GCR Sep/Oct 2020

September/October 2020

COFFEE IN THE TIME OF COVID Businesses adapt across the supply chain

THE ULTIMATE DISRUPTER Is the rise of protectionism a double blow for the global coffee sector?

JAMAICA’S SHADES OF BLUE Jamaica struggles to stay afloat despite world-renowned coffee

SINGLE SERVE SALUTE

Companies put their best foot forward as the capsule market accelerates

MEANINGFUL

CHANGE

WESTROCK COFFEE COMPANY CEO SCOTT FORD ON PIONEERING SUPPLY CHAIN TRACEABILITY AND ACQUIRING S&D COFFEE & TEA AT A TIME OF UNCERTAINTY www.gcrmag.com

CONTENTS September/ October 2020

22

COVER STORY

MEANINGFUL CHANGE

Westrock Coffee Company CEO Scott Ford on acquiring S&D Coffee & Tea at a time when the world was on high COVID-19 alert.

IN THIS ISSUE FEATURES

10 MEANINGFUL CHANGE

Westrock Coffee Company CEO Scott Ford on making aggressive business decisions in a testing time

14 COFFEE IN THE TIME OF COVID

How some businesses have successfully coped and adapted to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic

19 THE ULTIMATE DISRUPTER

The International Coffee Organization on whether the rise of protectionism is a double blow for the global coffee sector

26 ENIGMA: THE NEXT GENERATION Eversys celebrates its new-look E-line and the rise of super traditionals at a time when purchasing decisions will be measured

30 BRIDGING THE GAP

World Coffee Research shares its new strategy to be more responsive to the critical needs to farmers

SINGLE SERVE

32 ONE-STOP SHOP

Ima Coffee on working with customers to meet their single serve needs

34 PURSUIT OF PERFECTION

Pelican Rouge Coffee Roasters uses nearly 50 years of expertise to tailor its hot beverage solutions

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36 A SMARTER CUP

How Intelligent blends stays on top of coffee and beverage trends to provide increased functionality and diverse options

38 MAGNETIC ATTRACTION

Sarong offers a turnkey solution from capsule forming to filling and sealing equipment

40 NEW HORIZONS

Morning’s online marketplace and new machine design meet growing specialty demand

42 AUSTRALIAN EXPERTISE

Coffee Capsule Co. brings Australia’s reputation for quality to international retailers

PROFILE

44 THE THIRD GENERATION

Probat targets a new generation of users with the launch of its P III series of shop roasters

46

SCALING UP How digital systems and processes helped Intelligentsia and Union Hand-Roasted Coffee scale their businesses

48 TOSS A COIN TO YOUR FARMER

Bellwether Coffee helps farmers earn a fair wage and invest in their own futures with the Tip the Farmer initiative

50 LIGHTS. CAMERA. ACTION

The Cama Group adds Live Factory Acceptance Testing to its extensive digital capabilities

52 PROOF IS IN THE DESCALER afetto develops a C new solution that puts information in the hands of its users

ORIGIN

“WE WERE THRILLED, THEN WE WERE PANIC STRICKEN, NOW WE’RE THRILLED AGAIN, AND IT’S BETTER THAN I EVER IMAGINED.” Scott Ford

Westrock Coffee Company CEO

22 JAMAICA’S SHADES OF BLUE Despite a worldrenowned coffee being supported by various local and global coffee organisations, the small island of Jamaica is struggling to stay afloat

OPINION

32

54 THE PERFECT STORM

Eversys Chief Commercial Officer Kamal Bengougam on the rise of the sixth wave and the beginning of a paradigm shift

LAST WORD

58 RE:CO 2020

SCA turns to a digital platform to connect the global coffee community and discuss the state and future of the industry

48

REGULARS

04 EDITOR’S NOTE 06 NEWS DRIP BY DRIP 56 MARKETPLACE S E P TE M B E R /O C TO B E R 2 0 2 0 | GCR

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EDITOR’S NOTE Global Coffee Report

PUBLISHER Christine Clancy christine.clancy@primecreative.com.au EDITOR Sarah Baker sarah.baker@primecreative.com.au JOURNALIST Ethan Miller ethan.miller@primecreative.com.au

TURN YOUR FLYWHEEL TRUST – IT’S WHAT OUR POLITICAL leaders and top health officials have asked of us as they guide us through the arduous wave that is COVID-19. It’s what our parents told us to do when we thought we knew better as rebellious teenagers.

It’s what Starbucks President and CEO, Kevin Johnson, spoke about during a National Retail Federation Leadership Series webinar when addressing the reason why the company decided to continue paying its partners when it was forced to shut its stores.

Because “doing the right thing”, Johnson said, “is what builds trust”.

It’s one of the core values that drives Westrock Coffee Company CEO Scott Ford in his 11 years of leadership. He is acutely aware that people trust him with their investment. His staff trust him with their careers. And his clients trust him to deliver on a quality product. That trust comes with its own challenges, perhaps none bigger than when Westrock acquired S&D Coffee & Tea in February, just two weeks before the impact of the coronavirus was felt in the United States.

Ford was forced to make some of the toughest decisions of his professional career, and for some of his employees, it was career ending. In our Zoom interview for GCR’s cover story, Ford said it was his immediate yet aggressive approach that allowed both businesses to “weather the storm”.

While delivering on trust at all levels is never perfect, Ford said a true leader needs to embrace their responsibility, or find another job that allows them to sleep at night.

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G C R | S E P T E M B E R / O C T O B E R 2020

Many people would be quick to erase 2020 if given the choice. While we can forget wedding celebrations with hundreds of guests, or an exotic holiday due to government restrictions, author Jim Collin’s ideology on the Stockdale Paradox is a perfect sentiment at this point in our year.

Rather than seeing 2020 as a wasted opportunity for many businesses’ futures thanks to the instability and uncertainty caused by COVID-19, confront this year as a defining moment.

Respond to the downturn as a crisis or treat it as a critical element in your strategy. You always have a choice.

Collins put this sentiment to the small little company that was Amazon in 2001 after it had been significantly affected by the dot-com bust. This strategy has become the famous Amazon flywheel, and look at Amazon now.

So ask yourself, your staff, and your colleagues, how does your flywheel turn?

When you can define your priorities and how to respond, then you can work out how to come through this storm stronger, wiser, and more resilient.

Sarah Baker Editor, Global Coffee Report

DESIGN PRODUCTION MANAGER Michelle Weston michelle.weston@primecreative.com.au ART DIRECTOR Blake Storey blake.storey@primecreative.com.au DESIGN Madeline McCarty, Kerry Pert BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AND MARKETING ACCOUNT MANAGER Courtney Walker courtney.walker@primecreative.com.au CLIENT SUCCESS MANAGER Janine Clements janine.clements@primecreative.com.au CONTRIBUTORS Lindsay Holloway, Kamal Bengougam PHOTOGRAPHY Jason Burt HEAD OFFICE Prime Creative Pty Ltd 11-15 Buckhurst Street South Melbourne VIC 3205 Australia p: +61 3 9690 8766 f: +61 3 9682 0044 enquiries@primecreative.com.au www.gcrmag.com SUBSCRIPTIONS +61 3 9690 8766 subscriptions@primecreative.com.au

Global Coffee Report Magazine is available by subscription from the publisher. The rights of refusal are reserved by the publisher.

ARTICLES

All articles submitted for publication become the property of the publisher. The Editor reserves the right to adjust any article to conform with the magazine format.

COPYRIGHT

Global Coffee Report is owned and published by Prime Creative Media. All material in Global Coffee Report Magazine is copyright and no part may be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means (graphic, electronic or mechanical including information and retrieval systems) without written permission of the publisher. The Editor welcomes contributions but reserves the right to accept or reject any material. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of information Prime Creative Media will not accept responsibility for errors or omissions or for any consequences arising from reliance on information published. The opinions expressed in Global Coffee Report are not necessarily the opinions of, or endorsed by the publisher unless otherwise stated.

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NEWS In brief

NEWS DRIPBYDRIP AMERICAS In February 2020, Westrock Coffee Company acquired S&D Coffee & Tea, a market leader in custom coffee roasting, from the Cott Corporation for US$405 million. Two weeks later, COVID-19 hit the US. Westock’s retail business went up 30 to 40 per cent, year on year, the seated restaurant business went down 80 per cent and drive-throughs by 20 per cent.

See page 10.

In January, Starbucks closed 2000 of its stores in China almost overnight.

Not long after, the coronavirus spread to other countries around the world, impacting the coffee supply chain at numerous levels.

At origin, the National Coffee Council of Honduras prepared farmers with new protocols at the farm, processing plant, and logistics level, but still needs about 500,000 pickers for the next harvest, beginning in October harvest.

See page 14.

In May, the Jamaica Coffee Exporters Association cited a more than 90 per cent reduction in roasted coffee sales, as a result of the shutdown in hospitality and tourism sectors. It has lobbied the government to support a nearly US$200 million subsidy, as well as encouraged reduced imported volumes in order to help move the nonexportable inventory, which is estimated at 30 per cent.

See page 22.

World Coffee Research held a global consultation encompassing nearly 140 interviews at origin and 896 survey responses to develop a new strategy to align its core focus, be responsive to the critical needs of farmers, and deliver change at scale.

See page 30.

A big turning point occurred for single-serve in 2013 when Keurig’s patent on the K-Cup expired.

Intelligent Blends has found success in the K-Cup market thanks to a focus on innovations and sustainability.

Reports suggest in a couple years, up to 60 or 70 per cent of households in the US will own a K-Cup brewer.

See page 36.

Thanks to Bellwether Coffee’s Tip the Farmer program, Capitola Coffee in Portland, Oregon, helped raise $3000 for the Association of Ecological Producers of Planadas cooperative in Tolima, Colombia. The funds raised provide personal protective equipment for local healthcare workers and launch campaigns targeted at hiring local labour.

See page 48.

From 16 to 17 July, the Specialty Coffee Association held its first digital Re:co symposium, connecting hundreds of coffee professionals and expert guest presenters on topics including the state and future of the coffee market, and COVID-19’s impact. This year’s event attracted the most geographically diverse audience to date.

See page 58.

$405M

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G C R | S E P T E M B E R / O C T O B E R 2020

The amount Westrock Coffee Company paid to acquire S&D Coffee & Tea in February 2020.

NEWS In brief

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ASIA PACIFIC Morning soft-launched its online marketplace in the fourth quarter of 2019, delivering capsules and subscriptions from roasters to Singapore and Hong Kong to optimise the user experience. A wider launch, alongside the Morning Machine capsule brewer, is set for October/ November 2020.

See page 40.

As one of Australia’s leading contract capsule packers, Coffee Capsule Co. offers the country’s penchant for quality coffee, reliable manufacturing, and stringent food safety standards to the global coffee market.

See page 42.

Cafetto’s team of chemists have created an eco-friendly powder descaler, Spectra, that visually indicates whether a descaling cycle has been successful using a dye system that reacts to pHsensitive compounds.

See page 52.

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EUROPE International Coffee Organization statistics show that, since the liberalisation of the coffee market at the end of the 1980s, the sector has steadily expanded. Global demand has since increased by more than 60 per cent to almost 168 million 60-kilogram bags in 2018/19.

See page 19.

Eversys has revitalised its E-line. Now called Enigma, the next-generation line encompasses two models with multiple combinations and solutions that presents the sum total of Eversys’ experience over the past 10 years.

See page 26.

Ima Coffee Packaging, supported

by IMA research and development experts, has launched the Unika, a modular filling and sealing machine capable of processing 600 capsules per minute.

See page 32.

Pelican Rouge has been blending roasting coffee and creating ingredients since 1973. It supplies products to 71 countries and will launch its own K-Cup alternative in the United States and Canada from September.

See page 34.

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G C R | S E P T E M B E R / O C T O B E R 2020

Italian manufacturer Sarong has announced the release of a filling and sealing machine using magnetic shuttles in place of conventional conveyors or belts.

See page 38.

German roaster manufacturer Probat has revealed the third generation of its Probatone line, the P III series, with a roasting capacity between 20 to 100 kilograms of green coffee per hour.

See page 44.

Software solution provide Cropster has enabled roasters Union HandRoasted Coffee in the United Kingdom and Intelligentsia Coffee in the United States to successfully scale their quality control and roasting practices to keep up with growth.

See page 46.

Secondary packaging specialist Cama Group has expanded its digital capabilities with the launch of its Live Factory Acceptance Testing program, accommodating customers who are unable to meet face-to-face.

See page 50.

The development of the global coffee industry is often characterised in waves.

Eversys Chief Commercial Officer Kamal Bengougam says the sixth wave is about to break, leading to the rise of “super traditional” machines.

See page 54.

896

The number of industry members surveyed by World Coffee Research while developing its new strategy.

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Credit: Jason Burt

COVER STORY Westrock

Meaningful change WESTROCK COFFEE COMPANY CEO SCOTT FORD ON PIONEERING SUPPLY CHAIN TRACEABILITY AND ACQUIRING S&D COFFEE & TEA IN A BUSINESS DECISION THAT NEARLY COST IT ALL. 10

G C R | S E P T E M B E R / O C T O B E R 2020

F

ew could have predicted the storm that was COVID-19. It came with barely any warning, did its damage, and impacted millions in its wake. But unlike a violent storm that eventually pushes out to sea, this one hasn’t finished yet.

What was already a challenging time for businesses throughout the world was made even harder for Westrock Coffee Company CEO Scott Ford, who just two weeks prior to COVID-19 hitting the United States, had agreed to buy S&D Coffee & Tea from Cott Corporation in a US$405 million transaction.

“I was having lunch with S&D CFO Jack Robinson when he told me what the revenue was going to be, what the gross profit was going to be, and how little it was going to cover the fixed costs. For the first time in my life, I thought I was going to throw up, then I thought, ‘I’m going to do what has to be done to survive this,’” Ford tells Global Coffee Report.

“This was a category five hurricane. The numbers were clear from early on, so we battened all the hatches, rode out the worst of it, and waited for the storm to pass.”

Ford says it was clear to him within the first 10 seconds what needed to be done. He needed to let staff go, and for some, it would be career-ending.

“I took a risk. I knew if we acted really aggressively, really quickly, to put ourselves in a strong position, we could save the business.

Then, if we get lucky and COVID-19 abates to some degree, we could bring people back, and that’s what we’ve done,” Ford says. “We have the majority of people back at this point, we’re running at 80 per cent of our prior to COVID-19 levels, and we have more money in the bank at the end of the day compared to what we had pre-COVID.” Thankfully, Ford’s risk has paid off.

Westrock supplies hundreds of clients with branded and mostly private label coffee to hotel chains, casinos, quick-service restaurants, and global retailers, including the two biggest in the United States – Walmart and its subsidiary Sam’s Club.

Ford says it’s thanks to its biggest customers – retailers, drive-through outlets, and convenience stores – that the business has bounced back quicker than others.

“Our retail business went up 30 to 40 per cent, year on year, with everybody staying at home. The seated restaurant business went down 80 per cent and drive-throughs only by 20 per cent. It’s that balance we had in drive-through outlets that pulled us through,” Ford says.

“Our hotel customers and our café customers have gone basically dark, and either have the financial resources to sit out for a year, or they don’t, and that’s a horrible reality.”

FROM LITTLE THINGS, BIG THINGS GROW Ford grew up drinking Folgers coffee. His father worked in business and politics, and his grandfather was the state school superintendent who desegregated Arkansas schools between 1957 to 1983. On Sunday afternoons, they would enjoy a big family lunch with black coffee and talk about the week’s politics. “That’s when I realised, ‘this drink goes with serious conversation,’ even as a kid,” Ford says.

Ford’s first career was in investment banking, followed by the wireless telephone and data industry. It wasn’t until he visited Rwanda that he made a connection with coffee on a deeper level.

“I saw people were paying about half what the crop was worth to women who were living in mud brick homes with children on their back. I knew we could do better than that. We could make a profit and pay twice that amount. I didn’t get into the coffee business to make a bunch of money or to build a traceability system. I did it because I was so enraged,” Ford says. “So, I decided to build a coffee mill right there and offer market value for this crop, and I knew my grandparents would be honoured by that.”

With no non-government organisation or bank willing to finance the build, Ford funded what was only the third dry mill in Rwanda since the genocide.

“We had to finance the purchase of the cherries, mill it, ship it, beg people to buy from us, and take whatever we could for it and start over. We made a commitment to do all that, and only then did I look at my first employee, Matt Smith, and say: ‘So, you plant it like soybeans or what?’ And he said, ‘I’m pretty sure, but not positive, that it grows on a tree.’ And that’s where we started, April 2009,” Ford says.

“I didn’t care what it was or how you grew it, I just knew the economic impact we could have by just being a good commercial actor.”

Westrock’s retail business has increased 40 per cent during COVID-19 lockdowns.

S E P TE M B E R /O C TO B E R 2 0 2 0 | GCR

11

COVER STORY Westrock

RISE OF TECHNOLOGY What Ford quickly learned in this process, was that agronomy training was key to transforming farmer income. He realised that by opening another mill in Rwanda – Westrock has since expanded its trading platform to 20 other countries – and establishing a competitive milling process, he could help the farmers raise their coffee prices and achieve a higher income.

“The farmers had no agronomy training stations, county extension agent, or number to call for support. For many of the younger producers, they had lost the generation ahead of them in the genocide, and others just needed the tools to enable their skills to shine,” Ford says.

“When we invested in agronomy training, production doubled, quality went up, and the farmers quadrupled their differential. They tripled their net cash take home even in a period of time when the C price went down 25 cents – and that’s all from the same number of trees.”

The next step was to provide traceable and transparent coffee. For six years, the Westrock team built an IT infrastructure and database to track and keep record each time beans changed hands along the supply chain. It also disclosed the price paid for the coffee every step of the way, from the farmer to the roaster, to its key customers.

Now known as Farmer Direct Verified (FDV), the model is a symbol of Westrock’s promise to its farmer partners and consumers to provide digital traceability, economic transparency, and ethical business practices. Using a QR code, Westrock’s retail customers can scan their bag of coffee to identify its quality, quantity, and the farmer who produced it. The price paid is often available to its end clients as well. When used at volume, without factoring in a premium, it allows Westrock to reinvest back into farmer training. This, Ford says, is the answer to long-term sustainable farming.

