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How can we help?

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We have built up a rich network of buyers. This is something we have worked on organically during our time working in coffee.

These are qualified buyers who we have worked with on our auctions. We continue to develop our network as we move forward with our plans to connect buyers and producers. 

We have a wide range of skills available to us to market what we do and the coffee we have available. This is because we understand how modern marketing and promotion works in the modern world. We understand how to present your coffee to our buyers and to follow up with them, reminding them with a number of touchpoints what we have available. We also look to develop relationships ourselves with buyers. And we do this by adding value to their business. We enjoy talking to them and meeting them. We are friendly and approachable and we take an interest in how other people work. 

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How can we help?

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We don’t cut corners, we listen and we take on board ideas. We solve problems and we use those solutions to make our service better for everyone. 

We take time to get to know buyers. We work them on a direct trade basis as well as through auctions. Some of them understand the auction is a first step in discovering new sources of coffee; it is the first step in creating a long and trusting relationship.

The world is changing. Many producers recognise they would like to broaden their appeal. They also see online trade as a constantly changing and developing medium in which to do business.  We have relationships with buyers all over the world. We can help your coffee in to places you may not have sold it before. This gives the producer and the buyer a competitive edge.

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What do we do to find buyers for you?

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• We find buyers for your coffee.
• We promote your coffee and your farm.
• A showcase of your coffee, your farm, your production methods.
• A means of discovering what your coffee is worth.
• Tasting and cupping profiles.
• The opportunity to create direct trade with buyers.
• Create ongoing contracts and relationships.
• Provide producers with a sales mix outside their usual channels.

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What works? What does not work?

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We have found that there is no silver bullet that works across all types of coffee and sale.

• We find buyers are not interested in coffee with a score lower than 85
• Buyers are really concerned about how to ship the coffee from origin. Coffee that has been landed in USA or Europe can be easier to sell. We have relationships with logistics companies; we can organise the movement of coffee and containers.
• Ideally buyers will buy container loads, but this is not always going to happen the first time a new buyer works with a new producer. Buyers like to make test purchases first, to make sure the coffee is genuine, pre-shipment samples are truly representative of defect rates and the sale is generally pain fee.
• For the better and more expensive sale, buyers like samples. It is often the difference between a sale being agreed and not being agreed.
• Free samples, whilst expensive for the producer, do work. It reduces the barrier to purchase and can mean that buyers purchase greater volumes.
• The better the information we have for your coffee, the more we can pass on to the buyers. The easier it is for them to picture their own marketing and promotional efforts the more likely they are to buy the coffee.
• Is the coffee easily traceable? Forward thinking buyers want to know where the coffee has come from every step of the way. They want to buy direct and they want to shorten the supply chain. The more accountable farmers methods are, the more this help.
• Shorter supply chains mean more of the sale price for the coffee can be invested in future development of the coffee crops.
• Providing a marketing package for the buyers; to make their job easier and therefore more likely to buy the coffee from you. If they feel they have a route to market they are more likely to buy the coffee. Tell us why your coffee is unique?

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Creating a virtuous circle.

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Amongst other things, there are two interesting things we are common to most, if not all businesses. One is return & recurring trade and the other is a sales mix. 

 

These types of business are created through the fostering of a wide range of relationships. A business will never know when a contact or a relationship will develop. The starting point for this, in any case, is making sure those you wish to work with know about in the first place. Once the conversation has been opened, there is potential for a sale to be made. If that time is not now, it may be in the future.

 

We have found our auctions have generated return trade. The introductions we have made, have led to future sales. Once a sale for a smaller amount has been made the opportunity to come back and make a larger one is greater. We have seen this happening several times during the 2020 harvest. 

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Measuring Success

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There are a number of ways to measure success from our point of view. We operate in both the auction and direct space. They go hand in hand. One can lead to the other. 

