Our Story
We founded North Star in Leeds in 2013 with the simple but ambitious belief: coffee can and should create lasting value for everyone connected to it.
Early in our careers, we spent time in coffee-growing communities and were struck by both the beauty and fragility of the supply chain - the extraordinary people behind coffee, and the growing pressures threatening its future. It became impossible for us to separate what was in the cup from the lives connected to it.
North Star was built in response to that experience.
From the beginning, our ambition was never simply to roast great coffee, but to help build a more viable future for the industry itself. One rooted in long-term relationships, transparency, hospitality, and meaningful impact throughout the supply chain.
Built in Leeds and shaped by the city’s independent hospitality culture, what began as a small specialty coffee roastery has grown into a business spanning sourcing, roasting, wholesale partnerships, hospitality, and coffee education. Throughout that growth, our intention has remained the same: to connect the value create by those we rely on the most at origin with how coffee is ultimately experienced every day by the consumer.
We believe coffee is at its best when the people behind it are able to thrive. That means building sourcing relationships based on trust and mutual respect, paying producers in a way that allows them to strengthen their businesses over time, and helping customers engage more deeply with the coffee they drink.
It also means making specialty coffee feel more open, welcoming, and approachable - without losing the depth, care, and craft that makes it special in the first place.
Today, whether through a café visit, a coffee subscription, a bag brewed at home, a training session, or a wholesale partnership, everything we do is guided by the belief that better coffee systems can create better outcomes for everyone connected to them.
Hols
Co-Founder
Hols began her career in coffee in 2011 looking at the impact of Fairtrade on coffee communities in Kenya. Her first job in coffee was at Falcon Specialty where she was a green buyer heading up their approach to ethical procurement.
As CEO of North Star, she oversees the business’s wider strategic plan, focusing on our purchasing philosophy and both internal and external engagement with what we do. Hols is also a licensed Q Grader, AST trainer and regular speaker on sustainability, sourcing and the future of coffee.
Contact: hols@northstarroast.com
Krag
Co-Founder
Alex, known to most as Krag, founded North Star in 2013 at the age of 22. He used to roast every bean we sold, now he helps to support long-term operational growth. He also really loves working closely with coffee shop owners - valuing the shared experience of starting a business and the role he knows North Star can play in supporting that.
Contact: krag@northstarroast.com
Meet the team
Bee Southworth - Coffee Partnerships & Training Manager
Having first met Bee in her role at one of our wholesale customer spots, we have watched her career fly as she has quickly established a platform for herself, advocating for the power training can play in hospitality teams across the country. Now in charge of training strategy at North Star, she is creating an offer designed to build respect and value for coffee roles across our industry.
Contact: bee@northstarroast.com
Kirri Palmer - Account Manager
Kirri is our dedicated Account Manager with over a decade of experience in fine dining restaurants, specialising in developing coffee programs. In previous roles she transformed coffee experiences in restaurants, connecting with top roasters nationwide, enhancing staff training, and curating coffee menus. Now, Kirri brings her expertise to our coffee-loving North Star community.
Contact: kirri@northstarroast.com
Olivia Clarke - Marketing Manager
Liv heads up all marketing at North Star, overseeing campaigns, launches and brand communications. Before joining the team, she worked as Head of Marketing at North Brewing and brings plenty of hospitality and brand experience with her, alongside a love of spicy margaritas, dinner parties and very generous amounts of condiments.
Contact: marketing@northstarroast.com
James Fairweather - Coffee Programme Manager
James has developed a fantastic palate which hugely complements his approach to roasting, and has provided him with an interesting vocabulary to describe his experience of the coffees we bring in. James is the reason our coffees are so consistent, he genuinely wants to bring out the absolute best of each bean and he does a great job of inherently understanding the potential each lot holds.
Contact: James@northstarroast.com
Katie Kent - Management Accountant
Katie Kent is the Management Accountant at North Star. With over a decade of experience in finance, she brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the role. Katie has a passion for supporting local music and community initiatives. Her commitment to both financial excellence and community engagement makes her an invaluable member of the team.
Contact: accounts@northstarroast.com
Chris Allsop - GM
Chris looks after all things coffee shop at North Star, overseeing our retail sites and day-to-day operations. Before joining the team, he spent a big chunk of his career as General Manager at The Reliance. Outside of work, he’s into football, films, family time and good food but not jazz, mushrooms or rainy days.
Contact: gm@northstarroast.com
Lucas Jubb - Head of Brand
Lucas has over ten years of experience designing for independent brands and is the man behind many of Leeds’ much loved brands. We started working with him when searching for more sustainable packaging options and he was responsible for launching our new packaging in 2021. He has since joined us full time! Lucas is responsible for both North Stars’ external and internal branding and plays a key role in delivering our impact-led brand values.
Contact: marketing@northstarroast.com
Marcus Reading - Head of Operations
Marcus manages the preparation of wholesale and retail orders. He is fastidious in his commitment to our customers to package their orders with care and attention to detail. He also shares our collective love of sweet treats!
Contact: Marcus@northstarroast.com
Certified B Corp
North Star is proud to be a certified B Corporation, part of a global community of businesses committed to using business as a vehicle for positive impact.
B Corp certification independently assesses businesses across areas including governance, employee wellbeing, environmental practices, customer relationships and supply chain impact.
For us, becoming B Corp certified was never about achieving a badge. It was about creating accountability around the values the business has been built on since day one: transparency, long-term thinking, responsible sourcing and creating lasting value throughout the supply chain.
As the challenges facing both people and planet continue to grow, we believe businesses have a responsibility to keep learning, improving and helping shape better systems for the future.
Buy Women Built
North Star is proud to be recognised as a Buy Women Built business, celebrating and supporting female-led brands across the UK.
Founded by husband-and-wife team Hols and Krags, North Star has been shaped by a belief in building business differently — through collaboration, care, resilience and long-term thinking. As a women-led business operating within both the coffee and hospitality industries, this recognition represents the importance of visibility, representation and support for female founders and leaders
Buy Women Built exists to help champion women-led businesses and encourage consumers to actively support them through their purchasing decisions. For us, being part of that movement reflects our wider belief that businesses have the power to shape more inclusive, equitable and supportive industries for the future.
Learn more about our impact
There’s far more behind our approach than we could ever fit onto one page. From sourcing and producer partnerships to sustainability and long-term impact, everything we do is shaped by a belief that coffee should create value for everyone connected to it. Click below to read more about about the thinking, projects and practices guiding North Star.