“I know it is widely viewed by many that it’s impossible to measure the impact of the supply chain and trace every single bean. A few years ago, it was a laughable proposition. Some people even said we were crazy, but it is doable. It cost us millions to build the system, but to our customers, the incremental cost is zero,” Ford says.

“No one bought anything from us for six years. We wrote check after check, knocked on

Westrock Coffee can import, process, roast, grind, and package more than 220 million pounds of coffee annually.

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G C R | S E P T E M B E R / O C T O B E R 2020

Westrock Coffee aims to create meaningful change in the lives of coffee-farming families.

doors, and prayed someone someday would say ‘yes’. Many said, ‘no thanks’, but eventually, a small handful of people said: ‘That’s what I’ve been looking for, I’m interested.’ Fortunately, they were some of the largest companies in the country.”

While certifications are great initiatives, Ford says it’s only now that coffee businesses are availing themselves of the opportunities of technology to measure the impact at origin.

“In the next five years I estimate that it will almost be ubiquitous that every large buyer of coffee – hotel, chain, retailer, casino, restaurant – will require this type of system to trace their purchase through the entire supply chain.”

WHEN DREAMS BECOME REALITY Ford’s vision for more meaningful change at origin has gained even more momentum since the acquisition of S&D Coffee & Tea, which will now give Westrock additional volume to build an integrated supply chain.

“Because we come from an export background, we understand the value large customer volumes can have on the farmers that are trying to feed their children. When I saw the nature of their business – with its link to large international restaurants – I saw a great counterbalance to the big international retailers we serve, and I saw the volume when we put them together. That’s when I thought ‘fantastic, everybody in the supply chain will win’.”

Acquiring S&D was only ever “a dream” to Ford. From early on, he recognised the company as the number one US business in custom coffee roasting, serving the convenience store and restaurant markets.

“When we identified the sort of company we would like to be when we grew up, S&D was at the back of my mind. When it sold to Cott Corporation, about three to four years ago, I thought ‘that’s too bad’,” he says.

But a phone call in late-2019 was to change all that. Ford was told Cott was making a large acquisition in the water industry and was selling S&D. “I was asked if we would like to buy it, and I instantly said ‘yes’,” Ford says. “I never thought they would trade, but I knew we had to jump in early and be aggressive.”

Ford travelled to North Carolina to meet the S&D leadership team. When he did, he saw that they were people of the “same heart and mind” with a passion to build a business and make sure that the impact of that business was felt through the entire supply chain.

After closing the purchase, what followed was six straight weeks of intense integration between S&D’s staff and Westrock’s executive teams, whom temporarily moved from Little Rock in Arkansas to North Carolina to iron out a magnitude of issues.

COVID-19 was an unexpected and unwelcome introduction to Westrock’s acquisition. A number of times, Ford called his wife of 36 years to warn her they could lose everything. Thankfully, on 10 April, he

Westrock’s acquisition of S&D Coffee & Tea made it the US’s leading integrated coffee, tea, and extract company.

“THIS [ACQUISITION] ALMOST COST US EVERYTHING, BUT IN THAT MOMENT, I KNEW WE WERE GOING TO MAKE IT... WE WERE THRILLED, THEN WE WERE PANIC STRICKEN, NOW WE’RE THRILLED AGAIN, AND IT’S BETTER THAN I EVER IMAGINED.” Scott Ford

Westrock Coffee Company CEO

called her to say they were in the clear.

“This [acquisition] almost cost us everything, but in that moment, I knew we were going to make it,” he says. “We were thrilled, then we were panic stricken, now we’re thrilled again, and it’s better than I ever imagined.”

Despite the early hardships, Ford is excited about S&D’s growth opportunities, which he says were “buried treasure” he only discovered in the integration phase.

“We found out that S&D had passed on a number of national expansion and overseas opportunities even though it was asked to by several leading customers,” he says. “So, we are opening nationwide distribution, nationwide service, and international offices in Asia, the Middle East and Europe, and we are unbelievably excited.”

Over the next few years, Westrock also plans on investing millions of dollars into a new facility focused on research and development. But for now, Ford is committed to finalising the last of S&D’s integration and praying the brunt of the hurricane is behind him.

“We are thrilled to be part of the coffee industry, and we’re just trying to just be a good member of it,” he says. “It’s really a reflection of where we came from and why we do what we do. The fact that it’s resonated with customers who stuck with us when times were really hard, is perhaps the greatest reward of it all.” G C R

S E P TE M B E R /O C TO B E R 2 0 2 0 | GCR

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FEATURE COVID-19

Coffee in the time of COVID THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC HAS RIPPLED THROUGH THE COFFEE INDUSTRY, IMPACTING DIFFERENT LINKS IN THE CHAIN TO VARIOUS DEGREES. GCR LOOKS AT HOW SOME BUSINESSES HAVE SUCCESSFULLY ADAPTED.

C

OVID-19 is a once-in-a-lifetime shock to the world economy, and the future impact of such an unprecedented event is hard to guess. Coffee is no exception.

The now global pandemic began in late-2019 with foreboding reports coming from China of a virus forcing people into their homes and businesses to close their doors. By March 2020, the coronavirus was wreaking havoc across Europe, North America, and the Asia Pacific, and the rest of the world not long after.

Many people, businesses, and governments outside China were caught off guard by the pandemic. Starbucks was not, with the world’s largest coffee chain having closed as many as 2000 branches in China in January 2020. President and CEO, Kevin Johnson, said during a National Retail Federation Leadership Series webinar in July that this allowed Starbucks to see what the coronavirus was capable of.

“The first period was understanding how this was effecting China, but it was also really evident that this was going to be something affecting all markets around the world,” Johnson said. “The thing we did immediately in January was to define three simple principles that would guide every decision we were about to make in every market around the world.”

These principles were the safety and wellbeing of its partners and customers, supporting government officials to mitigate the impact of the virus, and “showing up” as a responsible part of community.

Johnson said sharing these basic goals allowed Starbucks’ leadership to adjust its approach to suit the situations in different markets, put strategies in place as restrictions ease and tighten, and share best practices or what has worked in other regions.

These initiatives included limiting sit-down service, requiring employees and customers to wear face masks, installing plexi-glass service windows, and embracing digital ordering.

“We’ve created what we believe is the playbook that we’re going to have to operate within for let’s say the next 18 to 24 months while we wait for a vaccine for this virus,” Johnson said.

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G C R | S E P T E M B E R / O C T O B E R 2020

“Until there’s a vaccine, everyone around the world is just going to have to be aware that we have to live in a world with COVID-19.”

ON THE GROUND While coffee consuming countries were largely the first to feel the sting of COVID-19, producing countries were hit soon after. At time of print, Brazil and India are behind only the United States in the number of confirmed cases.

This has had a number of effects on producers, going beyond concerns for their and their community’s health. Countries like Colombia, which were in the middle of or soon to begin harvest when restrictions came into effect, suddenly struggled to find workers. Many customers also had to cancel, postpone, and rearrange shipments.

Nelson Omar Funez, General Secretary of the National Coffee Council of Honduras, says his country’s farmers adapted well to the pandemic, thanks to restrictions coming in towards the end of the harvest. The Honduran Coffee Institute and government institutions also

Image: Starbucks

designed protocols to deal with the pandemic on the farm, processing plant, and logistics level, including transportation. However, Funez is wary of how COVID-19 will impact the next harvest, beginning in October.

“The country needs about 500,000 pickers, who usually came from different regions around the country, and also outside, mainly from Guatemala and Nicaragua,” Funez tells Global Coffee Report. “If the border stays closed, those workers cannot come to Honduras to pick the new harvest.”

With coffee consumption shifting from instore to at-home, and end consumers in many countries facing economic challenges, Funez says the specialty coffee sector will be the most affected by the pandemic long term.

“This ‘new normal’ has to bring a ‘new’ way for the global coffee industry to work, ensuring all actors of coffee supply chain earn enough income to live and be resilient to this reality,” he says. “The impact of the pandemic will be felt by the coffee industry and coffee supply for a long time.”

Like many coffee shops around the world, Starbucks has largely shifted to a takeaway only business model.

SPREADING GLOBALLY Operating across more than 25 producing countries, green bean trader Sucafina has seen how the pandemic took hold in different regions. David Behrends, Managing Partner and Head of Trading, says Peru and India have been among the worse impacted. However, he adds that there has been good news for at least some coffee producers.

“The side impact of COVID-19 was a large devaluation of the Brazil Real and the Colombian

FEATURE COVID-19

return to being the same as 2019. Actually, my belief is that we will use the challenge of COVID-19 and the drive for more inclusiveness to actually evolve as an industry.”

UNITED STAND When cafés in the United Kingdom were forced to close or transition to take-away-only in late-March, many coffee roasters saw their main stream of revenue trickle out almost overnight.

This was the case for one of the country’s largest specialty coffee roasters, Union Hand-Roasted Coffee. However, the business also had a strong online presence and has been in a distribution partnership with grocery store chain Waitrose since 2005. Manager Director Violeta Stevens tells GCR this has helped guide Union through the pandemic.

“COVID-19 has been a bump on the road, but we are fortunate to have a well-established and diversified [from a sales channel point of view] business,” she says. “People did not stop drinking coffee, actually the opposite. Coffee did bring some normality into their lock-downed world and kept them connected. At home, people had more time to learn about coffee quality, ethics, flavours, and brewing methods.

“We did lose business in some of our sales channels, but at the same time, our grocery and direct-to-consumer channels saw a significant growth.”

Stevens says these channels have allowed Union to scale up visibility of its brand and connection with the consumer, sharing its company values and information about its sustainable coffee buying practices.

“We see the ability to talk directly to the consumer as very exciting, and we hope this will help our wholesale customers, independent coffee shops, and all of our business partners, come back post-COVID-19 to a good level of business,” she says.

“There’s been a significant shift in consumer behaviour over the last few years, which I believe will benefit the specialty coffee industry and, ultimately, the coffee growers. The coffee drinker has a better understanding why it’s worth spending a little bit more for their cup of coffee – to ensure its ethically sourced and skilfully roasted, so they can enjoy a delicious cup of coffee.

“I believe there will be a change in consumer behaviour post-COVID-19, and we’ll be ready to further adapt as a business.”

Not many coffee brands are as familiar with or intrinsically linked to the direct-to-consumer market as Nespresso. But even the coffee capsule pioneer isn’t immune to COVID-19.

“As with many businesses across all sectors globally, our business has been disrupted by the crisis,” a Nespresso spokesperson tells GCR .

“Our key focus remains the safety of our employees, the continuation of our supply chain, and the support and care for our customers as many countries around the world still continue Image: Sucafina

Peso, which meant farmers were receiving much more money for their coffee and profitability levels returned to very good levels for both countries,” he says.

“However, the negative is that this will likely lead to further consolidation of origin production, at the expense of other Washed Arabica producing countries.”

While there are fears a global recession and shutdowns in hospitality will reduce coffee demand, Behrends says Sucafina has not seen this impact overall demand.

“What has changed is where and how people are consuming coffee. Online sales have skyrocketed – and are notoriously hard to track – and at-home consumption, we believe, has largely compensated for the losses of office and out-of-home consumption globally,” Behrends says.

“The bigger shift has been in the quality of coffee, where we see consumers either gravitating to higher-quality commercial coffee for home consumption, or the very low-priced ‘value’ coffee found at supermarkets.”

Behrends echoes Funez’s sentiments that the specialty sector has been the worst hit by COVID-19, but he adds that demand for top scoring lots is already back on the incline.

“I have little doubt that consolidation at all levels will continue in the coffee industry.

Unfortunately, smaller players will struggle to compete and also to have access to financing, which will favour larger, more diversified companies,” Behrends says.

“I don’t believe the coffee industry will ever

Workers for Ugacof, a coffee exporter in Uganda practice social distancing.

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Workers of Cotacof in Tanzania are wearing face masks and regularly washing their hands.

Image: Sucafina

to be heavily affected by COVID-19.”

Due to limited access to its boutique shops, some of which had to temporarily close, Nespresso saw an uptake in online and over-the-phone orders, even reporting mid-single-digit organic growth in the first half of 2020.

“What we have seen is that at-home coffee consumption has increased as people had to stay home, or still do. There has been a logical shift from out-of-home consumption to in home consumption,” Nespresso says.

When asked where he sees the coffee industry going post-COVID-19, Starbucks’ Kevin Johnson said customers will look for experiences that are safe, familiar, and convenient. With Starbucks’ ‘third place’ policy embodying the first two ideas, the coffee chain will focus on the latter going forward.

“We’re transforming our store portfolio to create a network of stores, and this is especially true in dense metropolitan geographies,” Johnson says.

“Take Manhattan, [New York]. We’ve got a number of stores in Manhattan, and we’re now going to transform that trading area and blend in a new format of store called a Starbucks Pickup.”

These stores will place a greater emphasis on to-go coffee and many other service features cafés have embraced during COVID-19, such as new digital capabilities and curbside pickup. Johnson said Starbucks Pickup will work alongside traditional Starbucks stores rather than replace them.

“The ‘third place’ [isn’t] going away, we’re just complementing that with more digital experiences and choices for our customers,” he said.

“This global pandemic will certainly reshape the way we live and think about the rest of our lives.”

The threat of COVID-19 still lingering, with many countries experiencing a second wave of the virus, or still rising number of cases.

Johnson said now is the time for brands to show consumers what they stand for and to do the right thing by their employees and community.

“In times of adversity, values matter. Values are going to be tested when you have to make hard decisions… When we shut down all of our stores, we made the decision to pay all of our Starbucks partners whether they came to work or not,” he said. “Doing the right thing, even when it’s hard, is what builds trust.

“If customers trust, as a retailer, you want to create an experience that is safe for them during COVID-19, they’re going to trust you forever.” G C R

ECONOMICS ICO Report

The ultimate disrupter THE INTERNATIONAL COFFEE ORGANIZATION ON THE IMPACT OF COVID-19, TRADE BARRIERS, AND WHETHER THE RISE OF PROTECTIONISM IS A DOUBLE BLOW FOR THE GLOBAL COFFEE SECTOR.

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OVID-19 is only the latest blow to the expansion of global value chains (GVCs) also affecting the coffee sector. The World Bank has highlighted that, following two decades of increasing fragmentation of production across countries and regions, GVC growth has stagnated since 2008.

Public sentiment in many advanced economies has become critical of globalisation.

Workers feel left behind, companies face increased competition from abroad, and consumers worry about the environmental and social cost of international supply chains. Hence, before the pandemic disrupted logistics networks and rattled international trade, some governments had already reverted to protectionist rhetoric and policies. Disputes between major trading partners, such as the Sino-American trade war on the one hand, and a rise in distortionary policies on the other hand, have put the international trade system under stress.

Could protectionism and policy uncertainty also affect the coffee sector? In July this year, the United States threatened to impose a 100 per cent retaliatory tariff on coffee imports from the European Union (EU). Resulting trade barriers would be the fallout of a long-simmering dispute about

subsidies in the aerospace industry. Similarly, in 2018, Canada implemented tariffs on processed coffee imported from the US as a direct response to protectionist measures taken by the US in support of their domestic steel and aluminium industry. These and other high-profile cases suggest that the coffee sector could get caught up in a swing towards protectionist policies.

While the sabre rattling makes news headlines, in this article we investigate if there is concrete evidence that over the past decade, a roll-back of the liberalisation agenda of the 1990s and 2000s, has occurred.

International Coffee Organization (ICO)

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statistics show that, since the liberalisation of the coffee market at the end of the 1980s, the sector has steadily expanded. Since then, global demand increased by more than 60 per cent to almost 168 million 60-kilogram bags in 2018/19.

Over the same period, shipments of roasted coffee have doubled while volumes of soluble coffee increased five-fold. Despite the high growth rates, more than 90 per cent of coffee

is still exported in green form. This is likely due to remaining import tariffs on processed coffee and other factors that hold back value addition at origin, and upgrading in global coffee value chains.

We explore this further by looking at the evolution of state interventions affecting international trade of coffee over the past decade. This complements a new ICO report, available online, that details current tariff- and non-tariff trade barriers, published in June during the 126th Session of the International Coffee Council. The data for this exercise is obtained from Global Trade Alert (GTA), a platform that was launched in 2009 in response to the financial crisis and the expectation of the widespread adoption of trade-distorting policies. The platform evaluates interventions by their expected impact that can be either ‘harmful’ or ‘liberalising’.

Harmful interventions will almost certainly discriminate against foreign commercial interests by favouring domestic businesses. These interventions broadly fall into two categories: trade barriers, such as (a) Harmful Interventions (a) Harmful Interventions import tariffs, and other trade-distorting measures, such as production 10 10 subsidies, state loans and trade finance. Liberalising interventions, 8 8 on the other hand, promote trade on a non-discriminatory basis, for 6 example by dismantling of harmful policies, such as tariffs and other 6 trade-distorting measures.

4 4 Our quantitative analysis at the ICO compares the number of 2 interventions implemented by exporting and importing countries that 2 0 are related to the coffee sector. We focus on the 43 ICO exporting 0 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019* 2020** Member countries, and the 30 largest importing countries (including 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019* 2020** Exporting Countries Importing Countries all ICO Members) that represent more than 95 per cent of global coffee Exporting Countries Importing Countries exports and imports, respectively. For this sample, between January 2009 (b) Liberalising Interventions and July 2020, GTA recorded 153 interventions that have benefitted or (b) Liberalising Interventions 10 10 harmed partners in the international trade of coffee. As interventions are 8 reported with a time-lag, figures for 2019 and 2020 likely understate the 8 true number of policies that were implemented in those years.

6 6 Of all harmful interventions, 60 per cent were implemented by 4 4 exporting countries, whereas importing countries accounted for 40 2 per cent. Liberalising interventions were roughly balanced between 2 0 exporting countries at 52 per cent, and importing countries at 48 per 0 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019* 2020** 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019* 2020** cent. A visual analysis of the data plotted in figure a) cannot confirm a Exporting Countries Importing Countries clear trend towards more discriminatory interventions. However, figure Exporting Countries Importing Countries b) suggests there is also no significant negative time trend in interventions (c) Top-10 implementing countries of trade-related that benefitted other countries. (c) Top-10 implementing countries of trade-related interventions (2009-2020) Looking at individual countries in the sample, we find that larger interventions (2009-2020) exporters and importers are mainly responsible for implementing policies Brazil Brazil that affect trade (see figure c). Brazil, the largest coffee-producing Russian Federation Russian Federation India country, accounts for 32 interventions (23 harmful, nine liberalising).

