Creating a Coffee Company Brazil to Europe.

[Nedmonds]

Hi Folks,

I am interested in starting a coffee company in the UK/Spain.
I live in Spain, but i work in the state of Rio in Brazil, im looking to ship green beans back to UK/Spain. I will sort the logistics out my self and hopefully be able to complete the shipping.

My idea, was too source a variety of beans from different regions and ship them over in small bags, create a brand, logo and packaging etc. And getting samples sent to various outlets. Find out what is most succesful and start with that.

What issues am i likely to encounter in this process? I will be able to get storage and roasting done, the grapihcs desgin and packaging and the logistics for Brazil/Europe.

Basically rip my idea apart

Thanks.

 

[peterjschmidt]

It may be difficult to do this, but I'd suggest contacting some of your intended customers to find out what they're paying now, then doing a realistic projection of your costs. You may be trying to reinvent the wheel, and those businesses who already do what you're thinking about may have it wrapped up with lower costs and more efficient time-proven systems in place.

It's not a bad idea. I'm just saying you're not the first one to think of it, and it may be hard to break in.

How much money do you have set aside to start this, and how long can you last before it starts returning a profit?

 

[ensoluna]

What issues am i likely to encounter in this process? Thanks.

hi nedmonds, i will advise you some important issues.

1. quality vs. buying/selling price : since you are very small company, you will only have to work with high grade specialty coffees. for huge q'ty robusta, you will never be able to compete with big coffee corporation. You will even have tough time convincing small high grade farmers to work with you since you are new and inexperienced. Brazil is the biggest coffee producer in the world and has the most coffee exporters in the world. so farmers have choices and tend to work with whomever pays the most and give "future buying contract" and pays upfront.

even if you get some good coffee, you must compare the pricing with other small specialty exporter's coffee quality. To do this, you must know good connection in the business and have a great cupper.

this is very important to decide what quality & price you need to set your sales pricing at.

2. sample sending to customers in UK/Spain
unless you already have customers set up & ready to test and buy, you need to send samples to potential customers to get them cup the beans first.
normally, you need to send 4 to 7 samples (from different farms with different grades and pricing) to one customer. 300 grams parchment coffee x 4 to 7.
from Brazil to UK/Spain, the freight will be between $150.00 to $250.00 for each sample sending. If you are a big company, you will get some discount from int'l courier companies, but just starting, probably not. sample freight cost is no joking matter.

3. in order to export coffee, you must have coffee exporting license. as staring company, probably you wont be able to get them. you will have to use other bigger company's license to export. some company who you can trust, who will not take away your contacts...etc. you need to investigate on this. and how much they will charge per 100 lbs or 69kgs.

Well... there are a lot more issues.... but i do not have time to write them all.
if you have any other questions, please PM to me.
thanks
PS : I have a coffee exporting company in Guatemala, so I know exactly what it takes to get them exported. please check out www.ensoluna.com this is our company.

 

[peterjschmidt]

Great post, Alex.

 

[keppa837]

Very excellent post there , Mr. Alex:decaf: