Coffee News Recap, 23 Feb

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Every Friday, Perfect Daily Grind rounds up the top coffee industry news from the previous week.

The word of the week is: partnerships.

Producer & Roaster Forum confirms multi-year Gold Sponsorship with One BIGG Island in Space®. OBIIS, a venture launched by the Co-Founder of BIGGBY COFFEE, will be the Gold Sponsor across the next six events, supporting PRF’s aim to bring together producers, roasters, and other coffee industry stakeholders in coffee-growing countries. The first event of OBIIS’ sponsorship will be PRF Guatemala, set to take place on 7 & 8 March at the Anacafé venue in Guatemala City.

Advertisers encouraged to showcase their brands at MICE2024. Organisers say the the MICE Showguide presents an unique opportunity to showcase brands within Australia’s coffee industry. Over 15,000 copies will be distributed ahead of the event in Australia, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia. Expressions of interest will close on 15 March.

Peet’s Coffee enters Saudi Arabian market with six store openings. The US coffee chain has opened six stores in the country’s capital, Riyadh. It adds that it “looks forward to becoming an integral part of the country’s rich coffee tradition”. It cites Saudi Arabia as a key market following its entry into the UAE last year.

Cepea says January robusta prices were the highest since October 2021. Brazil’s Centre for Advanced Studies on Applied Economics says the CEPEA/ESALQ Index for robusta type 6, screen 13, averaged BRL 802.67 (US $161.69) per 60-kilo bag in January, representing an increase of 8% compared to December 2023. The index closed at BRL 854.71 (US $172.17) per bag, the highest value in real terms (IGP-DI) since October 7 2021.

Millennials and Gen Zs are driving coffee production in the Philippines. According to Philstar Global, young coffee consumers are driving domestic demand for “sweet and fruity” coffee in the Philippines. This is encouraging local producers to ramp up production of less conventional coffee species. The country increased liberica production by 7.8% in 2023, while excelsa production increased by nearly 3%.

Starbucks launches pork-flavoured latte in China to mark Lunar New Year. According to CNN Business, the Abundant Year Savoury Latte combines espresso and steamed milk with Dongpo Braised Pork Flavour Sauce and pork breast meat for garnish. The latte has caused a stir on Chinese social media, with some questioning why they would drink the latte instead of eating real braised pork.

El Niño continues to weaken despite recent tropical fluctuations. The Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology says that while El Niño continues to persist, “sea surface temperatures in the central tropical Pacific and temperatures in the Pacific sub-surface show a clear cooling trend”. All related climate models are expected to return to neutral by May 2024.

Indian coffee farmers at odds with elephant conservation efforts. According to The South First, three individuals have been killed in elephant attacks in Wayanad, Kerala since January, sparking protests among coffee producers and others affected by human-animal conflict. Experts suggest that “developing tolerance and compassion” towards wild animals is the only solution.

European Coffee Federation urges EU to delay Deforestation Regulation. According to a letter obtained by Bloomberg, the trade group, which includes members like Lavazza, Illy, Nestlé, Starbucks, Ecom, and Sucafina, has warned that the implementation of the EUDR will be “shattering” for the millions of smallholder producers for whom the region is a significant marketplace.

L’OR enters into global partnership with Ferrari. The JDE Peet’s espresso capsule brand has partnered with Ferrari for the FIA World Endurance Championship, which includes the 24 Hours of Le Mans race. The company’s branding will be visible throughout Ferrari’s WEC racing environment.

Coffee producers launch Paso Paso roasting collective in Hannover, Germany. Five producers from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua have partnered with green coffee buyer Bram de Hoog to launch Paso Paso – Farmer Owned Coffee. The company aims to place ownership of coffee roasting in the hands of producers, “ensuring their active involvement indecision-making and profit-sharing through a unique distributed ownership model”.

Steeped Coffee aims to raise up to US $5 million through crowdfunding. The single-serve specialty coffee manufacturer reported more than US $1 million in revenue over the past year. It now aims to raise more funds to “expand the limits of the entire coffee category by increasing customer accessibility”. Steeped is both a Benefit Corporation and certified B Corp.

Wed, 31 Jan – Giesen launches Profiler 2.0 roasting software. The roaster manufacturer says the latest update to its software will “revolutionise the way coffee roasters approach their craft”. It’s designed to enhance user-friendliness and functionality and optimise automated roasting procedures.

Fri, 16 Feb – Starbucks announces new accessibility guidelines for US stores. The company aims to “support access and inclusion for the partners, customers and communities it serves”. The Inclusive Spaces Framework will be incorporated into all newly built and renovated company-operated stores in the US.

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Want to keep up with current affairs in the coffee industry? Check out last week’s coffee news stories.