India Indonesia This is equivalent to more than one-fifth of all interventions recorded Indonesia Mexico between 2009 and 2020.

Mexico European Union*** The Russian Federation, the fourth largest importer of coffee, is European Union*** China China ranked second with 14 interventions, eight of which were harmful, and Jordan Jordan six liberalising. The EU recorded seven interventions (five harmful, two Tunisia Tunisia liberalising). However, it should be noted that some EU member states, Argentina Argentina such as Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Latvia and the United 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 Kingdom, individually introduced additional interventions that the Harmful Liberalising Harmful Liberalising GTA deems harmful. * Subject to reporting lag * Data Subject to July reporting lag subject to reporting lag ** until 2020 and This analysis provides preliminary evidence that, despite protectionist ** Data until July 2020 and subject to reporting lag *** EU single market-wide interventions; some EU member states (Belgium, Germany, *** Denmark, EU single France, market-wide some EU member states (Belgium,interventions Germany, rhetoric, trade barriers have not been increasing in terms of the number Latviainterventions; and the UK) individually introduced additional Denmark, France,harmful Latvia and the UK) individually introduced additional interventions that are deemed

by GTA of interventions implemented annually. Additional research is required, thatauthor's are deemed harmfulbased

by GTA Source: calculations on data obtained from Global Trade Alert Source: author's calculations based on data obtained from Global Trade Alert however, to understand the impact of individual interventions on the coffee sector, which would depend on the nature of the interventions,

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the products affected, and the market size of the implementing country.

Looking ahead, it is encouraging that various recently negotiated free trade agreements could provide a major push for further liberalisation of the global trade in coffee, benefitting producers and consumers across exporting and importing countries. If ratified, deals reached between the EU and the Mercosur bloc, which includes Brazil, as well as more recently between the EU and Vietnam, could address tariff escalation.

This would remove obstacles to the upgrade of coffee sectors in some producing countries.

Similarly, the African Continental Free Trade Area is expected to boost regional trade through closer integration of the continent.

Tapping into export markets would result in value addition and job creation in the coffee sectors of producing countries. Hence, promoting the deepening of trade cooperation should be an important pillar for the COVID-19 recovery of the global coffee sector. G C R

ABOUT US

This article was co-authored by Dr Christoph Saenger and Carmen Steinmetz.

Saenger is the Senior Economist at the ICO, conducting research on coffee value chains in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Prior to joining the ICO, he was an economist at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

Steinmetz is a graduate student in development economics at the University of Goettingen, Germany. She is currently an economic research assistant at the ICO. The ICO is the main intergovernmental organisation for coffee, bringing together exporting and importing governments to tackle the challenges facing the world coffee sector through international cooperation. Its Member Governments represent 98 per cent of world coffee production and 67 per cent of world consumption.

For more information, visit www.ico.org

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SOLUTIONS FOR COFFEE ENTERPRISES

ORIGIN Jamaica

Jamaica’s shades of blue DESPITE A WORLD-RENOWNED COFFEE AND SUPPORT FROM VARIOUS LOCAL AND GLOBAL COFFEE ORGANISATIONS, THE SMALL ISLAND OF JAMAICA STRUGGLES TO STAY AFLOAT.

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ravelling 8000 kilometers from the Sahara Desert, a massive dust cloud moved across the Atlantic Ocean toward the United States. Before reaching the East Coast at the end of June, it passed over the Caribbean Islands, including Jamaica. The dust cloud coated buildings, cars, and trees, and stung the eyes.

As the island’s only certified organic coffee farmer, Dorienne Rowan-Cambell wondered how the dust would affect the delicate coffee blossoms on her two-hectare coffee plantation in the infamous Blue Mountains, which were shrouded in a light brown haze. As the second Vice President of the Jamaica Coffee Growers Association (JCGA), she wondered how it would affect the nearly 5000 smallholder coffee farmers her organisation supports.

Although the record-setting dust cloud was a real threat to the country and local coffee growers in late June, it eventually passed. It was only a relatively small challenge among many bigger ones, it seems, that Jamaica’s coffee industry is currently facing. From the global industry challenges, like climate change and historically low coffee prices, to Jamaica’s local challenges, like its prohibitive colonial system and drought, coffee farmers have a mountain of odds stacked against them.

ARCHAIC STRUCTURE STIFLES Depending on who you ask and their placement in the value change, though, the relevance or gravity of those challenges varies widely.

Exporters and even large producers, for example, may see no issues with the local industry’s current operational structure. Meanwhile, the team at the JCGA says the “colonial” system is the industry’s biggest challenge.

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“These colonial regulations are weighted in favour of large producers,” says JCGA President Donald Salmon, while being extremely restrictive to small farmers, who produce more than 80 per cent of Jamaica’s coffee.

Because of Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee’s strong reputation and high price on the global market, local regulators understandably set meticulous standards for growing, harvesting, and processing Jamaican coffee. But in a world where coffee growers are having to think outside the box to stay afloat amid historically low green coffee prices, these regulations end up restricting small farmers from value-add activities.

Blue Mountain farmers who once leased their land from the government are now under a sublease from a private entity, reducing them to sharecroppers. This arrangement means shorter leases and limits on farming practices.

For instance, farmers are prohibited from intercropping to expand and diversify their incomes or planting shade trees for climate change mitigation.

“It’s also illegal for farmers to process their own coffee without getting a license from the government,” says Andrea Johnson, President of Jamaican Women in Coffee (JAWIC), which became the International Women’s Coffee Alliance (IWCA) Jamaican chapter in spring 2019.

According to the Jamaica Agricultural Commodities Regulatory Authority (JACRA), any person or organisation that wants to sell processed or roasted coffee must obtain a Coffee Dealers License. The main prerequisite for this type of license is farm or production capacity of at least 6000 boxes of coffee cherries per crop year.

“It’s near impossible for [most] farmers to attain this license because they are not producing the quantities required,” adds Johnson. “Most of our women are producing fewer than 30 boxes a year on less than one hectare of land. [So the only option is] to work with one of the 13 processors that are licensed to process the cherry to green bean.”

Despite Jamaica’s strict standards and resulting high-quality reputation, Johnson sees quality being sacrificed across the local industry due to the colonial structure. As one of five current initiatives, JAWIC conducted a field survey that, among other things, indicated quality control is one of the biggest hurdles Jamaican coffee faces.

“Poor coffee quality is a symptom of the larger systemic issues – the restrictions put in place by the government and the bottleneck of processors that are not committed to quality or paying farmers a fair price for their product,” she explains. “Farmers are then unable to afford the requisite agricultural inputs to produce a quality, high-yielding crop. It’s the worst kind of trickle down economics.”

In addition to hampering quality, restrictive regulation ends up exacerbating current low coffee prices. Not unlike in other producing countries, producer Rowan-Campbell says farmers are being pushed out of the industry because they can’t survive on current prices.

“For only US$17 a box, you have no money to buy inputs, you have no money to invest,” she says. “When farmers hear that they’ll only get US$17 per box, a lot are saying: ‘Forget it, I’m not putting anything on my farm’ and walking away. ‘I can’t live on that.’”

LOCAL ORGANISATIONS STEP UP In an effort to help small farmers stay afloat, JCGA is working to connect its farmers with the export market. Because JCGA’s member farmers collectively produce far more than 6000 boxes annually, “we have obtained a license to export green beans and roasted coffee,” Salmon says.

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ORIGIN Jamaica

well as encouraged reduced imported volumes in order to help move the nonexportable inventory, which is estimated at 30 per cent.

Earlier in the year, the Ministry of Finance & Planning implemented a 50 per cent reduction in coffee export taxes as part of a stimulus package to boost greater agroindustry and value-added agricultural exports.

RECENT GOVERNMENT SUPPORT

The Jamaican Coffee Growers Association is working to connect its farmers with the export market.

“So we have been able to help groups organise into clusters and start to process and roast their coffee to sell under JCGA.” While this will open up opportunities for “our members to crawl up the value chain,” Salmon says, JCGA and the farmers still lack necessary funding to invest in the value-added activities, particularly in processing facilities.

Simultaneously, JAWIC is working on a joint project with IWCA and the Coffee Quality Institute (CQI), as part of its Quality Control initiative. This fall they are launching Higher Ground, a four-year, six-phase project to help local female coffee producers elevate their quality through education and access to training facilities. Especially with the threats of climate change and the current COVID-19 pandemic, Higher Ground aims to provide JAWIC members with tools and training for modern, sustainable farming and processing techniques to adapt to “rapidly changing, ‘new normal’ market conditions.”

The project includes building a Coffee Training Institute, cupping lab, and fully equipped processing and roasting facilities. The latter will require a Coffee Dealers License. So similar to JCGA, JAWIC plans to use its 75 members’ collective power to meet the 6000-box criteria. “These facilities will ensure that community members have a central hub available for knowledge-sharing and producing consistent quality coffee in a sustainable manner,” reads the project blueprint.

The educational component will come from CQI, which will help design targeted education and training programs. In the third phase of the project, CQI will facilitate Q grader and Q processing certification classes.

Further up the value chain, other organisations are working to support the Jamaican coffee industry, especially amid falling demand and sales in the wake of COVID-19.

According to Jamaica Coffee Exporters Association (JCEA) President Norman Grant, the pandemic has had a significant impact on the local industry. Because Jamaica’s coffee industry is highly dependent on its exports – the majority of which go to Japan – reduced spending among buying economies and stalled global trade have ravaged the industry.

In a May news release, Grant cited a more than 90 per cent reduction in roasted coffee sales, as a result of the shutdown in hospitality and tourism sectors. The decline in sales has led to a build-up of inventory of nonexportable High Mountain and Blue Mountain Coffee among processors.

Additionally, there are no new export orders for green coffee “as major markets also face economic downturn,” Grant stated, “which will negatively influence demand for the 2020-2021 crop year”.

In response, JCEA lobbied the government to support a nearly US$200 million subsidy, as

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Even before the pandemic, the Jamaican Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture & Fisheries (MICAF) was working to stimulate the industry. At a press conference to launch Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee Day in early January 2019, it announced several long-term ideas to strengthen the local coffee industry.

They included establishing a Coffee Training Institute at JACRA, as well as a nursery policy to regulate cultivated varieties.

The following month, MICAF announced, via its promotional arm Jampro, the establishment of the Blue Mountain Coffee Nursery, which would benefit 200 coffee farmers in the St. Andrew region through distribution of 50,000 coffee seedlings.

The nursery was established in partnership with JACRA and Ueshima Coffee Company (UCC), and funded by the Japanese Embassy for US$11 million. (JACRA and UCC did not respond to requests for comment.)

Japan-based UCC has played a significant role in the Jamaican coffee industry since

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Jamaica’s 2020-21 production and export volumes are expected be impacted by the current drought and COVID-19.

1981, when founder Tadao Ueshima bought Craighton Estate. The estate includes more than 24 hectares of coffee, including two single-origin brands and the Caribbean’s first Rainforest Alliance-certified coffee.

Also among the ideas at the January 2019 press conference, MICAF proposed efforts to reduce infringements on Jamaica Blue Mountain and High Mountain Coffee trademarks, which have become increasingly widespread. Following on the proposal, JACRA began taking steps to rein in counterfeit coffee sales. Officials at JACRA believe this illegal trade is costing Jamaica millions of dollars and compromising the reputation of authentic Blue Mountain and High Mountain Coffees.

In concert, Jamaica applied for geographical indication (GI) for Blue Mountain Coffee from the World Intellectual Property Organisation.

By mapping the regions and elevations that correspond with authentic Blue Mountain Coffee, the GI registration could help stave off counterfeit activities and protect the integrity MORN_Ad_BrewWithIntention_20200730_O.pdf 1 30/7/20 of the infamous brand.

Part of earning GI designation is having a product with characteristics and qualities that are specific to a particular origin. While the Typica strain of Arabica grown in Jamaica is not specific to the island, the Blue Mountain and High Mountain Coffees are, and are heavily branded as such. Altitude and shade combine to produce their distinct flavours.

To be certified as Jamaica Blue Mountain, the coffee must be cultivated at altitudes between about 750 and 1700 metres. The climate on these mountains produces ample moisture, when not in a drought, and fertile soil. After about 10 months, from bloom to harvest, much of the coffee is handpicked due to the steep slopes.

Together, these conditions produce a coffee that is balanced, sweet, and full-bodied without being acidic. They also produce a coffee that is a strong candidate for GI designation.

OUTLOOK UNKNOWN While many of these initiatives were underway when the pandemic hit, some were temporarily pushed to the backburner. “COVID has really shut down a lot of the work we were doing,” admits Rowan-Campbell. And not unlike most other global economies and industries, it is unknown whether Jamaica’s coffee industry will bounce back, even if these initiatives resume.

This is especially concerning for a country where coffee production has been declining for the past decade, due to the many challenges discussed. The 2018-19 harvest was down more than 14 per cent from 2010 and 51 per cent from 2000, according to the International Coffee Organization (ICO). Though ICO numbers haven’t been finalised for the 2019-20 harvest, production and export volumes for 2020-21 are expected to be impacted by the current drought and COVID-19.

“Because coffee farming has not been financially sustainable for some time, it makes it difficult 5:29 PM to bounce back from any sort of disaster,” Johnson says. G C R

TECHNOLOGY Eversys

ENIGMA: THE NEXT GENERATION THE FUTURE OF SUPER TRADITIONAL MACHINES IS CELEBRATED IN EVERSYS’ NEW-LOOK E-LINE, A MACHINE THAT EMBRACES NEW TECHNOLOGY, DESIGN AESTHETICS, AND A GUARANTEED RETURN ON INVESTMENT AT A TIME WHEN PURCHASE DECISIONS WILL BE MEASURED, AND SAFETY IS PARAMOUNT.

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The new Enigma E’4 features a coherent design that embraces quality, strength, and refinement.

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ust as surgeons use extreme precision to perform facelifts and give patients a more youthful appearance, Eversys engineers and designers have worked hand in hand to give its original E-line a revitalised look with glowing results.

Now called Enigma, the new line encompasses two models with multiple combinations and solutions that embrace the Swiss espresso machine manufacturer’s vision for super traditional machines.

“As a company, we’ve seen the industry evolve and we truly believe that Enigma is the next-generation line of machines that, in our opinion, represents the sum total of our experience over the past 10 years. It also predicts the future and thinks about what the market is going to need moving forward,” says Eversys Chief Commercial Officer Kamal Bengougam from Eversys’ new factory in Sierre, Switzerland.

“We believe customers will want a machine that is customisable, that is the centre piece of their shop, that is functional, and has power. There is also a sense of aesthetic whereby a super automatic now goes beyond functionality into the realm of appeal, and morphs into a super traditional machine. Now we’re moving to the next phase and making a compelling statement in the market that Eversys genuinely stands for innovation.”

FROM THE INSIDE OUT Eversys established the original E’line in 2012, which was the market’s first taste of Eversys’ commitment to super automatic machines that performed like traditional models. Eight years on, Alexandre Rossier, Head of Design at Eversys, says the time was right to update the E’line with the introduction of new technologies and improved design to meet current market needs and trends.

“When designing any object, from a prosthetic leg to a sneaker, car or motorbike, it has to be from the inside out. Functionality supports in-cup quality, it doesn’t drive it. It’s not about creating a new design for the sake of it. It must always enhance a product for the better,” Rossier says. “Design can only work effectively if it fits in with the technological objectives of our engineering team, the needs of our customers, and matches the company vision. In the case of Eversys, it always begins with the customer and in-cup quality.”

In the past, Rossier says people have considered super automatic machines as simple push-button machines, but unlike traditional models, they are evolving and transforming themselves in terms of design and quality to now become a compelling market solution.

The new Enigma line includes the E’4, modelled on a two-group espresso machine; the Shotmaster, a slim unit with two coffee dispensing outlets; and the Shotmaster with two dispensing outlets and an integrated 1.5-Step milk texturing capability. Each model comes with side module accessory options, including e’choco with two powder canisters, e’fridge with a nine-litre capacity, and an E’cup heater with a four-heating-plate cup heater.

The Enigma range is designed to be authentic and timeless. All of its parts are modular, with a rounded rectangle styling theme consistently reflected in the body structure, screens and drip tray.

The new display screens are 27 per cent larger at 10.1-inches (25.6 centimetres) with a higher resolution and wider viewing angle to make product selection easier. It also allows videos to run thanks to a more powerful central processing unit, run on a Linux platform.

The coffee outlet is a completely new design that bridges the look of a conventional machine with a super traditional model. The machine is available in two versions: Tempest and Earth,

“DESIGN CAN ONLY WORK EFFECTIVELY IF IT FITS IN WITH THE TECHNOLOGICAL OBJECTIVES OF OUR ENGINEERING TEAM, THE NEEDS OF OUR CUSTOMERS, AND MATCHES THE COMPANY VISION.” Alexandre Rossier

Head of Design at Eversys The new Engima line features a completely new coffee outlet, bridging conventional machine design with super traditional lines.

with side panels in natural aluminium and copper colour, respectively. The top of the machine and the drip trays are made of resistant stainless steel. The bean hoppers and cup guards have darker hues, and the front of the machine evokes a black, glossy finish. A light cup guard helps reduce the machine’s perceived height, while the coffee outlet is designed with better ergonomics and haptics.

“The Enigma line has enhanced the use of metals in every direction, making up more than 90 per cent of the machine. Our choice to use metal will also achieve machine longevity because metal doesn’t age, making it very sustainable. It’s a strong, rich, indestructible material, which promotes a certain quality and elegance compared to machines made with a lot of plastic elements,” Rossier says.

Metals have always been part of Rossier’s world. He worked as a professional trumpet player before becoming a designer and spending 25 years in the automotive industry, designing sports cars, race cars, and motorbikes.

“In the world of car racing, you need the product to look good, but it needs to be efficient too.

There are ways to shave kilos off a motorbike to enable it to go faster, but it also needs to be reliable, consistent, and technically sound. It’s the same when designing coffee machines, you need to have consistency in the design that’s reflected in all parts of the machine,” Rossier says.

TRUE VISIONARY Thorsten Schindler is Eversys’ Product Management Director, the man who initiated Eversys’ first super traditional machine, Cameo, unveiled at HostMilano in 2017.

