, but not everyone collects them. We used to discuss the business every day in our morning briefings, drinking coffee and commenting on the coffee.
“Then our coffee supplier at the time came in and was really, really rude to me, not realising I was the owner.
“We sat that day and thought, ‘surely if we’re nice to customers, maybe we could do this’. Obviously that was a bit naïve because there’s lots to learn about coffee.
“We thought it would be as simple as learning to roast coffee and being nice to people. There’s a wee bit more to it, and we’re still learning every day.
“That’s what got us started, and it’s been seven years.”
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After their record store “went under”, Robert and Don hired a horse stable in Renton, West Dunbartonshire, and began roasting coffee.
Two years later, the business moved into its current base. At present, Pure Roasters use a 15-kilo machine which they say will be upgraded to a 60-kilo machine next year.
Robert and Don became regulars at farmers’ markets where they built up a strong, loyal customer base.
Pure Roasters now supply around 100 sites across Scotland.
He added: “We started from nothing, no investment. We hired a horse stable from a fella in the warehouse.
“The temperatures got up to 40C one summer and -10C one winter. We offer speciality coffee like a lot of coffee places.
“Speciality coffee is basically the top 20% of coffees available in the world. We try not to get involved in a lot of the pomp that the coffee industry has.
“We try not to use too much jargon and make it easy for people to understand, as a lot of our customers are coming from using instant, and this is their first taste of speciality coffee.
“We match the coffee to the top notes rather than the other way around, which is what makes Pure Roasters unique.”
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Reflecting on the business’s name, Robert laughed and said he “regrets it”.
He commented: “Oh man, I regret it. The old company was called Big Sparra, so we’d walk into a room, and people would say, ‘there’s big sparra’.
“Now, it’s ‘oh, there’s the Pure Roasters’. I regret it, but you don’t forget the name. It’s a little bit of fun.”
Reacting to being shortlisted for Glasgow’s Favourite Business, Robert highlighted that it would not be possible without the company’s supporters.
He said: “We were blown away because you look at how big the other companies are, actual institutions, and we don’t even have five full-time staff.
“Our customers are our best supporters. If you look online, they go above and beyond. Through leaving reviews, word of mouth, and voting for us, all of this wouldn’t be possible without them.
“We’re really lucky that way.”
The Glasgow Times is featuring the six candidates hoping to be voted Glasgow’s Favourite Business for 2026 by the public.
This year’s nominees are the Citizen's Theatre, Tennent's, Paesano Pizza, Pure Roasters, Trespass, and the Scottish Design Exchange.
The award, sponsored by this paper, is part of the Glasgow Business Awards organised by Glasgow Chamber of Commerce.
The winner of the Glasgow Times Awards for Glasgow’s Favourite Business will be revealed at the annual Glasgow Business Awards at the Doubletree by Hilton Glasgow Central on October 1, 2026.
To vote, visit the Glasgow Business Awards’ website HERE.
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