Workshop Description: This intensive workshop equips coffee business owners and leaders with frameworks to develop strategic brand positioning through competitive analysis and differentiated messaging. Participants learn data-driven market research methodologies, create detailed competitor profiles using SWOT analysis, and develop a comprehensive brand positioning document that includes value propositions, mission/vision statements, and target audience personas, brand voice, and story. The workshop combines industry-specific case studies with practical application through guided worksheets. By the end of this workshop, participants will have the tools and frameworks needed to independently identify market gaps, articulate unique positioning, develop core brand strategy elements, and create cohesive brand narratives that drive customer acquisition and retention in crowded coffee markets.
Learning Objectives:
1. Identify Strategic Market Opportunities: Learn how to conduct competitive landscape analysis using industry data and SWOT frameworks to uncover white space your competitors are ignoring.
2. Craft Differentiated Brand Positioning: Master the step-by-step process to develop compelling value propositions, mission/vision statements, and brand narratives that clearly communicate why customers should choose you over competitors.
3. Define Your Target Customer: Create detailed audience personas using demographic, psychographic, and behavioral data to focus your positioning on the customers most likely to buy.
4. Build Your Brand Positioning Playbook: Apply proven frameworks through hands-on exercises to develop a complete, actionable brand strategy you can implement immediately in your business.
Date: Saturday, April 11, 2026
Time: 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Room Number: 30 C
Category: Business
REGISTRATION FEES:
EARLY BIRD Regular* - $250
EARLY BIRD Paid Member* - $210
Regular - $275
Paid Member - $230
*Early Bird pricing ends March 1, 2026
Booking: To book your place in this Workshop, head to the World of Coffee San Diego Registration & Booking Portal and add a session to your order. Already registered? Simply login using the credentials created at purchase to access your booking and add other paid events to your badge.
Instructor
Darleen Scherer
Founder + CEO
Darleen Scherer is a coffee brand strategist and Founder of Black Sheep, who helps coffee leaders grow by solving the problem most brands overlook: positioning. With more than 20 years of experience as an entrepreneur and Fortune 500-trained marketer, she has built, scaled, and sold roasting companies and guided brands through pivotal transitions that define long-term success. Her work bridges early-stage coffee startups and established legacy brands, with a focus on brand positioning, product development, retail planning, and scalable growth. A former Roasters Guild Executive Council Member and USBC Sensory Judge, her perspective has been featured in The New York Times, Roast Magazine, and The Wall Street Journal.