Unlike the Cameo, which is smaller in size and positioned for the specialty market, the remodelled Enigma line is destined for venues with high throughput, particularly coffee chains. As such, the R&D team were entrusted with the task of creating a range of machines that complemented the design of

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the Cameo, but also delivered the same in-cup quality and consistency the market demanded.

“From a technical point of view, I was already happy with the in-cup quality from the original E-line, so we decided to retain the things we did well and adapt them into a new design. We identified what we could improve in the technology, and we decided that this would be milk foam quality. And now, in my opinion, it is a fully improved line,” Schindler says.

The improvements include the introduction of Eversys’ e’Levelling system to create a more compact and even espresso extraction, and Eversys’ latest milk technology that improves temperature stability, foam texturing, and electronic set-up of foam thickness. Units can also cater for two types of milk options. The new Enigma line has improved geometry for selfcleaning and comes with the optional inclusion of the Eversys’ 1.5-Step automatic milk frothing arm to enable the barista to do their job with more skill and consistency.

The refreshed range also takes into consideration user productivity. For instance, the new Shotmaster Pro can produce eight shots at one time. Its compact size is ideal for high volume shops where counter space is limited.

The other benefit is improved remote monitoring and control of the machine.

Operators can access dashboard information remotely, access monthly and weekly volume reports, and be notified when the machine has run out of cups or coffee beans and place a new order.

THE NEW NORM

In this new “dynamic norm”, Bengougam says buyers will think twice of what to invest their hard-earned money in, ensuring their purchasing decisions guarantee return on investment and keep maintenance costs low.

For this reason, they need a machine that is built to last.

“No longer will people merely buy a machine just because it looks cool. In this new world, I believe people will be more cost conscious and profit driven. From an operator perspective, you want to make money and survive,” Bengougam says.

“People will need to have reduced labour costs, and machines like the Shotmaster The new Cameo Super Traditional model. gives them the ability to operate at a high level of productivity, so you minimise costs, optimise revenue, have a chance of being profitable.”

The philosophy behind the Enigma range was to provide people with a tool to enable them to develop and run profitable businesses. Before COVID-19 hit, Bengougam says he felt the market was ready for a steep change, and what the global pandemic has done is create a platform to accelerate paradigm shift.

“The world is rotating and we have no choice but to move forward. At Eversys, we are constantly trying to see where the market is evolving and how we can best align. Whatever we develop must be pertinent and on trend to market needs,” he says. “We know people are thinking about design, thinking about becoming more profitable and want to express themselves through their tools.”

With safety now at the forefront of shop operations, Bengougam predicts people’s awareness of infection will also be heightened. With the Enigma range, customers can use their mobile phone to scan a QR code on one of the display screens to access the drinks menu and select their beverage of choice for a grab-and-go solution with zero risk of contamination.

The other interesting consideration, Bengougam adds, is millennials’ desire for choice and the use of technology. Rather than asking a barista for a detailed list of instructions on how they want their coffee and milk served, the Enigma line gives customers the platform to customise their beverage, straight from their phone, much like online banking or ordering at McDonald’s.

The launch of the Eversys Enigma line will take place in September.

Bengougam says planning has been a few years in the making, but that The new Enigma E’4 display screens are 27 per cent larger with a higher the new line has arrived at a time when the world needs to become resolution and wider viewing angle. more competitive and embrace this period of renewed creativity.

“I predict the industry will go through a rebuilding exercise, when it will be about regaining what was lost, followed by a period of renewed growth,” Bengougam says.

“Businesses almost need to reinvent themselves in this new paradigm and remember that this is the beginning of a new day, not the end. We need to create machines with the flexibility to adapt, and with elements that can be customised to fit individual needs, and that’s what we’ve done. We at Eversys are giving the industry something disruptively creative and fresh so that when venues reopen, you can send a message to your customers that says: ‘I’m embracing this new reality, with equipment and products that have been designed to complement times like this.’” G C R For more information, visit www.eversys.com/en

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MAGNETA

Sarong’s breakthrough innovation to fill and seal capsules

Magneta is the latest filling & sealing machine for capsules from Sarong.

The MAGNETIC SHUTTLE system offers new levels of FLEXIBILITY and EFFICIENCY.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: www.sarong.it • info@sarong.it

FEATURE World Coffee Research

BRIDGING THE GAP WORLD COFFEE RESEARCH HAS DEVELOPED A NEW STRATEGY TO ALIGN ITS CORE FOCUS, BE RESPONSIVE TO THE CRITICAL NEEDS OF FARMERS, AND DELIVER CHANGE AT SCALE.

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orld Coffee Research (WCR) has done what many parents have asked their children to do while remote learning during COVID-19: “put their listening ears on”.

As the organisation committed to fine-tune its strategic approach and develop its research agenda for the next five years, it held a global consultation from January to March. This encompassed nearly 140 interviews with farmers, national research programs, exporters and roasters, and 896 survey responses from representatives across the supply chain, including WCR and non-WCR members and association partners.

“Our goal was to really understand the perspective of the whole industry,” says WCR CEO Jennifer ‘Vern’ Long. “There’s been a lot of conversations on industry consolidation, sustainability portfolios, certification programs, and the global price crisis. We wanted to take a step back and think how we should be orienting the breeding and agronomy agenda of WCR to respond to industry insights, because the decisions we make now will affect the industry in 15 years.”

As a result of the industry survey and interviews, four common global priorities were determined: 1. Climate adaptation and mitigation 2. Farmer profitability as the lynchpin of sustainability 3. Origin diversity for supply chain risk mitigation and flavour diversity 4. Quality for consistency and flavour These priorities have since been translated into a 2020 to 2025 strategy with the aim to enhance the productivity, profitability, and quality of coffee across major market segments in strategically targeted countries. This will be achieved through farmer-focused agricultural research WCR will use conjoint analysis to establish farmers’ most valued traits to help design new varietals.

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and a development program.

Since March, WCR has also welcomed George Kotch as its new Director of Research, one of the world’s foremost experts in building effective plant breeding programs and networks. In particular, he has focused on linking the needs of the end-users on either end of the value stream – coffee farmers and coffee drinkers.

It was exactly this approach that led Kotch’s former team of breeders at Syngenta to develop “single serving” watermelons. After years of breeding the same way – and years of declining watermelon sales – breeders turned to consumers for insight about what they wanted out of a melon. Researchers found that people disliked throwing food away, but common watermelons were far too large for the average US household. The resulting smaller watermelons drove an overall surge in watermelon sales – of all sizes, putting more money in the hands of farmers.

“This same approach can be applied to the coffee industry. Rather than assuming what farmers really want when breeding a new coffee varietal for instance, we need to ask them before making decisions for them,” Long tells Global Coffee Report.

“We need to involve roasters and buyers too. Roasters have never been given the opportunity before to participate in giving feedback on the development of the product they are in the business of selling. There has not been this feedback loop to involve them in giving input on the design and flavour of varieties as they are being developed.”

Long says the idea of bringing end-users into the decision making process, which is done extensively in the private seed sector and many public sector breeding programs, is still a relevantly new concept in the coffee

industry. As such, WCR hopes to connect national research programs and institutes with industry members, and provide them with the tools to help aggregate information at scale about demand signals from farmers, and at the consumer end.

The national cassava breeding program in Uganda has already used this approach to inform breeding priorities. Long plans to learn from the national research institute about their experience, adjust the approach for coffee, and work with national coffee programs and supply chain stakeholders to try it out.

“We’re supporting the modernisation of our partners’ programs and introducing tools for breeders to take into their normal practices, and learn what their farmers need most. If they can narrow it down, then they can focus their research on finding trees that respond to those priorities,” Long says.

“And if we develop a varietal that has quality traits that responds to market demand and farmer needs, then we want to make sure the breeding program has what it needs to actually deliver on both needs at scale.

“The beautiful thing about product development in breeding is that it is going to succeed, it’s just a question of bringing in the tools to accelerate progress to get there.”

Over the next year, WCR will work with regional partner networks to prioritise and implement the research agenda while collaborating with focus countries in key areas, such as breeding program modernisation and nursery strengthening activities.

To hone in on the most important traits for farmers and buyers, WCR will use methodology called conjoint analysis in which the farmer or roaster takes a survey asking them to choose between two pairs of options, such as rust or heat resistant varietals. They will be asked to rank which is most important.

After dozens of pairs are ranked and the data is combined, it’s possible to establish which traits are most highly valued. Breeders can then more efficiently target those traits in the selection and design of new varieties.

“Historically, there has been very little to no connectivity between roasters and breeders,” says WCR Communications and Strategy Director Hanna Neuschwander.

“There are a few exceptions, but by and large, there is no mechanism to give feedback. This

After hundreds of interviews and survey responses, farmer profitability was identified as a core global priority.

approach helps bridge the gap between these two worlds – farmer and roaster – because they matter tremendously to one another.”

For supporting the breeding efforts of coffee producing countries, Long recognises there is never a “one-size-fits-all approach”. Each country has a unique history and culture of coffee production, unique research capacities, and different rules and regulations that determine how new varieties are released and how they become available to farmers.

“What works in Uganda may not apply to Rwanda, so we need to work much more closely at ground level to understand who operates the seed lots, the rules about bringing in new varieties to a country, and the gaps or challenges in doing so,” Long says.

She adds that the process is about articulating problems, mobilising the tools to solve the problem, then strengthening the capacity using those tools.

Neuschwander says that unless the correct systems are in place, all the effort on the backend is wasted. You can create the best variety in the world, but if the systems aren’t in place for those plants to reach farmers, it doesn’t matter what you’ve done.

“Governments that depend on coffee exports for revenue are motivated, and a number of countries are seeing huge investments from development donors to support their coffee sectors,” Neuschwander says. “When you have 210 coffee companies coming together under an umbrella like WCR, you have the opportunity to influence how those dollars are spent so that they address the highest priority needs of farmers, and ensure long term sustainable connections between farmers and their market.”

Since its inception in 2012, WCR has been devoted to ensuring sustainable supplies of quality coffee that is profitable for farmers through agricultural research and development. Over time, Long says the organisation has come to realise it simply “can’t be everywhere for everyone all the time” and has developed its new strategy to be more of a “lever” to initiate change, more so than a “doer” of research.

“We are moving more towards an identity as a driver to help align priorities and investments around the most efficient and needed questions, and the most important problems that need to be addressed. We can’t do it by ourselves, so the collaborative advantage is crucial,” Long says.

“Our actual work and engagement will be anchored and focused on certain geographies, but we will continue to scan the horizon and look to the needs of the global coffee industry, and are ready and willing to amplify key messages across the industry.” G C R For more information, and to see WCR’s new report, the Global Coffee R&D Awareness and Priorities Consultation 2020, visit www.worldcoffeeresearch.org

S E P TE M B E R /O C TO B E R 2 0 2 0 | GCR

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SINGLE SERVE Ima

One-stop shop IMA COFFEE WORKS WITH ITS CUSTOMERS TO DETERMINE THE BEST PROCESSING AND PACKAGING EQUIPMENT TO MEET THEIR SINGLE SERVE NEEDS.

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hile Ima Coffee now caters for the entire coffee production process – from green coffee intake to cartoning – the Italian manufacturer’s first step into coffee was with pod and capsule filling machines. Sales Director Nicola Panzani says this type of machinery is still a core component of what Ima Coffee offers the coffee industry.

“Single serve is where we started and how we entered the coffee sector.

It’s almost like the heart of our business,” Panzani says.

“When you are a manufacturer, you’re not just selling machines, you need to be a competent partner and consultant to your customers. We see uncharted potential, trends, and where the market is going, so we can suggest to our customers where they can invest if they are unsure themselves.”

The Ima Coffee Packaging business unit boasts a wide portfolio of single serve packaging equipment, with solutions catered to every possible product format, production capacity, and need of the customer. Panzani says Ima can count on a widespread sales organisation, through which they gain a broad overview of the industry and its constantly changing demand.

“Our customers go from the top industry players to the medium and even small roasters, even offering a dedicated line of shop roasters for the smaller businesses,” he says. “What’s small now may be big in the future, and we don’t want to miss that part of the industry.”

Also helping Ima stay on top of trends are strong relationships with many of the companies that supply capsules and packaging materials in general. Panzani says this means Ima and its customers can take advantage of newer environmentally conscious materials as they become available, adding sustainability to the many benefits single serve products offer.

“Pods and capsules are easy to use, well preserved and last a long time with no impact on coffee quality. Most importantly, [they are] ideal for the home market,” he says.

When COVID-19 hit hospitality segments around the world, many roasters pivoted from their typical foodservice market to retail and direct-to-consumer sales channels. Ima The Unika is Ima Coffee Packaging’s latest addition to its capsule filling line.

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experienced this through a peak in orders for retail-oriented packaging.

“COVID has impacted product categories, which were actually growing very strongly, the most effected being HoReCa and whole bean packaging, but this has led to a growth in products related to retail segments – mainly single serve coffee,” Panzani says.

“Having a diversified portfolio addressed to a variety of sales channels makes a company stronger and more resilient when facing shakes in the market like COVID-19.”

Constant market demand changes have also led to a need for extreme flexibility. To that end, Ima Coffee Packaging, supported by IMA research and development experts, has just launched the new Unika, a modular filling and sealing machine capable of processing 600 capsules per minute. Designed to be flexible, the Unika can be adapted with custom-made solutions for almost any type of product guaranteeing maximum accessibility and efficiency.

Particularly this year, the quest for flexibility has been a leitmotiv in the whole production chain. “Being able to provide machines in a short delivery time has been crucial this year, with high demand and customers needing their machines as soon as possible. The modular design facilitates a quick engineering phase and reduced lead time,” Panzani says.

Ima is focusing on several more machines, in both packaging and processing, coming down the pipeline. The company also plans to launch a full pilot plant by the start of 2021 that will showcase all of its technology throughout the coffee production process. There, potential customers will be able to test the individual components Ima can offer, or the whole system.

“When producing single serve products, it takes more than just a good filling and sealing

SINGLE SERVE Ima

seals the capsule with a low level of oxygen to preserve the quality in the long-term. But that’s not enough,” Panzani says.

“You need the correct grind to fit the right amount of coffee in the capsule. You may need to degas the coffee to protect the seal, which is affected by both grinding and roasting. But before that, roast could affect the amount of gas and is fundamental to ensure the coffee quality and product consistency. The entire chain is linked, and you need to understand that to provide a good capsule to the end consumer.”

While Ima Coffee Packaging and Ima Coffee Petroncini run as two separate divisions from a technical point of view, an integrated sales network and customer service team means the manufacturer is able to provide a holistic solution to its customers.

“Different competencies and knowledge are required to design and produce equipment that covers different phases of the production cycle, but we make sure to ‘merge’ these two divisions through actions like our pilot plant and a technical committee with a precise aim to share knowhow ,” Panzani says.

It is unclear when the effects of COVID-19 will subside, but it is unlikely the hospitality industry will snap back into where it was pre-COVID-19. Panzani says diversifying their products will help many businesses survive this crisis.

“We don’t know how long this situation will last, but we see from everyday numbers that what used to be one of the most important segments to roasters – cafés and HoReCa – is strongly effected,” Panzani says.

“In the meantime, the only way to approach the market is through innovative solutions, like online stores or home consumption, where pods and capsules are in high demand. It’s fundamental that companies looking to adjust their business model to the current situation invest in single serve.” G C R Ima produces filling and sealing machines for a variety of formats, including paper pods.

machine. There are many steps in the process that go before it, and it is important to face any demand from a holistic perspective of the entire process,” Panzani says.

“As Ima, we are the only manufacturer in the world with a portfolio that covers the entire coffee production process with any packaging option.”

Ima Coffee Petroncini is the brand behind Ima’s prepackaging equipment. Joining the Ima family in 2018, Petroncini offers equipment ranging from green coffee intake to roasting, grinding, and degassing.

“The target of any coffee roaster offering single serve is a good brewed coffee in the cup.

To do that, you need a filling machine that

For more information, visit www.ima.it/beverage/brands/ima-coffee

Ima’s solutions extend from green bean intake to packaging and cartoning.

S E P TE M B E R /O C TO B E R 2 0 2 0 | GCR

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SINGLE SERVE Pelican Rouge Coffee Roasters

Pursuit of perfection PELICAN ROUGE COFFEE ROASTERS IS A FRESH COFFEE AND CAPSULE INGREDIENT SPECIALIST, USING NEARLY 50 YEARS OF EXPERTISE TO TAILOR-MAKE HOT BEVERAGE SOLUTIONS FOR 71 MARKETS IN THE OFFICE COFFEE SECTOR.

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or many businesses in the single serve market, 2012 was the year a large door free ingredients”, and start-up businesses of opportunity opened, when the patents on Nespresso and Keurig capsules interested in entering the market. expired. From that moment onwards, capsules production became a competitive Customers select from a range of coffees, market, with everyone wanting a piece of the action. including sustainable options, such as Rather than go in the same direction, Pelican Rouge Coffee Roasters decided Fairtrade, Organic, and Utz and Rainforest to take a strategic position and develop ingredients for single serve use.

Alliance. After roasting, coffee beans are “We are specialists in roasting coffee and composing ingredients for hot beverages,” says packed under a modified atmosphere and Jan-Paul Lommerse, Export Manager at Pelican Rouge Coffee Roasters in Dordrecht, the supplied to capsule filling companies in large Netherlands. bags. These are put into dosing systems on top of capsule filling machines, with Pelican “We develop coffee blends and supply tailor-made recipes based on soluble ingredients such as cocoa, coffee, instant coffee, milk powders, and ready-mixes such as cappuccinos, Rouge technicians on hand to ensure each latte macchiato, and café au lait, to capsule filling companies using various capsule brands, capsule contains the same weight and recipe. including Nespresso, Dolce Gusto, Caffitaly and K-Cup.” “As a consumer, if you buy a capsule, With such diversity in capsule production, quality is paramount, and it begins with Pelican you want to be sure the coffee in the capsule Rouge’s commitment to providing quality ingredients that perfectly fit into any type of single will come out completely. That’s why it’s portion capsule. important we know the different capsules “There are so many parameters that can influence in-cup quality. Particle density, on the market and remain in close contact with the empty capsule producers to ensure dissolvability, and granulometry of the powder must be consistent,” Lommerse says. “The right particle size is key to fitting within the limited cavity in the brewing chamber of a capsule, and so that water can pass through Correct density, dissolvability, and granulometry are key to in-cup quality. soluble ingredients, build up pressure, and extract the beverage into the cup. This is a very technical process which is difficult to control.”

