MEDELLÍN, Colombia – A group of businesses operating within the Colombian specialty coffee industry have announced the launch of Impact, an incubator and collective aimed at helping Medellin become a hub for specialty coffee. Located in the city, Impact will help nurture the region’s burgeoning specialty coffee industry, by hosting the farm-to-cup supply chain under one roof.
The incubator includes a quality control lab and processing facilities, as well exporters and marketing experts working from the premises. Working together in one space, the collective aims to accelerate innovation and production within the local specialty coffee industry.
Impact will source all its coffee from local independent producers, who will work in partnership with the collective. This will give small producers instant access to a direct trade ecosystem. Not only will this help producers improve quality and yields, and earn a fair price above the industry average, it will also help them develop their own unique brands within the marketplace.
“By focusing on product over profits, we can make decisions based on what’s in the best interests of all the producers and organizations that are within the collective,” said Jennifer Poole, Co-Founder of Impact founding member Those Coffee People. “What’s more, as we treat producers as partners rather than suppliers, we focus on helping them improve quality and develop their own unique origin stories – rather than squeezing prices”.
While the Colombian specialty coffee market has grown substantially over the last few years and now represents 13% of all specialty coffee exports, producers still have numerous barriers to overcome, not least accessing international markets. But by working with Impact, specialty producers will be able to leverage the strength and expertise of the collective to overcome these barriers.
The founding members of Impact are: Those Coffee People, Rituales, Proyecto Renacer, La Fábrica, Las Brisas and Moara. Between them, they have already lived up to the collective’s name by having sustained 260 families and invested more than $1.1 million into local Colombian communities in 2020.
About Impact
Impact is a local collective of businesses within the specialty coffee industry based out of Medellin, Colombia. Founded in 2021, Impact breaks the standard of traditional production and exportation practices knowing that together we are greater than the sum of our parts. Our team consists of experts in environmental innovation, specialized production and sustainability methods, quality control, disruptive roasting techniques, and world class logistics and commercialization strategies – all grouping together to put Medellin specialty coffee on the map.
