10 tips to go digital in the coffee sector

From the farm to the market, more and more companies and organisations are starting to use technology in the coffee value chain. By integrating digital tools in your business, you can collect data, monitor your performance and evaluate your operations’ activities for easier and better decision-making. If you are new to digitalisation, these tips can support you in the first steps of going digital. For those already using digital tools, these tips can give you additional information on the latest trends.

1. Understand how digitalisation can boost your operations in the coffee sector

European coffee buyers are demanding more and more information about the origin of the product. They want assurance that the coffee they buy is consistent in quality and meets traceability and transparency requirements. Buyers also want assurance that the coffee is ethically and sustainably sourced. By integrating digital tools in your business, you can provide buyers with a digital guarantee that you can meet these demands.

In addition, you can use digital tools to monitor internal processes. By collecting accurate information about your business, you can track activities on the farm, control the internal management system, connect with producers and producers’ groups, as well as monitor sales and accounting practices. With digitalisation and digital tools, you can also connect and compare information from different business areas to identify which areas need improvement.

Going digital can speed up your work, provided you know what you want to achieve. Identifying a clear objective is at the backbone of a successful digital transformation. You need to determine your priorities and define the challenges you want to tackle. Then you need to assess whether a digital tool can help you reach your intended goal. Going digital without a clear objective and strategy can lead to hurdles and more complexity moving forward. It is better to start small and reach short-term objectives based on a consolidated strategy, than to go fast without a clear path.

2. Gather, analyse and apply data

Data are the foundation of any digitalisation process. Data give you quantitative information that can be used to analyse facts, present numbers and visualise related results. Collecting and analysing data allows you to better control your activities. For example, you can monitor the production level for the harvest season, the quality of your coffee, the financials of your purchases and sales, your coffee inventory and the C price. You can have a dashboard that monitors your various different business activities and signals issues when they arise. This identifies risks, while giving you the right tools to transform challenges into practical solutions.

It is only by collecting data that digital tools can function. The data you collect need to be complete and correct to achieve the most accurate analysis. You can collect digital data via tablets or smartphones using a dedicated app. Once the data are collected, the software automatically aggregates and analyses them according to the metrics and the objectives identified. Then, the information is visualised in the form of graphs and reports.

Examples of digital solutions for data collection and analysis include:

• KoBo Toolbox is a solution that can collect data both online and offline via smartphone, tablet or web platform. It also allows for data collection by the user through a survey system.
• iFormBuilder by Zerion is a powerful data collection tool for agriculture. The system can easily be linked to other platforms or applications and is very customisable. Users can create lists, collect pictures, record GPS data and more.
• CommCare by Dimagi lets you build your own digital app with no need for IT support or coding expertise. It can be used to collect data, store information and monitor the information you want. The tool also lets you send notifications to your field teams, guide them in collecting data and communicate any data errors.

In Latin America, Aragro is an example of a comprehensive internal operations support platform for SMEs at origin. The platform offers digital services for internal monitoring of inventory activities, accounting, employee performance, machinery status, customer relationship management and workflow at smallholder farmers. Sispro Coffee offers similar inventory and operations monitoring services, including features for post-harvesting inputs and data. This platform is used mostly in Peru, but may be available in other countries.

3. Use digital platforms to optimise coffee sales

Selling and purchasing coffee online is a big part of coffee digitalisation. By using digital platforms, buyers and final consumers can purchase coffee directly on the internet choosing from a wide range of options. Online selling comprises two different channels: Business-to-business (B2B) online trading and Business-to-consumers (B2C) e-commerce.

B2B online trading involves selling your green coffee from origin directly to international buyers. You upload the information of your current/future coffee offer on the platform and inform buyers. This trading system can give you access to new potential buyers who might be difficult to reach using more traditional sales channels. Information typically needs to include the country of origin and specific region, quantity, price, cooperative’s name (if applicable), process, grade, screen size, cupping score and affiliation to a certification scheme. B2B online trading requires you to always keep the information of your coffee offers updated. For exporters, it requires time investment and swift engagement with buyers.

Examples of some of these platforms active in Europe are: Algrano, Almacena Platform (focused on African coffees), MyTrabocca, V-Hub, TYPICA and Beyco. At the producing country level, Guatemalan Coffees is a web platform where Guatemalan producers can upload their coffee offers online. The platform does not allow for direct online purchases but acts as a digital promotion system. It facilitates a connection between sellers and buyers. For micro-lots and high-quality specialty coffees, m-cultivo has developed a marketplace where producers can offer their coffee through dedicated auctions. The company also partners with Cup of Excellence.