Lommerse closely links the art of ingredient granulometry to science. He says the technique Pelican Rouge uses to ensure consistent granulometry is “top secret”, but avoiding segregation of different ingredients in the capsule, like sugar, milk, or coffee powder, is key.

“Each of those ingredients has a different granulometry and our job is to level it. Cocoa powder, for instance, is very fine compared to milk powder, which you can buy in different qualities and granulometry, from fine to granulated. That’s where our knowledge and experience gives added value to the ingredients we work with,” Lommerse says.

“It’s about science and understanding the product you work with.

For instance, you cannot mix freeze-dried coffee, which has a large particle size, with granulated milk and sugar, which some of our competitors started to do. The volume of this mix is huge, meaning you can only fit five grams of the mix into a Dolce Gusto capsule instead of the 10 to 12 grams that’s needed to make a decent coffee.”

This wisdom extends to the relationships Pelican Rouge holds with capsule filing companies who are mainly looking for “hassle-

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SINGLE SERVE Pelican Rouge Coffee Roasters

Pelican Rouge is excited to launch its own K-Cup alternative in the US and Canada this September.

we can develop the right product and provide the right ingredients,” Lommerse says.

Because of evolving market needs, Pelican Rouge constantly tests its ingredients with the various capsules on the market. It even asks capsule filling clients to test new-release models before they hit the market, to ensure their functionality and quality is at the highest standard.

Pelican Rouge has recipes for more than 110 coffee blends, 40 chocolate blends, 20 cappuccino-based drinks, like mixed coffee and milk, with or without sugar, and with or without aromas.

The most popular beverages are cappuccino, café latte, and café au lait – all mixes of coffee and milk in different ratios.

As such, Pelican Rouge tailors recipes to meet local demands. In Spain, for example, consumers like to drink café cortado with a high percentage of coffee and less milk.

Whereas in Eastern Europe, Lommerse says it’s a very price driven market. Therefore, Pelican Rouge develops different recipes with cheaper ingredients like skim milk instead of full fat milk, or a combination of both.

One of the most rewarding parts of the job, Lommerse says, is watching the growth of customers, such as Euro Caps, one of Pelican Rouge’s first customers, and the first to start producing Nespresso-compatible capsules. The Netherlands-based company started from scratch and is now the largest capsule filling company globally next to Nestlé. It produces Nespresso and Dolce Gusto-compatible capsules to major retailers, mainly in Europe.

“From the very beginning we have collaborated together by developing coffee blends and soluble ingredients for their capsules,” Lommerse says. “We are very proud of this customer because we’ve helped each other to grow. Now they’re producing more than 1.4 billion capsules per year.”

And the market shows no signs of slowing, first because of the expiration of patents such as Nespresso and some of Dolce Gusto’s, changing consumer demand, and the current transition from the office coffee sector (OCS) to the home market. About 80 per cent of Pelican Rouge’s customers are in the OCS, with the rest private label solutions.

“We saw a significant drop in sales in the office coffee market, but the companies we supply our coffees and soluble ingredients to had a fantastic period because production increased for them in Q1 and Q2 due to the many people who used to work at the office now staying at home,” Lommerse says.

Pelican Rouge Coffee Roasters is part of the Selecta Group, Europe’s leading route-based unattended self-service retailer. It provides coffee and convenience food solutions in the workplace and in public spaces.

With more than 9000 employees and 250,000 customers spanning 16 countries, Selecta serves more than 10 million consumers each day on average, through its 460,000 points of sales across Europe.

The industry is recovering from the impact of COVID-19 and adapting quickly to the ‘new normal’, including Selecta, which is reacting to new developments in the market and working closely with global coffee brands.

“We closely follow the trends in the out-of-home and retail market, and develop new products accordingly for capsules and office coffee machines,” Lommerse says. “A large trend we’re seeing is consumers exchanging milk products for plant-based alternatives, and a reduced volume of sugar in their foods and drinks, which we’re accommodating for. We are also always looking for new flavours to offer consumers variety.”

Lommerse is excited about Pelican Rouge’s growth potential. It already has close relationships in Italy, France, and Spain, and is looking to tackle new markets, including the United States, which is largely driven by K-Cup coffee consumption. As such, Pelican Rouge will launch its own K-Cup alternative in September.

“We are in the process of developing three Pelican Rouge has supported the capsule different K-Cup coffee blends, based on Pelican filling market for the last eight years with recipes for more than 110 coffee blends.

Rouge roasted coffee,” Lommerse says. “K-Cup is massive in the US and Canada. Brands like Tim Hortons and Starbucks have their own systems, so we’re really excited to launch our own K-Cup range.”

Pelican Rouge is also developing its own branded alternative to the Nespresso Professional pod, due for release in August 2020.

“Pelican Rouge has been blending and roasting coffee, creating ingredients since 1973 and supporting the capsule filling market for the last eight years.

We supply our products to 71 countries and are knowledgeable about the ingredients we work with,” Lommerse says.

“The growth of the capsule market is set to continue, and if we can continue to adapt to the needs of our customers and produce ingredients that will deliver a delicious result, then it’s very rewarding.” G C R For more information, visit www.pelicanrougecoffeeroasters.com

S E P TE M B E R /O C TO B E R 2 0 2 0 | GCR

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SINGLE SERVE Intelligent Blends

A smarter cup INTELLIGENT BLENDS HAS STAYED ON TOP OF COFFEE AND BEVERAGE TRENDS TO PROVIDE INCREASED FUNCTIONALITY AND DIVERSE OPTIONS TO THE SINGLE-SERVE CO-PACKING MARKET.

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rends come and go, but every once in a while, something comes along that leaves a lasting taste on the coffee industry.

One of the biggest trends has been single-serve K-Cups, currently more than 40 per cent of homes in the United States own a single-cup brewer, according to Statista.

A big turning point occurred for single-serve in 2013 when Keurig’s patent on the K-Cup expired. Many businesses took up the opportunity to produce capsules of their own, though Intelligent Blends Vice President of Sales, John Lenz, says few did so with innovation and sustainability in mind.

“At the time, K-Cups were priced high because there was no competition, which meant there was also no innovation occurring to improve the product and sustainability seemed to be an afterthought,” Lenz says.

“Our K-Cup design produces a more effective extraction than a typical K-Cup. This is thanks to a ribbed design around the outside of the cup that lines up with the filter paper, match that with a bottom dimple design and you have a reduced surface area inside of the K-cup, producing more turbulence and extraction. In turn, you get a more robust cup of coffee.”

Another unique factor of Intelligent Blends’ K-Cups is that they are made of polypropylene (PP#5) instead of polystyrene, ensuring they can be recycled. PP#5 plastics are accepted in more than 45 per cent of recycling centres, and are a proven food-and-beverage-safe plastic.

Lenz says the business wanted something sustainable that could be recycled through mainstream channels, unlike some compostable pods that need to go to industrial facilities, which are very limited around the US. Intelligent Blends has found great “We feel really strongly about the success in the K-Cup market thanks to a sustainability of our K-Cups. But taking focus on innovations and sustainability. a step back and looking at K-Cups and single serve overall, there’s studies that show the environmental impact is better than a bag of whole bean coffee,” he says.

“There’s a lot of time, effort, labour, and energy that goes into making that coffee, so by having a dosage-controlled single serve, you’re eliminating a lot of waste compared to coffee that’s not fully extracted.”

While Intelligent Blends began simply as a co-packer for private labels, it quickly developed brands and products of its own, which are now in more than 100,000 hotel rooms around the US. Lenz says Intelligent Blends also sells millions of pods every month online in eCommerce, on sites like Amazon, and co-packs for at

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least 80 brands around the world. The marketing and business insight it gains from its own labels are used to improve the service it offers as a co-packer.

Intelligent Blends’ focus is on K-Cups, but the business also produces and co-packs Nespresso-compatible capsules, plant-based plastic tea bags, single serve stick packs, and bagged coffee. Lenz says this wide variety of formats, combined with its market knowledge and distribution services, allows Intelligent Blends to act as a turnkey solution for its customers.

“We learned along the way that if we’re formulating a blend for a customer, it only makes sense to offer it in other proven formats.

As a co-packer, we can offer products boxed in any size, from one to 200 count cartons.

We’ve also set up our own warehouses across the country and do a lot of fulfilment for our co-pack customers,” Lenz says.

“But what really brought us to that next level is our innovation in what we pack: coffee, flavours, functional additives, cider, cocoa, and teas… you name it, and we have a research and development team that will help formulate and bring that product or idea to fruition.”

Functionality is a growing trend in coffee, particularly of additives that promote health or cognition. Lenz says this functional space is where Intelligent Blends and its customers are seeing the most growth.

“While single serve provides convenience to the end user, people want more than that.

They want their vitamins in their coffee, their proteins, their mushrooms, whatever it is,” he says.

“A large majority of our R&D projects involve everything but coffee, which indicates what consumers are looking for. We’re seeing our customers that do functional growing at

SINGLE SERVE Intelligent Blends

Success with its own brands provides Intelligent Blends with experience and insight it can share with customers.

an extremely fast pace.”

When asked how the global COVID-19 pandemic has impacted Intelligent Blends, Lenz stated a strong digital presence, particularly on Amazon, has also helped these brands, especially during COVID-19.

“People are staying home and aren’t visiting offices or even their local coffee shops. Instead of one coffee in the morning before they head to work, they’re having two or three cups per day at home. We’re capturing the sales that would Intelligent Blends has a number of R&D projects involving ingredients other than just coffee.

have occurred in those other places,” he says.

“If you look at the numbers, drip coffee has been on the decline in the US for six years now.

K-Cups ship easily, are only growing in ownership, and are one of Amazon’s top-selling items. That’s a huge online marketplace.”

Although functional and convenient coffee is on the rise, Lenz says there will be always be space for traditional coffee. Regardless of the convenience, he adds that the coffee must be of a high and consistent quality. This is backed up by stringent quality control.

“Our fourth generation Roast Master, Jeff Mcintosh, oversees all of our coffee purchasing. He looks at the requests of the customer to provide exactly what they’re looking for – whether it’s fairtrade, single origin, organic, kosher, and so on,” Lenz says.

“From there, it’s what kind of beans, region, taste, and roast profiles they’re looking for. We really try to understand on our side all of the customers’ desires, and then, with our experience, recommend what beans would be the best for what they’re looking to achieve.”

With increased functionality, and market share due to COVID-19, Lenz says Intelligent Blends expects the popularity of K-Cups and other single serve formats to only grow.

“One thing that’s helped our company grow is understanding that there is a lot of underserved communities of coffee drinkers that have various preferences that they like. We have honed in on those groups and created blends to provide more options,” Lenz says.

“Demand will settle, but reports suggest in a couple years from now, up to 60 or 70 per cent of households in the US will own a K-Cup brewer. All signs show us that the K-Cup market is here to stay.” G C R For more information, visit www.intelligentblends.com

S E P TE M B E R /O C TO B E R 2 0 2 0 | GCR

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SINGLE SERVE Sarong

Magnetic attraction ITALIAN MANUFACTURER SARONG OFFERS A TURNKEY AND ADVANCED CAPSULE SOLUTION TO THE COFFEE INDUSTRY, FROM SUPPLYING CAPSULES TO CAPSULE FORMING OR FILLING AND SEALING MACHINERY.

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he coffee capsule market may still be relatively young, but Sarong approaches it with a knowledge and experience going back almost 50 years. Starting in the single serve pharmaceutical segment, the Italian equipment manufacturer turned its attention to coffee more than a decade ago, from providing capsules to the machines that will produce and process them.

“Sarong can offer its customers thermoforming machines, assembling machines, and filling and sealing machines for capsules, in addition to the most renowned capsules in circulation, and/or the material to thermoform them,” says Marco Scrivani, Sales Manager at Sarong. “We therefore represent a one stop shop in the coffee and soluble capsule sector.

“We love to deal with companies that want to improve their production process, limiting total cost of ownership (TCO) and giving importance to the quality of the finished product. Thermoforming machines remain the prerogative of large roasters, because – generally – only large productions can justify such an investment, but we have solutions for small and medium-sized companies both in filling solutions and in the supply of empty capsules.”

The thermoforming process is a moulding technique for thermoplastic products. It consists of the initial softening and preheating process of a sheet of material, which is then adhered to a mould that consistently reproduces the capsules.

Sarong’s multi-layer capsules provide a functional barrier to oxygen, steam, gases, vapours, and ultraviolet light, preserving coffee’s organoleptic properties.

“Our company has also entered into a collaboration with a company specialising in the deep drawing of aluminium capsules, and is now able to offer Nespresso compatible capsules in both plastic and aluminium,” Marco Scrivani says.

“There are few companies with sufficient know-how to design and manufacture capsules. Adding to this is the proven performance of our capsules when dispensed in the coffee machine. Above all, we are also manufacturers of machines that fill the capsules, so we know the critical issues of our customers when this type of product enters the production line.”

The latest addition to Sarong’s filling and sealing portfolio is the Magneta. It replaces the belt or chain conveyors conventionally used to transport capsules through the machine with independent magnetic shuttles powered by a linear motor.

A shuttle receives the empty capsule and transports it through each station of the machine until it is weighed, transferring all relevant information to the machine’s programmable logic

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The Magneta is the latest filling and sealing machine from Sarong.

controller, and ready for removal.

“The magnetic shuttle reaches high speeds and accelerations by reducing or eliminating the presence of buffers between the stations themselves. This facilitates format changes, optimises consumption, allows different work cycles between one station and another, and guarantees the accuracy of capsules’ positioning under each processing station,” Marco Scrivani says. “Furthermore, the centre-to-centre distance between capsules can be managed independently underneath each process station and the changeover is easy and quick.”

He adds that this technology is well suited to medium-to-high-speed capsule production, with Sarong still offering conventional technology for lower production businesses. But those who embrace what the Magneta has to offer will appreciate its new levels of flexibility and efficiency.

“Traditional filling and sealing machines based on chain conveyors are mostly rigid machines and often dedicated to a single product. With Sarong’s new filling and sealing machine, we break this paradigm, allowing a quick and simple format change over. This means the possibility to dedicate a line to different types of capsules with no prejudice

SINGLE SERVE Sarong

to the company’s overall equipment effectiveness (OEE),” he says.

“We believe that flexibility is one of the winning keys in packaging technology and this obviously also involves the world of coffee. Sarong has always been a company that manufactures widely customised machinery with an eye to their flexibility. We are a company that designs the machine starting from the customer’s needs and not by forcing the application of in house pre-assembled technology. This tailormade approach sets us apart.”

The magnetic system of the Magneta provides many potential benefits to its user.

This ranges from simply increasing production capacity to a number of efficiencies throughout the process. For instance, a quick format changeover saves times while its compact size reduces space required.

Each station can be moved or extracted to enable ordinary and extraordinary maintenance and cleaning procedures. A lack of mechanical transmission elements and components also means maintenance takes less time and can be done less often.

Throughout the filling and sealing process, Marco Scrivani says there is an optimisation of aluminium film and nitrogen consumption, and that the machine is hygienically designed with stainless steel. This means strict food safety requirements are met as well as cleaning requirements.

“We have been operating successfully for years in the pharmaceutical and food markets,

Magnetic shuttles replace conventional conveyors in the Magneta, optimising speed and efficency.

very high-demanding sectors requiring extreme attention to elements such as TCO, flexibility, weight accuracy, hygiene, OEE, and after sales service, and bring this to coffee,” he says.

By supplying capsules or capsule forming machinery as well as filling and sealing equipment, Sarong provides a turnkey service to coffee roasters.

“This entails the attribution of responsibility for the proper functioning of the entire line to a single provider, to the complete advantage of the client,” Marco Scrivani says.

He adds the coffee capsule market has largely resisted the global crisis that has arisen due to COVID-19, thanks to online sales and at-home consumption. As for its own business and demand, Sarong has noticed an important inclination in favour of aluminium for Nespresso compatible capsules.

“The consumer of coffee capsules has become more sophisticated over the years and the stakeholders of this industry have had to take this into account. There are two important drives.

First of all, the freshness of the product and its long shelf life, which can only be guaranteed by a barrier capsule capable of protecting the aroma,” Marco Scrivani says.

“The other drive is the ecological sensitivity that is pushing for eco-friendly solutions that impose specific choices on roasters.”

Thanks to its committed research and development, Sarong offers appropriate solutions for demand for recyclable capsules in both the creation phase and filling and sealing.

“The aluminium capsule is presented as a premium product and its handling must be done accurately. For example, in our new filling machine, we have included a robotised solution for feeding the capsules which excludes human manipulation,” Marco Scrivani says. “We believe that the coffee and capsule market in particular is confirmed as one of the markets of greatest interest and that it will be characterised by important technological innovations to meet modern production needs.” G C R Sarong provides solutions from the forming and supplying of capsules through to filling and sealing.

For more information, visit www.sarong.it/coffee or contact marco.scrivani@sarong.it

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SINGLE SERVE Morning

New horizons MORNING HAS DEVELOPED AN ECOSYSTEM THAT ENCAPSULATES GROWING DEMAND FOR SINGLE SERVE AND SPECIALTY COFFEE WITH AN ONLINE MARKETPLACE AND NEW MACHINE DESIGN.

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he specialty and capsule coffee markets are sometimes treated as if at opposite ends of the coffee industry spectrum, due to their respective focuses on complexities and convenience.

However, coffee professionals Andre Chanco and Leon Foo say this is far from the case, and these concepts are not mutually exclusive.

“We feel that pods have been given a bad name in the specialty scene, and the market has been dominated by Nespresso in the last few years,” Foo says.

“But we’ve seen an evolution and inflow of specialty pods coming into the scene, from

barista champions making pods to award winning coffees and rare varietals, going into capsules.”

Foo began his coffee journey over a decade ago, founding PPP Coffee, a wholesale coffee roaster and equipment distributor in Singapore. Chanco learned to roast from Foo for three years before starting a roasting business of his own, Yardstick Coffee in the Philippines, in 2014.

Over this time, the two witnessed the rise of both specialty coffee and coffee capsules in their markets, and took notice of specialty roasters at home and abroad producing capsules. However, they felt roasters and capsule machines weren’t making the most of what the other had to offer.

“These specialty coffee shops and roasters are not built to sell capsules. They Morning provides consumers with access usually specialise in selling beans to cafés, but capsules are a very different market. to capsules from around the world.

