Coffee News Recap, 8 Mar: PRF Guatemala welcomes over 2,000 attendees from more than 50 countries, Red Sea crisis delays Ethiopian coffee exports & other stories

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

Here are this week’s stories – the word of the week isawards.

Mon 4 Mar

Ongoing Red Sea crisis causing months-long delays with Ethiopian coffee exports. Exporters are considering a shift to Kenya’s Mombasa port as a solution. Global shipping giants’ decisions to avoid the Suez Canal have added to logistical challenges, reducing vessel arrivals in Djibouti from daily to monthly.

Elmhurst launches plant-based multi-serve latte line. The brand’s new ready-to-drink lattes are available in four varieties: Pistachio Crème, Maple Walnut, Caramel Cashew, and Brown Sugar Oat. The Toasted Vanilla Almond flavour is expected to launch later this spring.

Starbucks and workers union seek path to reach collective agreement. Starbucks union representatives are aiming to establish a nationwide template for labour contract negotiations with the coffee chain. So far, Starbucks has sought to negotiate individual contracts store-by-store, which the union argues is a delaying tactic.

Black Bag Roasters and Aldi Australia win Golden Bean World Series awards. The two companies received the 2024 Golden Bean World Series Trophy for the Large Chain/Franchise Category for the Aldi Lazzio range. Golden Bean is one the world’s largest coffee roasting competitions, and is held in both Australia and the US.

UK’s Black Sheep Coffee makes Middle East debut with two Dubai stores. The locations will be operated in partnership with Al Farran Group. Black Sheep Coffee plans to open two additional outlets in Dubai Mall and Yas Mall Abu Dhabi.

Tue 5 Mar

Farmer Brothers appoints Matthew Swenson as new VP of Coffee Operations. Swenson, with almost 20 years of coffee industry leadership experience, has previously served as Director of Coffee at Nestlé and held roles at Chameleon Cold Brew and Nobletree Coffee. He will oversee key areas of Farmer Brothers’ operations such as green coffee procurement and sustainability initiatives.

Jennie Östholm appointed as new Marketing Manager at Sproud. The Malmö-based pea milk manufacturer appointed Östholm as its first Group Marketing Manager to enhance its position in the global plant milk market. Östholm brings over six years of experience from roles at Oatly, notably as the brand’s first creative department project manager.

Manta Brew’s Weighmaster Kickstarter campaign raises US $180,000. The company says its modular coffee scale aligns with SCA and World Coffee Championship standards. The Weighmaster also includes a built-in timer, automatic water-ratio guide, and a water-resistant design.

Specialty Coffee Association to launch a new membership model. The association says this represents the first major overhaul to its membership model in decades. Individual options include a free associate tier to attend events and a US $100 professional membership with voting rights. The SCA says this new model will improve engagement and accessibility for the growing international SCA community.

Marks & Spencer improves coffee offerings in cafés. In line with specialty coffee standards, the UK food retailer will increase doses from 15g to 18g and decrease yields from 60ml to 40ml at its café locations. Following successful trials in ten stores, these improvements have now been rolled out across all M&S cafés in the UK.

Wed 6 Mar

UCC launches Thermoplan BLACK&WHITE4 CTS in the UK. The fully-automatic espresso machine – which is the qualified espresso machine sponsor for the 2024-27 World Latte Art Championship – is now available in the UK. UCC will be the exclusive distributor of the machine in the UK.

UK independent coffee shops trading strongly on “quality and authenticity”. According to World Coffee Portal’s Independents Report UK 2024, the UK’s independent coffee shop market achieved 4% sales growth in the past year – reaching a market value of £4.6 billion. The segment is estimated to now include over 12,200 outlets, and market value is predicted to reach £5.6 billion by February 2029.

Starbucks Foundation announces ten new grants as part of commitment to uplift 1 million women and girls by 2030. In collaboration with several non-profits, the Starbucks Foundation aims to promote economic opportunity, empowerment, and access to clean water. In 2024, the foundation will provide up to US $4 million to ten new Origin Grant projects, which it says will benefit over 19,000 women across eight origin countries in Africa, Asia Pacific, and Latin America.

Probat acquires Royal Duyvis Wiener to strengthen its position in the cocoa and chocolate sector. The coffee roaster manufacturer says the acquisition emphasises its growth potential, and aims to create integrated solutions for cross-market projects.

Mazzer Philos and Mahlkönig EK Omniawin 2024 iF Design Awards. Organised by the world’s oldest independent design association, the iF Design Awards receives nearly 11,000 entries from 72 countries every year. The single-dose Mazzer Philos grinder includes flat burrs and is designed to reduce retention, while the Mahlkönig’s new flagship EK Omnia grinder features an automatic Library Mode.

Global Coffee Platform appoints Adriana Mejía Cuartas as new Chair of the Board. With over 25 years of experience as a fourth-generation coffee producer and business leader, Mejía will assist with GCP’s implementation of its sustainability strategy, including introducing common tools for expanding membership and farmer-centric initiatives in coffee-producing nations.

Neumann Kaffee Gruppe announces 2024-25 PACE partners. The Partnership to Advance Coffee Equity now welcomes Jasmin Mitchell, who will join the Atlas Coffee Importers team, and Zion Brown, who will join the InterAmerican Coffee and Rothfos Corporation teams. The programme supports underepresented communities in the US to advance their coffee careers.

Swiss Water Decaf increases new production facility is operating at full capacity. The capacity of the company’s new production line in Delta, BC, Canada increased by 40%, concluding a multi-year transition to the larger facility. The new line is the final step in shifting Swiss Water’s chemical-free decaffeination process to its Delta headquarters.

Robusta prices reach 30-year peak and global green coffee exports hit record highs in January. The ICO’s indicator price for robusta reached a record high of US 153.23 cents/lb last month – the highest since November 1994. The ICO Composite Indicator Price also averaged US 182.04 cents/lb in February – up by 3.2% on January 2023.

Thu 7 Mar

PRF Guatemala hosts three competitions, second Global Coffee Awards, and first-ever PRF Seed initiative in Guatemala City. The two-day forum – which also features PRF Voices, workshops, and cuppings – will welcome over 2,000 attendees from more than 50 countries to the Anacafé headquarters.

Starbucks Middle East franchisee AlShaya to cut over 2,000 jobs. This constitutes about 4% of its workforce, with layoffs related to consumer boycotts linked to the Gaza war.

The Gentlemen Baristas acquired out of administration for £785,000. The undisclosed buyer secured assets and leasehold premises for the roastery and London Bridge store. Founded in 2014, the specialty coffee business operated 11 coffee shops by 2022, alongside wholesale and direct-to-consumer channels.

Specialty coffee chain % Arabica opens first store in Jordan as part of expansion in the Middle East. The new store is the brand’s 45th location in the Middle East and North of Africa (MENA) region. Jordan is the eighth market for % Arabica in the MENA region, where it already operates in Kuwait, the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia.

Melbourne International Coffee Expo to host first-ever Australia’s Favourite Coffee Award. The new competition will be judged solely by consumers and café owners. Open to all roaster exhibitors, the competition will take place from 12 to 14 May at MICE2024. Visitors can vote for their preferred coffee via QR codes and the MICE app, and the roaster with the highest number of votes will be awarded Australia’s Favourite Coffee.

Fri 8 Mar

Bellwether Coffee launches new electric Shop Roaster. The company has unveiled its first-ever compact, ventless commercial roaster, which allows more coffee businesses to roast in-house.

Dimitra confirms its first EUDR-compliant coffee shipment. In partnership with CACI Satinaki in Peru, the agtech blockchain platform utilised satellite analysis, AI, and mobile technology to ensure full compliance. The EUDR-certified coffee shipment is set to reach Germany in March.

National Coffee Association points Jonathan White as its new Chair. White succeeds Robert Menos, with Nathalie Gabbay also elected as Vice Chair. White brings over three decades of industry experience to the association, while Gabbay has over 20 years’ experience.

SIGEP Asia to host 2024-26 Singapore Coffee Championships. The Singapore Coffee Association will host the 2024-26 national Coffee Championships in partnership with IEG Asia. This year, the competitions – including the Barista, Latte Art, Brewers Cup, and Cup Tasters Championships – will take place at the fifth edition of the Restaurant Asia event in Singapore from 26 to 28 June.

Julius Meinl joins coffee&climate initiative to support coffee farmers. Austria’s biggest coffee company has joined the initiative, which helps to address climate change challenges for smallholder coffee-farming families.

Researchers discover accurate biomarker for coffee consumption. A new study by scientists at the Technical University of Munich found N-methylpyridinium to be an accurate biomarker for measuring coffee intake. The study could help to revolutionise coffee research by overcoming the limitations of self-reported data, and thereby offer more reliable insight into the beverage’s health effects.

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - January 30 2014: Men stacking large bags of coffee beans in a warehouse

Here are a few coffee news stories from previous weeks that you might find interesting. Take a look:

Mon, 26 Feb – Nespresso Professional adds Brazil to its Origins range. The new Brazil Organic capsule includes 100% arabica beans sourced from the Cerrado Mineiro region.

Thu, 29 Feb – JAB Holdings seeks up to US $2.5 billion in Keurig Dr Pepper share sale. The company plans to raise up funds by selling approximately 87 million KDP shares at a range of US $29.10 to US $29.25 each.

Thu, 29 Feb – Reborn Coffee closes US $1 million private placement equity investment round. California-based specialty coffee retailer Reborn Coffee has concluded the investment round led by accredited investor Mr. Scott Lee. The company issued more than 444,440 shares of common stock, and plans to allocate new funds towards working capital and general corporate purposes.

Photo credits: Producer & Roaster Forum