A platform like Algrano can also assist with logistical and warehousing services. Through their platform suppliers can find shipping solutions; small volumes are shipped to Europe in consolidated containers, shared by several suppliers / roasters, while larger volumes are shipped in own full containers. The platform allows exporters to easily calculate shipping costs. Algrano works with warehouses in Bremen and Hamburg (Germany), Basel (Switzerland), Bury Saint Edmunds (United Kingdom), Antwerp (Belgium) and Rotterdam (the Netherlands).

B2C e-commerce involves roasters (and retailers), at origin or in the consuming markets, selling roasted coffee online. In this type of e-commerce, the roasted coffee is offered directly to final consumers via different web platforms. During the COVID-19 pandemic, e-commerce sales grew particularly in Europe due to the rise of at-home consumption. Local and specialty roasters, large premium roasters and high-quality retailers offered their coffee bags on their websites so consumers could get their favourite coffees delivered directly to their homes. Today, consumer interest in buying roasted coffee online continues. Examples of e-commerce platforms that sell quality retail coffee are Shipsbeans and CoffeeDesk. Other examples of online specialty coffee subscription models are Dutch Coffee Dealer, Kaffebox, Bean Portal and The Coffeevine. B2C e-commerce usually does not involve exporters directly. However, it is still an opportunity for consumers to learn about your coffee by buying from roasters and retailers.

4. Create digital experiences to buyers and increase your market attractiveness

Especially in the (post-)COVID-19 world, marketing strategies are likely to shift to more hybrid forms. Although some buyers will continue to purchase coffee as they did before, others will move to digital solutions. These allow them to connect with their suppliers via online platforms, virtual coffee tours and digital cupping sessions. It is important to consider offering such digital experiences if you want to connect with international buyers.

To facilitate these online connections, B2B online trading platforms play a big role in creating virtual experiences between sellers and buyers. Algrano is one of them and is particularly active in using social media such as Instagram and LinkedIn to promote their coffee offers to their online community. Specialty coffee importer Nordic Approach (Norway) has also been creating virtual experiences to increase the visibility of their coffees. They offer virtual cupping sessions, publish interviews with producers on social media and have enhanced their online presence to promote their coffees.

After 2022, the earlier growth of virtual events stabilised. Some events, such as the Producer & Roaster Forum, were held fully online in 2021 and moved back to an onsite venue in 2022. Others, such as the Congreso de la Caficultura organised by Anacafé, and the Specialty Coffee Association’s Re:co Symposium, opted for a hybrid format where attendees could participate in person or watch sessions online.

However, the availability of fully virtual events, which grew considerably in 2020 and 2021, is also here to stay. The Green Coffee Summit and High Density by Barista League are now in their second virtual editions. It is also worth noting that participation in these events costs less than for onsite events. If you prepare well and are proactive in reaching out to companies, they can still help you find buyers. Keep in mind that at digital events, samples cannot be seen, smelled, or touched, meaning that you will need high-quality pictures and to possibly ship samples directly to potential buyers.

Check World Coffee Events, the Specialty Coffee Association Calendar and the Daily Coffee News: Events to get updates about future (digital) events in the coffee sector.

Digital marketing is growing exponentially in coffee as well. More and more organisations use social media, websites, newsletters and other forms of digital promotion to inform their past, current and potential buyers about their offers. For example, La Finca (Nicaragua), Origin Coffee Lab (Peru) and Muraho Trading (Rwanda) have been particularly active on social media. Their Instagram pages share information on new coffee offers, their suppliers and their operations. Also, check out the company introduction videos of all the coffee SMEs that are part of the CBI Connecting Central America program. Keep in mind that digital marketing requires investments in terms of time, energy and money, especially if this is new to your company.

Figure 1: Video still from the virtual farm and company tour of Café Rivense del Chirripó from Costa Rica

Source: CBI Connecting Central America

5. Improve climate resilience through the use of digital tools

Digitalisation can help businesses mitigate the risks associated with global warming. Due to climate change, the weather is becoming increasingly unpredictable, and coffee production and producers are increasingly vulnerable. By using digital tools, you can improve your climate resilience by monitoring weather forecasts, making calculations on the correct use of fertilisers, tracking your carbon emissions and preventing and identifying the spread of pests and diseases.          

The use of dedicated farm management apps can offer you greater resilience and better guidance on farm management practices. Through these digital tools, you can upload information about your farm location and get access to different services that inform you on the current conditions of your farm. Some of these apps are connected with sensors located in the same area, which can capture information on weather, for instance, and transmit it to your communication system. This information can be delivered through app on a smartphone, but also via SMS, IVR (interactive voice response) on feature phones or WhatsApp.

Examples of such digital tools include:

• SmartFarm by Cropin, which offers information about the risk of pest infestation and weather forecasts internationally, and is applicable on a larger scale. A similar service is provided by Plantix, which identifies pests and diseases and gives producers best practice information on various different crops, including coffee.
• GeoFarmer by the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT). This app lets farmers, field operators and other users ask questions and share agricultural best practices. The system offers extension services thanks to continuous interaction and exchange within the farming community. The application has been tested in various countries and is available worldwide.
• The Cool Farm Tool is a cost-free digital calculator for greenhouse gas, water and biodiversity with which producers can track and check their carbon footprint. Thanks to collaborations with Coop Coffees and other partners, this tool has now been piloted and perfected for coffee production areas. You can sign up and use it on your farm.

6. Monitor and improve quality

Quality is an important buyer requirement on the European market. Buyers demand quality and consistency over time and expect to receive representative samples; that is, samples that represent the coffee that will be shipped. A crucial step that affects the final quality of coffee is the post-harvest process employed. Processing the cherries to parchment, milling, grading, and sorting has an important role in determining the quality of your coffee, and the price you will be paid for it. The offer of digital tools to help with improving and monitoring coffee quality throughout the post-harvest process is growing. These tools guide you to maintain a high quality of your product.

The tools below are relevant regardless of the type of coffee you produce. Monitoring quality is always key to assessing your product and setting the right price for it. Some examples of such tools are:

• Flowins is a Brazilian start-up that specifically targets small coffee suppliers to digitally guide them through the post-harvest process. The team also conducts physical and sensory reports on coffee samples received from suppliers. The service is currently available only in Brazil, but the company is planning to expand to other countries as well.
• Agrivero.ai is a German start-up that offers a green quality control service. By taking a picture of the coffee sample and inputting the information in their AI software solution, the tool scans the beans and provides a report about physical quality. Sellers and buyers receive a small hardware kit to take the picture and access to the software. Different actors in the same value chain can also share quality information with this service.
• Oritain is mostly used by buyers. Buyers can use this tool to compare different samples. The company

uses a combination of forensic science and statistics to turn data into a fingerprint for each authentic coffee origin. This service does not only monitor quality, but especially quality consistency.

• Tastify offers a quality evaluation service. The software allows cuppers to input the information of each coffee they test. The software stores sensory reports in the database of all the samples cupped. By keeping these records, you can compare information between your different coffees over time. You can also share results directly with your buyers. Some buyers, such as the Dutch specialty coffee importer This Side Up Coffees, publish Tastify’s cupping notes results on their websites to inform clients about the coffees they have on offer.
• Cropster Origin is a digital tool where you can input information about different processing methods, divide coffee into different batches, monitor the environmental conditions during the whole post-harvest process, identify and keep track of the quality of different coffee samples. The tool allows you to share information with your buyers as well.

Figure 2: Example of Tastify cupping notes published by importer This Side Up Coffees

Source: This Side Up Coffees

7. Build a digital sustainability record for your coffee origins

The demand for sustainable and certified coffees on the European market continues to rise. It helps green coffee buyers guarantee that their purchase is complying with certain international standards. For suppliers, manual data recording (with pen and paper) is often a long, complex and challenging process. Using digital tools may improve the efficiency, accuracy and storage of the data collection and reporting on sustainability indicators.

Digital tools that have been developed and may be useful for you include: Mergdata by Farmerline (Ghana), Koltiva (Indonesia) and DataGreen by SourceTrace (USA). Also, CertiCafé (Brazil) is an example of a start-up that offers digital services to facilitate the certification process for SMEs. They assess current farm status and report back to farm level with specific adjustments that are needed to obtain the certification.

8. Collaborate with organisations that can assist you in your digitalisation journey

Starting a digitalisation process within your coffee business allows for improved efficiency and accuracy, higher resilience, and better monitoring. Valuable as it may be, taking the step towards digitalisation still requires substantial effort. There are many tools on the market, and not all tools will be a good fit for you. An online trading platform or a farm management system that works great for your neighbour might not work for you.

Digitalisation requires a significant initial investment, both in time and money. You need to start collecting data, to have your whole team on board and train the personnel who will collect the data. Make sure you identify all the pros and cons of a digital system before moving forward.