Logistically, getting these pods to people who want them is an issue and you have to go through their website just to find them,” Foo says.

“We felt that, if we curated and aggregated the world’s best capsules – which were harder to track down than their beans – there was a lot to offer.”

Foo and Chanco began developing the Morning ecosystem in 2018. The idea was simple, to create an online marketplace of Nespresso-compatible capsules from prominent specialty coffee roasters through its online website, and to provide a versatile machine that could brew these capsules as intended.

“Last year, we visited the London Coffee Festival to show a few roasters the prototype of the machine to get some feedback. That gave them confidence in what we were trying to achieve,” Chanco says.

“Now that most people are working from home, it’s ripe for Morning, because

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SINGLE SERVE Morning

they want to experiment with new or different coffees and recipes the end to unlock different levels of flavours,” at home. Capsules are great for this because they ship well across Foo says. the world and have a much longer shelf life than whole bean coffee.”

“The coffee just tastes better if you can cut Early partners of the Morning ecosystem include Colonna Coffee out the bitterness and increase the sweetness.” and Volcano Coffee Works in the United Kingdom, St Ali Coffee Another feature Morning has emulated from specialty cafés is measuring the output Roasters in Australia, The Cupping Room in Hong Kong, and from the coffee machine.

Foo and Chanco’s own roasters. Morning soft-launched its online marketplace in the fourth quarter of 2019, delivering capsules and “Roasters put different amounts of coffee subscriptions from these roasters to Singapore and Hong Kong, to in their capsules, some five grams, other 5.6, optimise the user experience before a wider launch, alongside the six, seven, some even go up to eight. They’re Morning Machine capsule brewer, in October/November 2020. also precise about their recipe and brew Chanco says Morning will begin with markets where there is ratio,” Foo says. a strong specialty coffee scene and uptake of Nespresso machines “Some roasters and high-end users are and boutiques – Australia and the UK in particular. putting a scale underneath the Nespresso “The roasters we have involved in the marketplace are evangelists machine and holding onto the button to make for better coffee and home brewing. As long as the St Alis, Colonnas, sure they hit these numbers.” and Cupping Rooms of the world endorse the machine by selling Users are free to trial and experiment with it in their shops, it will trickle down from there,” Chanco says. their own recipes, but Chanco says the true benefit of a system like Morning is that you “We did a customer study to identify who our first users could or can drink a coffee roasted anywhere in the might be. Rather than going to the masses then trying to convince specialty coffee folks this is a better machine, we’re going down world, as far back as a year ago or more, that the industry route we’ve been familiar with for the past 10 years.” is still fresh and tastes as the roaster intended.

He adds many of these roasters producing exceptional capsules “I might buy a Geisha from St Ali as are not authorised to sell Nespresso machines and must redirect whole bean, mis-brew it at home, and have customers elsewhere. However, by selling the Morning Machine, a poor cup experience,” he says. “But with they will be able to capture that additional income and create a a capsule, the roaster has control over every relationship with those customers. parameter that could go wrong, and paired What makes the Morning Machine stand out is eschewing with the machine, we’re delivering that to the one-size-fits-all approach seen with simpler devices. Rather the end customer.” G C R than one or two buttons to select beverage size, a dial and organic light-emitting diode screen allow the user to alter different brewing For more information, visit www.drinkmorning.com components, including water temperature, pressure, and volume.

The unit is even Internet of Things enabled, so these factors can be programmed with a smart device.

“Each roaster we reached out to was using different formats – plastic, compostable, and aluminium – and roasting or grinding it differently.

They were all also struggling with the incumbent machines. Often, the first cup isn’t hot enough, the second one is alright, but the third, fourth, and fifth get hotter and hotter,” Foo says.

“We felt with a more accurate proportional–integral–derivative (PID) control, you could set the exact temperature for whichever capsule you are brewing.”

Water for extraction is heated to the user’s request or roaster’s recipe. A separate water dispenser pours water at 65°C to 70°C, the same temperature as the extracted coffee, so Australians can drink their much-loved long blacks and Brits their Americanos. This water can also be used with the single serve coffee bags or pouches catching on in these markets.

To further improve the extraction, the Morning Machine features more complex pump technology that allows for different pressure profiles to be developed.

“Typically, a capsule machine pushes one bar of pressure all the way through. But at the commercial level, people have been using pressure The Morning Machine features in-built scales, temperature control, and IoT connectivity. profiles that are low in the beginning, high in the middle, and taper off at A range of international specialty roasters have already joined the Morning ecosystem.

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SINGLE SERVE Coffee Capsule Co.

AUSTRALIAN CAPSULE EXPERTISE

COFFEE CAPSULE CO. OFFERS THE HIGH QUALITY AND STANDARDS AUSTRALIAN COFFEE IS KNOWN FOR TO INTERNATIONAL RETAILERS AND BRANDS IN A RANGE OF SUSTAINABLE CAPSULE FORMATS.

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ustralia is a market leader on the global stage for specialty coffee, where it is celebrated for its innovative roasting styles, meticulous quality control, and distinctive taste profiles. What is less known about the county is its stringent food safety standards.

Coffee Capsule Co. (CCC) is Australia’s leading contract packer of Nespresso® compatible coffee capsules, offering a comprehensive range of single serve coffee capsule solutions, going beyond filling and packing. Director Joe Pagano tells Global Coffee Report the business is now positioned to offer these services to the rest of the world.

“CCC offers international retailers and brands the opportunity to leverage all of these attributes across the range ofNespresso® compatible capsule options. We also offer a

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complete turnkey service that builds on a reputation of delivering premium quality into every capsule,” Pagano says. “The company was founded on the back of a combined 30 years of industry experience, and focuses on offering Australian [and international] retailers and coffee brands an unrivalled range of value-added products and services.”

CCC operates out of a “state-of-the-art” manufacturing and R&D facility in Sydney, from which it provides the single serve capsule market with a world-class contract manufacturing service, new product development, and long-term sustainable solutions.

The business is one of the first in Australia to provide private-label aluminium and Australiancertified compostable capsule services.

“The aluminium capsule solution is one of the biggest breakthroughs the industry has seen in recent times. Since Nespresso® compatible capsules launched about eight years ago, this has been the end game. Only in the last six to eight months have economic and technological developments aligned to allow non-multinationals to offer them,” Pagano says.

Developed by Capsul’in Pro, he says CCC’s aluminium capsules are engineered to deliver the highest quality coffee experience possible.

“Our aluminium capsules provide quality and freshness and come in a range of colours and styles, encouraging innovative branding. Shared or multi brand recycling opportunities are also presenting themselves internationally. This would be a big step forward in achieving sustainability in the coffee capsule space, particularly in the Asia Pacific and United States, which are our key export markets,” Pagano says.

SINGLE SERVE Coffee Capsule Co.

CCC provides Nespresso® compatible capsule options made to Australia’s high quality and food safety standards.

“CCC understands its corporate and social responsibilities and invests in end-toend closed-loop recycling and composting programs with an eye on meeting the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation 2025 sustainable packaging targets for reuse, recycling, and composting.”

He says these initiatives have enabled CCC to offer sustainably aware brands and retailers the opportunity to extend their offering with fresh, locally roasted beans in a range of Nespresso® compatible capsule formats.

“CCC’s priority is to deliver a quality, customised coffee experience for its customers. Australian coffee is some of the best in the world and we understand what it takes to deliver the highest quality in the cup,” Pagano says. “Australian and international specialty brands are also coming to the realisation that, with the right partners, their coffee delivered in capsule format, can translate into a quality product they can be proud to offer their consumers for home consumption. This realisation is driving growth and conversion of specialty roasters to the single serve format.”

Over the past eight years, single-serve capsule solutions have been one of the fastest growing categories in the coffee sector. Pagano says “consumers want choice, convenience, and quality”.

Sustainability considerations have also become a major focal point in recent times.

“The challenge has been to meet consumers, coffee brands, and retailers’ expectations around price, performance, positioning, and sustainability, and to deliver on these expectations by offering a high-quality product across the different capsule types on offer.”

CCC’s consistency and quality across three capsule styles: aluminium, compostable, and plastic ensures its customers that whatever style of capsule they choose, performance will be first class.

“We understand that the result in the cup is only as good as our industry knowledge and experience, back-end support, infrastructure, and rigorous quality program,” Pagano says. “Quality is achieved by managing the entire production process from end to end in a controlled environment. In addition, we hold all the necessary quality and compliance certification that ensures chain of custody and compliance from delivery of raw materials through to dispatch of finished products.”

To reach the highest standard with every production batch, CCC pays “microscopic attention” to the balance between grind, weight, and extraction. Extensive quality assurance testing during production ensures consistency from cup to cup.

“Our quality assurance systems are globally certified and are one of the most robust in the world.

We have a team of technical specialists, including compliance and quality assurance officers, with years of experience in coffee and capsule production, to ensure that the very highest standards are maintained,” Pagano says. “One thing we know is that the landscape is continually changing, and we have to be flexible and ready to meet any challenge.”

One such example has been the impact of COVID-19 on coffee market dynamics, which Pagano says has created a shift to more home-based consumption.

“Brands that previously have not had a capsule offering are realising it’s more critical than ever to have capsules to diversify their range. They’ve come to realise both the commercial value of the format and consistently high-quality product that can be achieved,” he says.“[But,] in the past 12 months, the biggest change has been the emergence of and demand for both aluminium and certified compostable capsules. This has added a completely new dynamic and we are uniquely placed in the Australian market to offer all three formats. In international terms, our product offering is in line with the world’s best.”

CCC’s 12-month strategic plan includes the launch of other exciting formats, with a focus on adding more sustainable offerings to its portfolio.

“We believe it is our responsibility to be constantly innovating and delivering the very best solutions to our customers,” Pagano says. “Our founders and management team have worked in the industry since its infancy, and have extensive experience servicing Australia’s major grocery retailers, national brands, and specialty roasters alike.

“For both domestic and global partners, large or small, we’re able to offer a range of solutions and services that hit whatever part of the value matrix they are targeting. Our vast industry knowledge across coffee, packaging, marketing, and logistics, help our partners add value to their brands and put them on the road to success in the coffee capsule category.” G C R For more information, contact info@coffeecapsuleco.com.au *Nespresso® is a trademark of Societe de Produits Nestle SA. The Nespresso® trademark is used in relation to this product in a descriptive capacity only and not to indicate the origin of this product.

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PROFILE Probat

The third generation SINGERS CHANGE THEIR NAME TO BE MORE APPEALING AND COMPANIES DO IT TO SIGNIFY A NEW IDENTITY. IN THE CASE OF PROBAT’S SHOP ROASTER RANGE, IT’S A CHANCE TO TARGET A NEW GENERATION OF USERS.

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hen Probat Shop Roaster Trainer Daniela Roasters can use any mobile device to connect to the roasting software and Nowitzki first learned how to roast, all control the parameters of the roast. she had was a timer and temperature probe. All measurements were written on paper. It was challenging to reproduce a roast accurately, some may even say it involved luck. However, fast forward 20 years and roasters can easily get the results they’re after thanks to advanced technology and sophisticated visual cues.

“Roaster needs have changed, technology has changed, but our desire for consistent and reproducible roasts remains the same throughout the world,” Nowitzki says.

German roaster manufacturer Probat has pioneered such solutions in its industrial range since 1868. However, since 2008, Probat’s shop roasters have embraced the same world-renowned standards of technology, starting with the Probatone series. In 2012, it was updated to the Probatone II series, and now the third-generation line will be formally known as control and roasting information,” Roelofs says. the P III series.

Thanks to a large 15.6-inch- (39.6-centimetre) “We needed to make the name of the roaster easier for our international customers to relate to,” touchscreen and advanced software, users now says Jens Roelofs, Head of the Shop Roaster Sales and Service Department at Probat. “Most of our have a more visual representation of roasting customers and colleagues, especially those in the United States, got used to shortening the name to parameters and data, such as temperature, the ‘P series’, so we decided to make it official.” pressure, burning power, timing, drum speed and roasting curve.

The range still includes the 5-kilogram, 12-kilogram, and 25-kilogram batch sizes, only now the model names will “Roasters want to see what’s going on inside be abbreviated to P05 III, their machine and change every parameter – P12 III and P25 III, with a all the small details to perfect their roast. And roasting capacity between 20 with the new P III series, they can,” Nowitzki to 100 kilograms of green says. “Roasters can ‘play around’ to get the coffee per hour. best from their roast.”

“We kept everything from Better visual elements mean it’s easy to the Probatone Series 2 that adjust the roast and for the operator to react immediately. we considered ‘optimum’, such as its consistency and P III series roasters will be available with reproducibility and iconic even more sensors than the Probatone II series.

Probat design, but have gone In addition to existing sensors, like product to the next level in the P III and roasting exhaust gas thermocouples, Probat has added a pressure gauge for the series in terms of design of The new P III series includes improved the roaster’s outer appearance, roasting exhaust air, thermocouples for coffee thermal insulation to minimise heat loss. ambient temperature, supply air temperature, and how the user visualises the

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and cooling exhaust air temperature. These added features give roasters maximum information to control and reproduce their roast automatically.

“In coffee roasting, consistency is hard to achieve but extremely important,” Nowitzki says. “These days, the reproducibility of a recipe is easier and more reliant with the automatic function.

It means all the parameters and recipes can be set, saved, and stored into the software for other colleagues to access and easily reproduce.”

Roelofs says while many roasters will maximise the machine’s automation, others prefer to stick with traditional, manual control, using only gas heating to produce their roast, for instance.

“The good thing to know about the P III series is that you can control every parameter and access lots of data about your roast, but if you don’t want to, you don’t have to,” Roelofs says.

“A roaster can still, more or less, operate the machine manually like they once did 15 years ago, but the option is there for more.”

The P III series, like its predecessor models, uses specially developed shovel mechanisms to move the beans in the drum at a controlled, set rotation speed. Inside the roaster, the beans move along precisely defined paths. A controlled flow of hot air roasts the beans via convection with minimum drum contact. This results in a highly consistent roast and uniform bean pattern.

The new P III series also includes improved thermal insulation to minimise heat loss and maintain the energy inside the roaster.

The P III series has an improved outer appearance and Airflow is controlled better and the front casting of the drum is enhanced touchscreen to monitor roasting information. now partially double-walled to reduce hot surfaces.

In terms of ergonomics, the design integrates improvements in usability, energy efficiency and ergonomics. The new model is easier to access and clean, especially markets, such as Asia and Eastern Europe. He inside the insulation chamber, where the roasting drum is installed. The lever of the drum outlet says many roasters live abroad to learn the art flap has been moved to the left side in all models. of roasting, and on their return, are keen to replicate their skills.

“We are mindful that a lot of roasters work by themselves these days, and now they can be empowered to operate, clean, and perform maintenance on the machine themselves,” Nowitzki says.

“It’s a repetitious pattern but the demands Roasters can also use any mobile device to connect to the roasting software and control the from these roasters are always the same. They parameters of the roast. all have high demands in the technology of “Users can even compare the results from the sample roaster and replicate the recipe easily on the roaster,” he says.

Nowitzki adds that Probat is committed their roaster using the same software. This was not the case before, so it’s a very significant change,” Nowitzki says. to the shop roaster market because of the When it comes to developing a new product range, Probat looks to customer feedback from growing specialty coffee industry, where the sales and training teams, and devises a “wish list” of the top items worth implementing. For there’s a thirst for knowledge sharing. As Roelofs, “control of more parameters” and “better access to more data” topped his list. Then, it was such, it will host a digital launch of the P III improved design for efficiency, easier maintenance, and easier servicing, all of which he says have range in September. been addressed in the new P III series.

She says this new range is best suited “It’s always a long, challenging process but we try to find ways to fulfil each wish list with the to markets that enjoy sharing recipes, what help of our engineers. Then we wait for the prototype,” he says. models they’re using, and want to transfer In terms of design inspiration, the P III series resembles the well known and loved Probat style, knowledge. with the addition of high-end technical features to perfect its performance.

“We are excited for this range to be utilised The new series also embraces design elements taken from the new Probat sample roaster. Users by markets which are willing to test and play also have the option to customise the colours of the drum body, hood, and cast-iron front. with parameters and data and make their “Lots of businesses now want customers to see the roaster, just like they do the espresso product even more interesting for the end machine. Many roasters want the customer involved in the process of roasting to see how the consumer,” she says. G C R product is made,” Nowitzki says.

More than ever, Roelofs says there’s a high demand for shop roasters from new and maturing For more information, visit www.probat.com

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PROFILE Cropster

Scaling UP

Intelligentsia uses Cropster to access information about previous coffees to help make decisions with new ones.

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rowing a business is never easy. First, expansion is expensive and takes significant financial resources and investment to carry out effectively.

And following an increase in business, new systems and procedures need to be put in place to ensure operations continue to run smoothly and effectively. In coffee roasting, there’s the added challenge of maintaining consistency as batch sizes and numbers go up and customers develop certain expectations of your product.

American roaster Intelligentsia Coffee was founded in 1995 in Illinois, and over the past 25 years, has grown from roasting on-site in one Chicago café to 15 coffee bars, two roasteries, and two training labs across five states. It also has a nationwide wholesale business and ecommerce channels.

Sam Sabori, Intelligentsia’s Director of Coffee, joined the team in 2011. He tells Global Coffee Report Intelligentsia’s biggest challenge at the time was establishing a formal buying plan.

“One of the biggest things we had to get better at was making sure we have the right coffee for every blend and profile we want to release,” Sabori says.

“Through trial and error, we refined our expectations for everything on our menu. Though this took some time, this has enabled us to present dynamic offerings that are profitable for us and our partners, and more enjoyable to our customer base.”

Intelligentsia largely avoids this situation by using information from its past coffees and roasts stored by software solution provider Cropster. The roaster began using Cropster to track its cupping,

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Image: Intelligentsia

INTELLIGENTSIA AND UNION HAND-ROASTED COFFEE DISCUSS HOW IMPLEMENTING NEW DIGITAL SYSTEMS AND PROCESSES HELPED THEM SCALE THEIR COFFEE BUSINESSES OVER THE LAST DECADE.

roasting, and quality control information in 2013. All of that information from the past nine years is still available to Intelligentsia.

“We can go back to 2013 and look at a coffee – the approach we had, what we were thinking, and what it tasted like – and use that information for something we release today,” Sabori says.

