Coffee News Recap, 29 Mar: Louis Dreyfus Company to acquire Brazil’s biggest instant coffee exporter, Roosa Jalonen is 2024 UK Barista Champion & 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 is acquisitions.

Mon, 25 Mar

• Roosa Jalonen wins 2024 UK Barista Championship. Fifty two competitors took part in this year’s final, which took place at the Tate London. Jalonen placed first and will go on to represent the UK at World of Coffee Busan from 1 to 4 May 2024. As part of its UK Barista Championship sponsorship, Oatly has created the UK BC Alt Milk Prize Fund, which awards the top three finalists with cash prizes. The oat milk brand also provides a dedicated prize to the competitor who has the highest-scoring milk round.

• New study from BRITA Professional finds Brits feel the greatest sense of community in coffee shops. The company says the research highlights the vital role that coffee shops play in supporting local communities. BRITA releases this research ahead of its second Grounds of Innovation Awards, which looks for the UK’s most innovative and creative coffee shops.

• Industry heavyweight Chris Miller joins Rival Bros. Coffee as Senior Vice President of Coffee. Miller has some 20 years’ experience working in the Philadelphia coffee and food scene, including a position at La Colombe. He will oversee all operations at Rival Bros., which is looking to offer new blends and single origin options.

• International Coffee Partners announces five-year strategy to address trends in the global coffee industry. ICP says it will continue working in its six focus countries of Honduras, Brazil, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda, and Indonesia. Here, ICP aims to reach 15,800 smallholder farming families to support them in improving their livelihoods, applying farm diversification strategies, and implementing regenerative agriculture and agroforestry practices. ICP also hopes to support 5,000 youth in these countries during the five-year period.

Tue, 26 Mar

• Yara granted permission to build world’s first low-emission ammonia bunkering facility to produce alternative shipping fuel. The crop nutrition company’s new barge will be able to produce up to 650 tonnes of low-emission ammonia, which can be used as shipping fuel – including for coffee.

• JDE Peet’s completes transaction to sell Caribou Coffee products. The company secured a long-term licence to manufacture, market, and sell Caribou Coffee-branded products in January 2024. JDE Peet’s says the transaction will allow it to expand its premium coffee portfolio in the US – where the company already sells and distributes Peet’s Coffee, Stumptown, Intelligentsia, and L’OR coffee products.

• Louis Dreyfus Company to acquire Brazil’s biggest exporter of instant coffee. The deal to acquire 100% of Companhia Cacique de Café Solúvel (or Cacique) means LDC will be one of the world’s biggest instant coffee manufacturers – along with its iLD Coffee Vietnam soluble coffee facility in the Binh Duong province.

• Dalla Corte hosts week-long DC Campus trip in Costa Rica. Attendees visited numerous coffee-growing regions, farms, and institutions – including Costa Rica’s largest coffee co-operative CoopeTarrazú and the Centre for Tropical Agricultural Research and Education (CATIE).

• Subko Specialty Coffee Roasters receives US $10 million in new funding round. The Mumbai roaster says it will use funds to invest in product research and development, strengthen farm-level infrastructure, and launch ready-to-drink coffee products.

Wed, 27 Mar

• GAIL’s Bakery owner dismisses sales claims. Following reports that the UK coffee and bakery chain is seeking advisors for a sale in 2025, CEO and co-founder Tom Molnar says the claims are “inaccurate”.

• Robusta futures reach new high of US $3,417 for May delivery contract. The record high is a result of Vietnam’s production falling to the lowest levels in the last four years, on top of unfavourable weather conditions and a shift towards other cash crops.

• HOTELEX Shanghai welcomes over 3,000 exhibitors. The four-day expo is also hosting a dedicated Coffee and Food Festival featuring more than 120 retail coffee brands, a coffee bazaar, and the 2024 Chinese Barista, Latte Art, Brewers Cup, Coffee Roasting, and Cup Tasters Championships.

• Jota de Paula wins 2024 Brazilian Latte Art Championship. The barista, who works at Jardim do Café in São José dos Campos, placed first at the competition – with Tiago Rocha coming second and Eduardo Olímpio placing third. de Paula will go on to represent Brazil at the 2024 World Latte Art Championship at World of Coffee Copenhagen.

Thu, 28 Mar

• Nespresso pledges to invest US $20 million in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s coffee sector. The investment, which is part of the Nespresso Reviving Origins programme, will go towards coffee purchases, price premiums, and technical assistance – with the aim of improving market access for coffee-growing communities in the Lake Kivu region.

• Cecafé to offer AI-driven distance learning course to coffee producers. As part of its Informed Producer programme, the “fluêncIA” course aims to inform coffee farmers about how they can best utilise and leverage AI technology.

• Lavazza posts record €3.1 billion sales, but reports 14.9% decline in 2023 core profits amid rising coffee prices. While the Italian coffee brand’s revenue increased by 13% (thanks in part to its acquisition of MaxiCoffee in April 2023), Lavazza’s decision to limit price increases for consumers has impacted profits.

• Farmer Bros to relocate to new headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas. The US roaster and wholesaler will move to its new 25,000 sq ft facility by the end of June 2024. Farmer Bros sold its previous 540,000 sq ft headquarters to TreeHouse Foods in June 2023 as part of a US $100 million deal.

Fri, 29 Mar

• Cropster to host virtual reality experience at Specialty Coffee Expo in Chicago. As part of a collaboration with MAV Coffee, Algrano, and Syra Coffee, Expo attendees can take part in an immersive VR experience at Cropster’s booth. The company will also host a discussion panel titled (Act)ionable Impact: What we do with what we know, which will feature industry professionals, including Benjamin Paz and Norbert Niederhauser.

• Lotus Plant Energy Drinks featured on Fox Business’ Trending Today segment. The plant-based energy beverage concentrates – which contain both cascara and green coffee extract, among other functional ingredients – were featured on the US TV network’s news show, which spotlights some of the country’s leading entrepreneurs.

• Tennis star Stan Wawrinka joins Nespresso as official partner. The three-time Grand Slam Singles Titles champion will share content on his personal social media accounts to promote several Nespresso campaigns.

• The 2024 English AeroPress Championship to take place on 1 June at Sheffield Coffee Festival. Marmadukes Café will host the competition, with this year’s Sheffield Coffee Festival set to be held on 1 & 2 June 2024. Tickets will be available Monday 1 April, with more details to be announced soon.

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

• Thu, 14 Mar – European Union and Lao government to develop sustainable coffee supply chains. The programme – which will help to eliminate deforestation in the country’s coffee supply chains – will also help to improve market access for local farmers.

• Tue, 19 Mar – Researchers find trigonelline in coffee can improve muscle health and function. As part of an international collaborative study led by Nestlé Research in Switzerland and the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, researchers found that consumption of trigonelline can increase nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) levels – which can improve healthy longevity and reduce the risk of certain age-associated diseases.

Photo credits: Nizatto Agency

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Want to keep up with current affairs in the coffee industry? Check out last week’s coffee news stories and make sure to read the latest Coffee Intelligence News & Opinion piece about how 7-Eleven’s new RTD line shows that convenience store coffee is evolving.

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