MIAMI, U.S. — While some major coffee retailers are buying their own coffee plantations as a hedge against possible commodity shortages due to climate change, as reported in Time Magazine this week, Miami-based Tierra Nueva is applying proprietary technologies that use 100% of the coffee bean to do its part to sustain global supplies, according to Christopher D. Ramonetti, CEO of growth-equity firm ProspEquity Partners.
Tampa-based ProspEquity Partners in May closed on a majority stake in Miami-based Tierra Nueva.
“Our use of 100 percent of the coffee bean in our Edible Coffee® consumer products, along with our continuing focus on new breakthroughs in the science of coffee bean research and development, will help offset any possible commodity shortage,” said Ramonetti, who is also Chairman of the Board of Tierra Nueva.
“Whole bean means the environmentally-friendly process can reduce coffee raw material costs by more than 30%, and create significantly less waste – results unprecedented in the coffee industry.”
“We applaud the work of major CPG companies and many Central and South American countries in advancing initiatives to develop coffee strains resistant to climate change, and pledge to continue to provide our own leadership in sustainability for the $74-billion global coffee market,” said Ramonetti.
“Tierra Nueva has in fact invented and patented processes to manufacture, and has established the marketplace, for a wide breadth of coffee institutional and coffee confectionary products that use 100% of the coffee bean, and as a result are environmentally friendly. The proprietary processes eliminate traditional coffee waste, have and preserve a superior flavor with an extended shelf-life, and maximize end-product yield,” he explained.
“Our goal is to have any product existing in the marketplace that contains some form of coffee to utilize this technology.”
About Prospequity Partners
ProspEquity Partners is a private equity firm committed to building prosperity beyond wealth with a unique, three-tiered business philosophy that differentiates ProspEquity Partners in the private equity space:
We invest and inspire people because people are the transformative competitive advantage and key to innovation, productivity, growth and profitability.
We infuse not just capital and expertise, but proven methodologies and processes that enhance the culture and entrepreneurial spirit of portfolio companies.
We sincerely believe that prosperity means superior and lasting economic and social value for all stakeholders, including investors, employees, customers and the community.
ProspEquity Partners works intimately with family offices and other independent sponsor limited partners to identify and invest in growth equity in direct investment opportunities, generally between $3M and $30M. PEP utilizes its ecosystem of expertise and access to aggressively scale proven product or service offerings toward a major exit through initial public offering or strategic acquisition.
About Tierra Nueva
Over the past four years, Tierra Nueva has product tested, piloted and nationally launched various formats for branded and privately labeled Coffee Thins™, Coffee Squares, Coffee Spreads and coffee ingredient products.
Tierra Nueva employs more than 80 at its 42,000-square-foot SQF3, kosher and Halal certified facility in Miami, Fla., opened in 2009.