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We believe success can be measured in the sales we achieve for our producers and the establishment of longer term relationships. So this might come in many different guises

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• Running an auction which results in sales for the producer.
• Finding buyers who are interested in buying coffee at sustainable levels. Introducing buyers to producers who will establish a ‘test sale’ first and then this leads to further purchases in the same season.
• Introducing buyers to producers through auctions and then seeing the two talking to each other the following year to agree return business.
• Promoting and marketing the producers methods to our audience to raise their profile.
• A farmer agrees a sale and is paid in a much shorter time frame from other forms of trade.

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Repeat Sales One Year On

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We started running auctions for volume coffee during 2019, and we have learnt a lot. We sold 9 tonnes of coffee during those auction. Now 12 months later we are seeing where the real value is for producers.One of the trades fell through, and we have worked with both the producer and the buyer to rectify those and look to consolidate with a sale this season. 

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Of the remaining sales that did go through, we now have 4 buyers who have returned directly to the producer and have been negotiating repeat purchases. Some of these sales have been agreed with others still in negotiation. What is really interesting, is the buyers are negotiating at larger volumes than those agreed in 2019 and the prices are also higher than last year. Some of this is reflected in the cherry prices being higher in some origins. However it also represents a strengthening of trust between the two parties. 

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What are we offering?

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We are approached by producers all of the time, asking us to provide them with access to the market. Farmers are looking to build their own relationships with buyers. It gives them more choice, more control and also helps develop a mix of channels in which to sell their coffee. It also means they can create an environment more likely to sustain their farm, improve their coffee and quality of life for those who work on producing the coffee.  

We look to provide a reward for investing in quality.  Sustainable coffee production is good for everyone. 

Importers, roasters and drinkers all benefit from better quality coffee. It is also true if  the supply chain is more efficient, the return on the coffee for the farmer is likely to be far higher. If we create a more efficient way to market and agree sales, the cost of entry for the producer is lower. It means farmers can invest in quality and production. If coffee producers can sustain production and be rewarded for producing good quality coffee, it is good for everyone. 

We help you find new buyers. New ways of selling your coffee. You may well have old and established buyers and routes to market. There is no doubt these sales channels help with investment, finance and support as you grow and develop your coffee. We help you find additional routes to market, to help you find sustainable prices, and find buyers who contract in a way suiting you both.

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What do we provide?

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• We provide you with access to the market place.
• There are two ways we do this:
  • Online Auction
  • Direct Trade
• We find buyers for you, though either means, and show case your coffee to them.
• We promote your coffee, your farm & your methods.
• We provide a means of discovering what your coffee is worth.
• We provide coffee producers with an opportunity to create long last relationships with buyers.
• These new relationships can run alongside existing agreements. It gives you more than place to sell to. You have choices.
• We help you find buyers who will contract with you in a way to suite. This means you will be paid when you want to, rather than waiting for months with existing buyers.
• We help you have choice and to not be reliant upon only way to sell your coffee.
• You agree a contract directly with the buyer in a way best suited to you.  

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What works? What does not?

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• For auctions we have found coffees scoring under 85 will not sell.
• However, this does not mean we can’t work with you. There are buyers who are happy to use quality with lowers scores for their blends. These trades can be arranged directly.
• If we are looking to sell large volumes, if helps if there is a clear route to landing the coffee. Otherwise it is hard to gain the interest.
• Many buyers use auctions as a means for establishing and testing a relationship with a new producer. So small volumes go a long way in this sales format.  
• Sending out free samples to buyers is always helpful. It gains interest in both auctions and direct trades. 
• Providing buyers with lots background information about your farm, the coffee’s traceability and other information help the buyer form a picture in their mind of how they will market the coffee to their own customers. If the buyer can feel they have a route to market they are more likely to buy the coffee.
• Something unique is always something buyers look for. It gives them an edge. It also helps you, the producer, to gain real value for you coffee.
• Providing good information on the coffee processing in the wet mills and your production methods.
• Being consistent and open about pricing. Be honest and straight with the buyer when you start contracting. If you have agreed FOB, then move forward on that basis. Don’t try to add in extra costs. We have seen sales fall apart because the buyer has lost trust in the process and backed out.

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