To find the solution that best matches your needs, you can take advantage of different (inter)national organisations that offer support and guidance in this process. Root Capital, Rikolto and Solidaridad all support SMEs in adopting digital solutions. They offer technical assistance and practical guidance and, in some cases, can provide financial support. In addition, the GIZ Coffee Innovation Fund financially supports projects in Western Africa and South-East Asia that implement the use of technology to increase profitability for coffee farmers. IDB Lab also offers financial support for digitalisation investments, especially in Latin American countries and the Caribbean. Also, ANDE is focusing on digitalisation in different agriculture value chains and sometimes organises events to connect suppliers with tech providers. Some involve coffee as well. Lastly, Digital Coffee Future offers a six-week strategic training course to coffee suppliers in Latin America to help them develop digitalisation plans, as well as tailor-made support for suppliers in other regions.

Figure 3: Digital service providers in Africa

Source: Africa Goes Digital

9. Use digital tools to increase access to financial services

Securing loans and accessing financial services is often challenging for smallholder coffee farmers. There are a series of digital tools that aim to help secure finance. Examples of these are:

• Agri-wallet: This tool gives farmers, buyers and agro-stores easier access to finance from a global network of lenders. As a farmer, you will receive your income through your digital wallet, and you can use the money to purchase inputs like seeds and fertiliser from participating stores. This means that the money earned through the Agri-wallet can only be spent in the agricultural supply chain. You can also use the wallet for savings; the higher your savings, the higher the chance you are eligible for larger loans.
• MyAgro is a tool that helps farmers save money for personal financial goals. Using a dedicated scratch card, each micro-deposit helps them save money for the purchase of fertilisers and other inputs. This service is now available in several African countries.
• Apollo Agriculture is a Kenyan start-up with a machine learning-based credit scoring system for producers. Producers are scored on location, crop yields, agronomic conditions and other data and can receive credit based on their score. The system also offers tips on agriculture practices.  

The use of digital tools by financial institutions and lenders

More traditional ways to access finance are for instance through microfinance institutions (MFIs). Examples of MFIs are Financiera Confianza (Peru) and Agronomika (Philippines). Note that MFIs mainly channel credit to coffee farmers through cooperatives or SMEs.

Many MFIs have embraced the use of digital tools in their financial service offer. For instance, although the MFI Juhudi Kilimo (Kenya) still primarily works with access to credit through solidarity groups, it is increasingly transitioning to mobile money loan repayments. Advans is digitising their offer of micro-loans and other financial services in nine countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia by creating a system that allows for digital credit scoring and financial delivery.

Note that some buyers also offer financial services to coffee farmers. An example is NKG Bloom, operated by the Neumann Kaffee Gruppe, which provides loans directly to producers through the use of a digital app. NKG Bloom is currently active in Honduras, Mexico, Uganda and Kenya. Through this service, coffee farmers can build their baseline creditworthiness, after which you might access additional or alternative financial services from MFIs.

10. Learn from success stories in digitalisation

Digitalisation may seem like a big investment, which takes time, money and energy to implement. However, the use of digital tools does provide SMEs with concrete benefits and competitive advantages. Several success stories can be identified where SMEs were able to improve sales opportunities, guarantee digital monitoring of their activities, as well as improve resilience to potential crises.

• Sol&Café is a cooperative based in Peru that uses several digital tools for internal control and monitoring of management and accounting, inventory system, coffee quality evaluation, harvest projection, etc. They started using one digital system and expanded by integrating more tools in a step-by-step approach. SISPRO Coffee and Contasis are two of the digital solutions they use.
• Aldea Global (Nicaragua) has been using digital tools for the past ten years. The system helps them store contracts, monitor coffee deliveries and quality from members, provide credit to individual producers and monitor risks. They also developed an app for producers to monitor the status of their loans. Aldea global has a dedicated IT team and has developed all of its own digital systems.
• Great Lakes Coffee is a Uganda-based company sourcing, milling and exporting coffee. To improve their sourcing strategy and guarantee fair prices to their suppliers, they developed MaxTrace. The app verifies the coffee management system, stores the digital trace of coffee purchases, tracks logistics, as well as verifies the application of voluntary sustainability standards. They initially developed the software for internal operations, but now the app is also available for external use.
• NUCAFE (National Union of Coffee Agribusinesses and Farm Enterprises) in Uganda has profiled all the members of the association to collect GPS location and demographic info. The data is connected with a traceability system that allows the association to sell coffee at a higher price.

Expressing Origin and ProFound – Advisers In Development carried out this study on behalf of CBI.

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