This week was the first time that our Progreso team in Uganda organized a central training for all coffee cooperatives in the project, with as central theme: coffee marketing.
With a team of experts, made up of Janet Maate (moderator), Richard Hide (marketing specialist), Andy Carlton (business planning and export logistics), Yvette Agaba (quality expert) and Daan Mulder (Beyco representative), different topics related to coffee marketing where discussed.
The training started with a session on coffee market basics.
With, worldwide, about 1 container of coffee being consumed each minute, there is definitely not a lack of market for coffee. However, it is important to define whó are the current buyers of your coffee and why are they specifically buying from you, and not from someone else. This will lead to the question: how do you find new buyers that fit your coffee profile, and how do you get in touch with them and maintain an interaction?
Next up was a session on coffee pricing, answering questions like: what price should you give your coffee, and how do you calculate that price? How to include basics based on the New York Market Prices, how to include premiums when the quality of your coffee is high and/or certified and what the difference is between fixed and open contracts, focusing on when to fix.
The session on export logistics was a very practical one, taking our participants step by step through the process of what to do when you start exporting your coffee. We went over INCO terms, shipping practicalities and all the (bureaucratic) steps that involve government actors.
This was followed by a cupping session, which started with a presentation of cupping results by Raf van Bruel (remote), after which a cupping session was hosted by Yvette and Christine (the quality officer of the MEACCE cooperative).
Participants were able to sit down with Richard and Andy for one on one sessions on marketing to be able to get support and input to create a tailor-made marketing plan for their cooperative, and/or sit down with Daan for a one-on-one on Beyco onboarding.
As participants mentioned, not only was it good to be hearing so much useful and practical information, but it also provided a great opportunity for the participants to meet members of other organizations and be able to share their experiences together, both in person and long-term on the Beyco platform.