“It’s allowed us to make better decisions with our coffees. If we zoom out 20 years and look at the wider coffee industry, there will be a split that is essentially ‘pre-Cropster’ and ‘post-Cropster’. We can now track our coffees in real time, and prior to that, it was all pen and paper or Excel spreadsheets.”

Every cupping Intelligentsia conducts is recorded on Cropster, which Sabori says occurs two to three times before it’s purchased, two to 10 times on arrival with sample roasts, and at

Image: Union Hand-Roasted Coffee

least once on a production-sized batch before going in an Intelligentsia bag. Adding to this sample evaluation data is the information presented and gathered via the Cropster roasting interface.

“Pre-Cropster, everyone was only looking at the colour change throughout the roast.

There were no other significant markers they could anchor to beyond visual cues and basic roast metrics like time and drop temperature,” Sabori says.

“Cropster lets people see where the turning points are and that you need to hit peaks at certain times, and it allows for more conversation to happen regarding heat absorption and how you enter post-crack development.”

Knowing how past coffees from the same origin and varietal reacted during and after a roast makes developing blends or single origin roast profiles much simpler for Intelligentsia.

This real-time and remotely-accessible information makes communication easier between its roasteries in Illinois and California.

Purchasing decisions are also seamless, since roasters can compare samples to what green bean buyers are tasting on the ground at the same time.

“Last year, I was in Beijing and needed to approve a container to ship from Nicaragua. I was actually in a taxi and pulled my computer out and logged on through a VPN to figure out what coffees we should approve. Without Cropster, I wouldn’t have been able to see how those coffees performed,” Sabori says.

“Having that information there, waiting for us to dig into has been a critical tool for us in terms of how we make coffee decisions remotely pre-, during-, and post-COVID.” Across the pond, Union Hand-Roasted Coffee in the United Kingdom has also experienced a quick trajectory since its founding in 2001. A focus on quality coffee and ethical sourcing has helped Union win numerous awards, including a Specialty Coffee Association Sustainability Award in 2019 and Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Sustainable Development in 2017.

It has also allowed Union to expand its wholesale business and other channels, entering the supermarket segment with Waitrose in 2015. Managing Director Violeta Stevens says this growth required rethinking how the business operates.

Cropster has helped Union Hand-Roasted scale its roasting, quality control, and consistency over the last decade.

“Systems and processes that were in place when we were a team of 30 wouldn’t work now that we have more than 70 people working at Union and the business is more than double,” Stevens tells GCR .

Like Intelligentsia, Union uses Cropster to track sample evaluation and roasting data, and has done so for almost a decade. Before Cropster, Union would record this data on a Microsoft Access database, which had to be done manually and could not track the roasting curve. Stevens says this has reduced human error and made sure consistent and detailed data is available to all Union employees.

“Cropster allows us to manage stocks better, monitor the quality of coffee, and provide on-time reporting data. It is at the centre of our green and roasted coffee management,” she says.

“People within the business use Cropster in different ways and for many different purposes. The roasting, quality control, and green coffee buying teams are using it on an hourly basis. In my role, I mainly use Cropster for reporting and management planning.”

As part of its commitment to ethical sourcing, Union shares much of the data it generates through Cropster with its producing partners, strengthening those relationships and ensuring the best result for both parties.

“It’s very important that we are well calibrated and aligned with our coffee partners. Sharing cupping scores with Cropster is simple and easy,” Stevens says. “In Cropster, we keep record of all green coffee inventory by lot, country of origin, producer partner, quality score, flavour attributes, and roast profiles. This allows us to better manage the quality control at every stage of the coffee journey – from origin to cup.”

The next step of Union’s relationship with Cropster is to integrate the platform with its enterprise resource planning (ERP) system so it can import its sales forecast into its production planning.

“Currently, we keep all coffee data within Cropster with the exception of landed price. The platform doesn’t offer this functionality yet, therefore when it comes to coffee cost management, we plan to use our ERP system. Integrating the two systems will save time and complexity,” Stevens says.

This integration service will provide Union with access to more in-depth reports of what is successful, history of best practices, and faster learning curves. In addition to the savings in time, stress, errors, and complexity that Cropster already provides, Stevens says this will further allow Union to manage its continued growth.

“Cropster is an excellent tool for many reasons – it’s simple to use, its flexible, but most importantly, it helps us recreate quality roasts time and time again.” G C R For more information, visit www.cropster.com

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PROFILE Bellwether Coffee

Toss a coin to your farmer BELLWETHER COFFEE IS HELPING FARMERS EARN A FAIR WAGE AND INVEST IN THEIR OWN FUTURES BY EMPOWERING COFFEE DRINKERS TO ‘TIP THE FARMER’ AND SUPPORT THE PRODUCERS BEHIND THEIR CUP.

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nvironmental sustainability has been front of mind for Bellwether Coffee since the inception of its emissionsfree commercial coffee roaster in 2013. But a smaller carbon footprint isn’t the only way the California-based company aims to have a positive impact on the planet. Another, is at the farm level.

The Bellwether Coffee Marketplace curates green coffee for its roasting customers that is high-quality and sustainably sourced, ensuring farmers are paid fairly. Now, Bellwether Coffee is taking this one step further with its Tip the Farmer program.

“The goal of Tip the Farmer is to go beyond sustainability and enable farmers to seek progress,” says Grayson Caldwell, Coffee Program Manager of Tip the Farmer at Bellwether Coffee.

“It puts a person behind the coffee. The average consumer hasn’t travelled to origin or even met a coffee producer. They might not even know that coffee grows on a tree. If you don’t know those things, it can be hard to understand that coffee producers are the most vulnerable in the supply chain.”

Tip the Farmer sees participating cafés add a US five-cent surcharge – or tip – to each cup of coffee sold to its customers.

Bellwether collects this money and distributes it in full to the farmers it buys coffee from.

“Coffee farmers have complete autonomy to choose how they invest the money, and we share how it was distributed with our customers who can share it with theirs’,” Caldwell says.

“We piloted Tip the Farmer at the beginning of the year and were ready to

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Tip the Farmer enabled the ASOPEP cooperative to provide PPE for local healthcare workers.

officially launch in March, but took a few steps back when COVID-19 hit. It just went live in June.”

Capitola Coffee in Portland, Oregon, is one of the coffee shops involved in the pilot. It helped raise an initial payment of $3000, which went to the Association of Ecological Producers of Planadas (ASOPEP) cooperative in Tolima, Colombia.

Caldwell visited ASOPEP in January 2020 to discuss how best to implement the program. At the time, the cooperative planned to invest in infrastructure that would help with its harvest.

However, when COVID-19 took hold in Colombia, ASOPEP’s priorities shifted.

“ASOPEP immediately launched two campaigns, one was targeted at hiring local labour to

help with the harvest, the other was to deliver essential services to producers living outside of town to encourage them to stay on their farms and mitigate the risk of spread,” Caldwell says.

“They also purchased personal protective equipment for their municipality’s healthcare workers and gave them coffee and chocolate to show their support. The program is farmers first and really let them decide for themselves what made the most sense for their community.”

Dax Johnson, Owner of Capitola Coffee, says the beauty of Tip the Farmer is that it allowed ASOPEP to spend the money in ways he or Bellwether might not have thought of.

“When I started Capitola, I had the goal of providing more income to the two ends of the supply chain: the baristas and the coffee producers. Tip the Farmer is a very convenient way for me to achieve that,” Johnson says.

“Any time that we get to talk about the producer, or the customer can think about them, it’s a big plus. Coffee isn’t something that grows on supermarket shelves, it’s a farmed product with a lot of labour and artisan work that goes into it. It helps us fill in the full picture of coffee production.”

Capitola Coffee launched Tip the Farmer in March for a few short weeks before temporarily closing due to COVID-19, and picked up where it left off in May. Johnson says since reopening, customers have been more generous with their tips to baristas, and don’t mind adding another nickel to their coffee budget.

“Coffee’s interesting. Some people really like to talk about what it is, what you’re doing, where it comes from, and who produces it, and some people don’t. The material is on display and we leave the conversation up to the customer. I just make sure my staff is well versed on the program so they’re ready to talk about it,” he says.

“Portland has a thriving coffee community, but that means there is a lot of competition. It’s good to participate in initiatives people might connect with.”

As well as its own coffee shop, Capitola Coffee operates a growing wholesale and custom ordering business, with plans to open more cafés on the horizon.

The business sources most of its coffee through the Bellwether Coffee Marketplace, which Johnson says provides convenience, simplicity, and consistency. He looks forward to seeing more of these producers benefit from Tip the Farmer.

“There’s a lot of farmers and co-ops that want to improve their operations in any way they can, and sometimes, having extra funds is going to be what makes that difference,” Johnson says.

“I see us growing in our wholesale offering and opening a few more retail stores within the next few years. The way we have it set up now, we are contributing per pound of coffee we roast, so our contribution to Tip the Farmer is only going to get bigger in the near future.”

Caldwell says Bellwether plans to make more payments to at least two more of its producing partners in 2020. Her end goal is for Bellwether to provide a Tip the Farmer premium to all the coffees it purchases.

“As we get more people on board, we’ll be able to make more payments to farmers. [We] are excited to see how producers invest this money,” she says.

“ASOPEP is potentially a unique example. In other scenarios, it could look like price premiums paid out to producers, or using the funds to invest in new infrastructure, like raised drying beds.

It really depends on the origin and needs of those producers.”

Coffee producer have already had to deal with several years

of low C market prices before COVID-19 impacted production, transportation, and demand. Caldwell says programs like Tip the Farmer can provide them with more autonomy and decision-making power, “to figure out how to navigate these unprecedented times”.

“Tip the Farmer is about building connections across the coffee supply chain and bridging the gap between consumers and farmers,” Caldwell says.

“It’s shown the producers that this is more than a business relationship. We really want to do what we can to support them, continue buying coffee from them year after year, to listen to their feedback, and really be a partner to them.” G C R For more information, visit www.bellwethercoffee.com Bellwether plans to expand Tip the Farmer to encompass more of its producing partners.

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PROFILE Cama Group

Lights. Camera. Action THE CAMA GROUP HAS ADDED LIVE FACTORY ACCEPTANCE TESTING TO ITS EXTENSIVE DIGITAL CAPABILITIES, PROVIDING CUSTOMERS WITH THE ABILITY TO TEST SECONDARY PACKAGING EQUIPMENT FROM THE COMFORT OF THEIR OWN HOME.

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any coffee businesses are looking to pivot their products to formats more suitable to the growing at-home and retail markets. Secondary packaging, what the coffee bags or capsules go in after filling, needs to be a key consideration when turning from wholesale or hospitality sales to direct-to-consumer.

“The demand [for new packaging solutions] has grown as far as retail consumption is concerned, creating a constant increase in production, and a related increase in automation demand to meet the needs of increased production,” says Paola Fraschini, Marketing Manager at secondary packaging specialist Cama Group.

“Automation allows you to increase the efficiency of processes and production, to manage the changes of products and packaging on the same line in a lean and effective way, and to have a production capacity that can be extended over a potential of 24 hours, reducing the number of operators needed around the machine line.”

However, an inability to travel, meet face-to-face, or test equipment due to COVID-19 may be discouraging some to invest in the new technology they need to cater to this market. To provide these businesses with a sense of assurance and continuity, Cama has expanded its digital capabilities with the launch of its Live Factory Acceptance Testing (FAT) program.

“The goal of Live FAT was to support customers who could not travel to test the machine here in our factory to test it remotely, staying safe at home, at their desk,” Fraschini says.

“Although we have been working on the technology for some months now, its virtual, on-line approach is proving incredibly pertinent and beneficial in these times of lockdown and separation.”

Cama’s customers often require tailored and flexible solutions for their packaging. With the Live FAT platform, smart cameras located close to the machine’s primary operational elements give them real-time video access to machine tests – using their own protocols and project specifications – live from Cama’s premises.

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In addition to the comprehensive overview given by the smart cameras, customers can also access complementary cameras covering static equipment, such as electrical panels.

This visual information and data is streamed via a secure, invite-only Microsoft Teams portal, accessed using a computer, tablet, or phone.

Customers also have the option to go full screen on particular views, to get even more detail.

Fraschini says high-definition cameras coupled to dedicated visualisation software and auto lighting ensure the clearest possible views, immaterial of the viewing platform.

“Live FAT is a combination of all these processes through a PC architecture, to which smart cameras positioned in the crucial parts of the machine are connected,” she says.

“The idea for this system came from an analysis of what we could do remotely. We can manage interviews, meetings, and assistance, and this function came as a consequence of our increasing digitalisation approach, which started a long time before COVID-19.”

Live FAT joins an ensemble of programs

Cama has introduced over the last few years to carry the customer experience into the digital age. These include pre-sales visualisation, virtual design using augmented reality, and virtual commissioning.

Fraschini says Cama has long been a proponent of advanced contemporary automation solutions, Industry 4.0 concepts, and comprehensive on- and off-machine connectivity.

“Cama is now able to virtualise every step of a project: from initial design concepts, through to building, testing, commissioning, installation, and beyond, for ongoing maintenance and support,” she says.

“Our machines are like our body. We are full of sensors, which transfer inputs to our brains, and this is the same for our machines.

Packaging machines, years ago, had only basic sensors on board which could only identify if the machine was alive or dead. Nowadays, trough digitalisation, all of our machines are able to ‘talk about their feelings’. They can advise of their status, like: ‘I am consuming not enough or too much energy, not enough or too much air, I am nearly broken down’, thanks to the machines’ smart components.”

The adoption of smart machine technology like this, and much deeper connectivity, offers multiple advantages to both manufacturers like Cama and its customers in coffee, food and beverage, and other segments.

Large companies in particular have appreciated the cost effectiveness of Cama’s virtualisation, Fraschini says. She adds it will be essential for them to maintain this operating model moving forward.

“This is not a simple video test. It is

Cameras set up around and inside the machinery allows for remote live factory acceptance testing.

Live FAT is a natural expansion of the Cama Group’s many digital capabilities.

something more dedicated and complex. It requires a greater commitment on our part in terms of operations, but the yield is successful,” Fraschini says.

“Virtualisation can be applied to many different aspects of a machine’s lifecycle. It will help address all those geographic, economic, technical, and social barriers that customers may currently be unable to overcome, such as providing trial products due quantity, shipping costs, or simply because they are excessively delicate or frozen. It will be like having a highly experienced Cama engineer on site for our customers.”

The COVID-19 pandemic and its ramifications have helped speed up a movement towards Industry 4.0 concepts across various industries. Fraschini says those already embracing automation, digitisation, and virtualisation, like Cama and its customers, may have fared better than most.

“During this emergency period, Cama never stopped operating to meet the needs of our customers, while, of course, following rules of conduct established by the government. The company responded immediately and with extreme flexibility to all changes requested, and this allowed us to continue the activity without uncertainties,” Fraschini says.

“The drop in demand in our sector [of secondary packaging] was, worldwide, lower than in other sectors. This is explained by a growth in the demand for ‘ultra-packaging’ in various geographical areas, such as eastern countries, the United States, and Europe itself.

“The agri-food sector reacted well. Moreover, let’s not forget the growing numbers in the large-scale distribution sector. Another aspect to consider is that packaging will be increasingly in demand as protection and safety tools. This will lead to a maintenance of our volumes for the foreseeable future.”

Fraschini says to Cama, it is key the coffee industry, and manufacturers more broadly, put a greater focus on automation and digitisation to recover from the effects of COVID-19. Cama’s next step is to add virtual remote assistance to its digital manufacturing package.

“We are in a time of strong changes, where it is essential for manufacturers to invest in research and development. The key word is ‘adaptation’ to situations, from every point of view, and the lesson we have learned is that we must be able to optimise processes,” Fraschini says.

“Companies able to adapt and be flexible will maintain their positions in the market and will probably be able to grow again.” G C R For more information, visit www.camagroup.com

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PROFILE Cafetto

Proof is in the descaler FOR THE PAST 16 YEARS, CAFETTO HAS WORKED HARD TO BECOME THE INDUSTRY LEADER IN COFFEE CLEANING PRODUCT SOLUTIONS. BUT RATHER THAN JUST TELL CUSTOMERS, THE AUSTRALIAN COMPANY IS SHOWING THEM WITH A NEW DESCALER SOLUTION. CLEAN

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NEEDS DESCALING

n the world of research and development, there’s nothing worse than uncertainty.

Scientists want to determine cause and effect, and pair each problem with a solution.

In the case of Cafetto, a specialist manufacturer of cleaning and sanitation products for espresso, coffee brewing, and dispensing equipment, it relies on customer feedback to deliver products that address their wants, needs, and challenges. So, when collective responses asked for a product that would help identify if a coffee machine had limescale or not, Cafetto was put to the test.

“At Cafetto, we do a lot of physical, chemical, and application testing. We test our products on different machines and components to prove it is effective, but rather than just telling our customers that, we needed to show them,” says Cafetto Research and Quality Manager, Damien Rankine.

To easily prove that a machine was descaled correctly or not, Cafetto’s team of chemists created an eco-friendly powder descaler that visually indicates whether a descaling cycle has been successful. Called Spectra, the descaler uses a dye system that reacts to pH and changes colour accordingly.

One scoop, or 25 grams, of Spectra descaler is added to 500 millilitres of water.

Cafetto’s Spectra descaler rapidly and easily removes lime As it dissolves to form an orange solution, scale and calcium build up from espresso machine water 120 millilitres is run through the machine’s tanks, boilers, and coffee brewers.

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water tank, and 60 millilitres out through the steam wand. The descaler is left for 15 minutes before the remaining solution is put through the machine and steam wand again. The colour of the descaling solution exiting the machine and steam wand will indicate the next step.

If there is excess scale build-up in the machine, the water colour will turn a blue/ grey colour, indicating the need to re-run the descaling cycle. If the colour of the water comes out yellow or orange, the descaling has been effective, and the tank is scale-free.

“In simple terms, orange is good, blue is bad, and we’ve put that colour scale on the packaging documentation for people to clearly see,” Rankine says. “We always knew that the product was effective at rapidly and easily disposing of limescale and calcium build up, it was just about developing a visual colour change to prove it.”

The product is OMRI-certified, meaning it has been listed as an approved input with the Organic Materials Review Institute as complying with the requirements of the National Organic Program. It is also approved to use in organic systems and is free from

phosphate and not derived from genetically modified organisms.

After 12 months conducting trials and tests, Cafetto found the right balance of ingredients, which included the combination of tartaric acid, commonly found in wine production, and citric acid, commonly found in citrus fruits.

“These ingredients are very effective at removing scale from a surface, dissolving it in the descaling solution and flushing it out,” Rankine says.

In its simplest form, Rankine describes Damien Rankine limescale as “mineral salts dissolved in water”.

Cafetto Research and Quality Manager When it evaporates, it leaves behind calcium and magnesium deposits in a white chalk build up.

“When it rains, water flows over rocks and through creeks and rivers. Along the way, it picks up mineral salts. Depending where you live, water treatment plants remove the majority of salts present in the water, but for those that remain, they can build up in your boiler and cause blockages,” Rankine says.

Hard water levels differ from country to country, but generally speaking, Rankine says higher levels of limescale is more commonly found in water in regional areas than in major cities. And the longer it stays untreated in equipment, the harder it is to remove.

“A good filter will help manage most limescale, but if left untreated in the boiler and without adequate descaling, it will also impact the taste profile of your coffee,” he says.

“Anyone that is passing a lot of water through a system or heating a body of water should be descaling, from someone using a kettle at home to a high-volume café or coffee chain.”

Rankine recommends using a descaler like Spectra once a week, or more, depending on varying conditions, such as location, water hardness level, climate, and volume of coffee orders.

“It’s also good to remember that you don’t have to be using a coffee machine actively for build-up to occur. Even when idle, scale can still build up,” Rankine says.

The past few months have been a testing time for coffee shops throughout the world, with many having to adjust to new and safe operational guidelines. Rankine says Cafetto has continued to create cleaning and sanitation products, with demand in Europe returning and Asia growing.

Cafetto has distribution centres in Australia, New Zealand and the Netherlands to service each market by providing shorter shipping times as well as increasing inventory and product availability to all customers.

Rankine says the message on the importance of cleaning and sanitation in coffee shops around the world is universal.

One scoop of Cafetto’s eco-friendly powder descaler “Coffee machine cleaning has always been visually indicates whether a descaling cycle has been encouraged, but COVID-19 has reminded successful using pH-sensitive dye compounds.

“AT CAFETTO, WE DO A LOT OF PHYSICAL, CHEMICAL, AND APPLICATION TESTING. WE TEST OUR PRODUCTS ON DIFFERENT MACHINES AND COMPONENTS TO PROVE IT IS EFFECTIVE, BUT RATHER THAN JUST TELLING OUR CUSTOMERS THAT, WE NEEDED TO SHOW THEM.”

people how easily pathogens can spread and the importance of cleaning,” Rankine says.

“It should never be an afterthought and it definitely doesn’t have to be difficult. That’s our job, to supply to customers the easiest possible way to clean their equipment in a sanitary and safe way.”

Rankine has worked with Cafetto for the past six years. He completed his PhD in chemistry and conducted research on porous material before making the leap from university research to product development in industry.

“It’s been great to watch something develop from an idea into a product on a shelf, which is something you don’t often get in a university research environment,” he says.

In the line of work Rankine does, from research, development and technical support, to quality and risk management, careful testing at each level of product development is key. It’s a process that can take anywhere from three months to two years, with the outcome always a value-adding product that the industry has requested firsthand.

“In the case of developing Spectra, its creation was in response to a need for validation,” Rankine says. “We are giving customers access to a tool they can test themselves. We know our customers want a simple yet effective way to do things, and that’s what we’ve delivered.” G C R For more information, visit www.cafetto.com

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OPINION Kamal Bengougam

The perfect storm EVERSYS CHIEF COMMERCIAL OFFICER KAMAL BENGOUGAM ON THE RISE OF THE SIXTH WAVE AND WHAT THIS MEANS FOR THE FUTURE OF TRADITIONAL ESPRESSO EQUIPMENT. “There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things.”

— Niccolò Machiavelli

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nd so it is with our incredible industry of coffee. It is thought that creativity is inherent to its DNA, and yet there is a very clear and distinct order of things that has permeated the industry since the beginning of brewing times. Learned people describe the evolution of the coffee industry as a sequence of different and distinct waves. The term “wave of coffee” refers to a period in time or stage in the coffee industry.

The first wave was the introduction of traditional coffee culture in the 20th century. The second wave in the mid-1990s saw the rise of branded chains. The third wave arrived in the mid-2000s, celebrating artisan coffee, and the beginning of the 2010s welcomed the fourth wave and the science of coffee. The mid-2010s introduced the fifth wave, business of coffee, which we are said to be currently experiencing – my favourite wave to date.

It is my belief that coffee, up until now, had been relegated to a mere art form, a lifestyle for the chosen, cognoscenti with an increased sense of consciousness, a ‘raison d’être’ by well-meaning visionaries, aficionados of transcendent hyper reality.

The fifth wave has at long last been acknowledged for what it is, a business from which people all over the world derive a form of income. It is an activity which has associated costs and requires determination, creativity, strategy, and hard work. It represents a trading commercial business. And, with this pandemic, the business of coffee has come to the forefront of our retail industry with even greater relevance and force.

However, I find myself being confounded by waves that make the unwise assumption that what happens in Rome can become universal and be relevant the world over with exactly the same format of expression, perfect and identical waves striking distant shores with the regularity and uniformity of a metronome.

If the true definition of a wave is “a sudden occurrence of or increase in a phenomenon, feeling, or emotion,” then you can and should throw any element linked to predictability and regularity in the same bin as political truths and institutional faith.

The thing is, the idea of a wave should conjure emotions of power, the absence of human control, and explosive creativity looking for the purpose of birth. It should strike a short emotion within a sea of immense tranquillity, reaching faraway shores with both misty effervescence and random chaos. That’s what I call romance.

While imagining the picture of people/companies surfing the perfect wave, I can see four different groups, as follows: 1. T he pioneers: the people who are ahead of the curve/wave and are very likely to die or fail. They sometimes get lucky, time it right, and become very successful. If too far ahead, they miss the

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In the global pandemic, Kamal Bengougam says the business of coffee has come to the forefront of our retail industry.

tide and end up with nothing more than a few tiny bubbles to ignite their mighty boards.

2. T he adventurers: those who do not always calculate the risk and fail to realise that actions have consequences. They find themselves at the crux of the wave, experiencing a prescient moment of having a huge wave competing for victory against their fragile human shell.

However, within that group, there is also a tiny minority who gets it right, and time it to perfection with the right approach/product.

These people surf the perfect wave, hide at the heart of this explosion of nature’s might, find the sweet spot of absolute calm, serendipity within this perfect storm, to then emerge victorious and unscathed. They ride

their wave like a proud peacock towards the shores of undying fame.

3. T he followers: they are by far the largest group. These are the people who wait and see who has survived and then emulate them.

These people are sitting on their boards filled with a false sense of participation, but having wet feet does not make one a surfer.

4. T he settlers: these are the people who watch from afar without getting wet, the spectators who take the time to analyse the odds, calculate the permutations, and elaborate credible strategies that secure their future. They are the ones who, ultimately, make the most money.

The last group has the largest odds of survival, yet the lowest potential for upside in the short-to-medium term, while the first two groups have great potential for success, associated to being placed on top of the precarious list of endangered species.

So, there I go predicting what the sixth wave will be, a paradigm shift away from traditional espresso equipment, the demise of Rome, the rise of super traditional machines.

While all previous waves have been birthed in the Western world, this one will come out of the east. It will be a tidal wave, a tsunami that will be triggered out of Asia – now. The Western world will bask in its traditional culture, while China, being new to the brew, will change the rules of engagement, with neither fear nor apology.

In China, regardless of one’s political beliefs and aspirations, people are straight, direct, and devoid of historical prejudices.

To them, it is about making the best coffee in the most efficient form. It is not about fooling customers, promoting imaginary artistry, a figment of people’s imagination that a barista does anything more than pressing buttons and making doodles with hot milk. The one thing a human can do that a machine cannot, according to my good friend Dr. Adam Carr, is to taste

like great chefs who degust their sauces and creations for flavour, texture, and temperature.

Yet the beauty of technology resides in evening out those moments, making the in-cup experience more consistent yet equally compelling. If leading brands have realised that the majority of baristas struggle with milk texturing and are seeking mechanical alternatives, it therefore relegates the traditional machine to a mere giant kettle, an expensive yet majestic one at that.

Super traditional machines can provide it all – true espresso with a touch, authentic taste and lines, ultimate consistency, productivity, connectivity, and authenticity to the craft of age-old mores. If the world is ready to have its appendix removed by a robot, then a cup of coffee should represent mere child’s play.

Irish physicist John Tyndall once said: “Life is a wave, which in no two consecutive moments of its existence is composed of the same particles.”

If Tyndall is right, then evolution really means change, a bit like Boris Johnson’s Brexit. While those evolving particles are inevitably linked, a birth always releases a magical realm of new potential.

And if the fifth wave was truly all about business, business is the one thing that helps define and confirm reality as numbers very seldom lie. Its Cartesian nature either works or does not, it either makes money or fails. I kind of like this approach. You are either alive or dead, there is no place for survival, this in-between sedated state, pretence hanging on to false hope. Both failure and success can be transient, but, in the long term, destiny unfolds either its sorrowful or joyful wings with strength, determination, purpose, and perceived randomness.

Italian Renaissance diplomat Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli may have been right, but humanity can be defined as people who never stop trying, even though getting it right does not always appear to be a core imperative.

In sum, let this perfect storm usher this new tide we shall call the sixth wave, the rise of Super Traditional machines. Or, maybe I should call it the Wave 5.5, an unfinished wave frozen in a dramatic ‘C’ shape, awaiting to unleash its explosive powers onto unsuspecting shores. G C R Kamal Bengougam predicts the sixth wave will be a paradigm shift away from traditional espresso equipment to super traditional machines.

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PRODUCTS Marketplace

BELLWETHER COFFEE Headquartered in Berkeley, California, Bellwether Coffee is making coffee roasting more accessible and more sustainable for the environment and our communities.

With the most consistent and controllable roaster available, Bellwether’s customers – from large brands to small neighbourhood cafés – are in complete control of their coffee offerings using the electric, ventless, zero-emissions, award-winning Bellwether Roaster and intuitive roasting software.

Bellwether Coffee is a recipient of the 2019 Best New Product award from the Specialty Coffee Association.

For more information, visit www.bellwethercoffee.com

IF318 MONOBLOCK TOP LOADING FOR CAPSULES A best seller of Cama Group’s in the capsule packaging market is the IF318, a machine able to load any kind of coffee capsule in many different configurations.

Starting from flat blank, the IF318 will form, load, and close any coffee box. The machine can deal with standard, nested, and flower-like configurations.

Thanks to the efficiency of the Monoblock, it can speed up a capsule business to the highest level.

Main features include a low height magazine, full robotic phases, electronically-communicated on board motor, Trusted Platform Module for fast format change, clean design, high flexibility, easy entry, and high speed at 800 cycles per minute.

For more information, visit www.camagroup.com

MINI.MAX PRECISION CAPSULE GRINDER Kilo for kilo, pound for pound, the Mini.Max is the world’s most powerful precision capsule grinder utilising a roller-style configuration that fits in the footprint of a disc-style grinder.

Designed to operate either on top of capsule packaging machines or in a tandem grinding configuration, the Mini.Max offers the narrow particle size distribution and coffee density that only roller mills can achieve.

The Mini.Max comes in two variants, 2-high and 3-high. The 3-high Mini-Max stands only 63 inches tall (160 centimetres), and the 2-high Mini-Max stands at only 54 inches (137 centimetres).

Despite their incredibly compact design, they can each produce up to 320 kilograms of perfectly densified, precisely ground coffee for capsules and pods.

For more information, visit www.mpechicago.com/mini-max

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EGRO NEXT TOUCH COFFEE Egro Next Touch Coffee is the latest-generation fully automatic designed for drip coffee.

The four-hopper system offers four different base coffees, is always ready to brew, and can create up to 10 different blends. The coffee is ground and prepared instantly upon order, without any waste, to guarantee the unique taste and aroma of each coffee bean in every cup. No more stale coffee in big carafes, Next Touch Coffee is faster than a traditional drip coffee maker and brews only what’s selling, with no recovery time.

Swipe, tap, and scroll with ease through the coffee menu. It’s as easy as using your smartphone, with all preferences and drink selections at your fingertips. Next Touch Coffee is a practical and convenient solution.

It reduces labour and maintenance costs, and simplifies cleaning operations.

It can also be configured with customisable modular options, business-focused IoT innovations, and a range of payment systems. Egro Next Touch Coffee meets the various needs of convenience stores, petrol stations, fastfood and self-service restaurants, and all venues serving drip coffee. Recommended output is 200 cups per day.

For more information, visit www.ranciliogroup.com/egro-brand

VICTORIA ARDUINO EAGLE ONE PRIMA The Victoria Arduino Eagle One Prima is coming on 18 September, making its premiere on digital platforms.

Versatile and eclectic, Prima is a one-group professional espresso coffee machine that guarantees high qualitative standards while being uniquely versatile. It easily adapts to different and distinct settings and practices.

Prima can perfectly blend in with its surroundings, styles, and ongoing trends. It is a glamourous and exclusive object that emphasises the environment’s features in which it is found.

Victoria Arduino named it Prima because it means “first” in Italian, and it considers the machine the first step towards a new frontier: a new paradigm of espresso coffee for professionals and coffee lovers alike – from designing their dream coffee shop to upgrading their passion in the coffee community and in their own home, this machine will be the core protagonist and essence of tomorrow.

For more information, visit www.victoriaarduino.com/eagleoneprima

WMF SMARTREMOTE The WMF SmartRemote is a tool for ordering and preparing beverages completely contact-free in the self-service segment.

Created by Geislingen coffee machine manufacturer WMF Group, the app is easy and intuitive to use: scan the QR code with a mobile device, select a coffee speciality, take the beverage when it is ready, then relax and enjoy.

Designed as a web-based application, the WMF SmartRemote solution is compatible with any mobile operating system, and there is no need to download and install a specific app.

The only technology users need is a mobile device camera and a connected internet browser.

The solution is available for all connected WMF fully automatic coffee machines in self-service operation.

Registered WMF CoffeeConnect users benefit from the continuous and ongoing development of the coffee machine software and, therefore, the activation of effective IT-based features like the new WMF SmartRemote solution.

For more information, visit www.wmf-coffeemachines.com S E P TE M B E R /O C TO B E R 2 0 2 0 | GCR

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LAST WORD Re:co

Re:co reimagined NOT EVEN A GLOBAL PANDEMIC COULD KEEP LEADERS OF THE INTERNATIONAL COFFEE COMMUNITY FROM DISCUSSING AND CONNECTING OVER THE CURRENT AND FUTURE STATE OF THE COFFEE INDUSTRY.

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ith international travel abandoned and global trade shows cancelled due to COVID-19, the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) decided to connect this year’s Re:co symposium in a digital way, bringing in-depth discussions to the households of hundreds.

This year’s Re:co involved two full days of live and recorded talks, Professor Laura Alfaro. experiences, and conversations from 16 to 17 July. Presentations were shared, sensory experiences enjoyed, and coffee breaks still encouraged.

In keeping with tradition, SCA’s Chief Research Officer Peter Giuliano kicked off proceedings.

“It’s been quite a year,” Giuliano told the virtual audience. “Since the time we were together last in Boston, so much has happened. In February we became aware of a problem, and that was before we even SCA Chief knew it was a pandemic. The events of the weeks since have been Sustainability Officer Kim Elena Ionescu. transformative to our culture and the specialty coffee industry.”

Giuliano reminded audiences that just before the first Re:co symposium in 2008, the economy crashed. And in the years since, the coffee market has experienced the C price crisis, market consolidation, and the rapid growth of the specialty coffee industry.

“Here at our symposium, we’ve discussed innovation, science, economics, and social issues, and will continue to do so through this year’s Re:Co digital and home experience,” Giuliano said.

Professor Laura Alfaro of Harvard Business School was the first presenter to talk about the macro economic factors shaping the course of the specialty coffee industry. She spoke about the pandemic impacting supply, demand, and financial decisions.

“It is a global economic shock that has impacted advanced, emerging, and developing countries,” Alfaro said. “This shock differentiates itself from the global financial crisis because emerging countries actually got out of the crisis very quickly and pulled the world economy [forward], but this time around, it’s affecting everyone.”

SCA CEO Yannis Apostolopoulos presented on the impact COVID-19 had on the current state of the global coffee industry, in particular, it’s spread in the Americas – South and Central – where the majority of coffee is grown, and in the North, where the United States has enjoyed a reputation as the world’s highest consumer of coffee.

“The COVID-19 recession has seen the fastest, steepest downgrade at about 6 per cent in consensus growth projections among all global recessions since 1990,” Apostolopoulos said.

He noted there is a lot of speculation about what the industry’s recovery will be like.

Apostolopoulos predicted “potentially an L-shaped, slower recovery”, meaning businesses may not regain the position they held in Q4 2019 until 2022.

“Interestingly, there has not been a crisis that has impacted all countries this greatly since 1871, according to the World Bank, with most countries expected to face recessions in 2020,” he said.

Valuable insights on the current and future state of the industry were also shared by Jim Watson, Albert Scalla, and Jan Anderson.

SCA Chief Sustainability and Knowledge Development Officer Kim Elena Ionescu, and Mario Fernandez passionately led the discussion on mapping pathways in specialty coffee between the

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G C R | S E P T E M B E R / O C T O B E R 2020

SCA Chief Research Officer Peter Giuliano.

SCA CEO Yannis Apostolopoulos.

farmer and consumer, with guests including Rene Leon-Gomez, Kyle Murphy, Rocco Macchiavelo, and Michelle Bhattacharyya.

Each shared their perspectives on the different ways coffee is moving from its place of origin to consumption.

Day two of Re:co saw Mansi Choskhi lead an important discussion on racial justice in the global specialty coffee industry and the urgent need for progress. Heather Ward invited a range of presenters to share their views on what the specialty coffee experiences will look like for consumers going forward, based on beverage preferences, experiences and innovation to keep up with industry advancements.

At the end of the sessions Giuliano thanked attendees for their participation and commended that this digital Re:co saw the most diverse audiences to date – geographically and age-wise.

“In every session, we saw about 300 sitting around listening, learning, and connecting with each other, which is exactly what Re:co is about,” he said. G C R For more information, visit 2020.recosymposium.org

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