MILAN – Sara Morrocchi is the founder of Vuna Origin Consulting and Vuna Coffee School (VCS), one of the leading digital training platforms for origin professionals. Currently, the school has more than 800 students worldwide (E. Africa, Latin America and SE. Asia) and operates in 6 different languages (EN, SP, FT, PT, Vietnamese and Indonesian Bahasa).
She talked about the Coffee Champions League, an event that they are planning for 15 February evening in Kigali (during the East African Finest Coffee Association conference).
Vuna means to harvest, to pick: to recognise and value Tanzanian farmers. How do you do this through your business?
“Vuna Origin Consulting wants to provide business solution to coffee market disparity. Our business model is centered in our unique Cherry to Heart™ model. This model organizes all our products and services under 4 value chain journeys:
-Green Coffee Production & Trading,
-Access to Markets,
-Product Development, and
-Digital Growth and Consumer Engagement.
We know that most producer organizations and companies based at origin will need support in conquering these 4 journeys, and based on the needs and level of expertise, we are able to offer the most adequate service and provide the most relevant product to help them succeed.”
Not only business, but also training: that is why you also founded Vuna Coffee School. How important is it to evolve the supply chain back to its origins?
“The coffee market is heavily dominated by unequal access to tools, resources and expertise. Producer organizations and companies based at origin often are not on par with their counterparts working in consuming countries, especially vertically integrated companies, and large trading houses. We founded Vuna Coffee School to make coffee education more accessible specifically for origin. We want to provide content that is most relevant to coffee professionals working in producing regions.
Our vision for digital coffee education is:
-Most relevant course content for capacity building
-A structured training methodology designed by adult – learning education experts
-Accessible 24/7 and on demand
-Available in 6 producing region languages (English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Indonesia Bahasa, Vietnamese)
-Implementation support available post-course
-A global network of coaches”
How have you developed a network of over 800 students? Are they all farmers?
We have a global network of students that extend from Latin America, East Africa, and SE Asia. Most students are coffee professionals that work for:
-producer organizations
-private local exporters
-private washing stations
-and dry mills
Students’ work functions range from:
-sales & marketing managers
-finance managers
-accountants and bookkeepers
-cuppers
-agronomists & extension officers
-certification & compliance
project managers
-board of directors
We also have a small percentage of students who work for social lending companies, ngos, certification bodies. We were able to build such a large community by addressing the local (origin) demand for coffee education. We maintain an open policy for collaboration and synergies with the private and non-profit sector.
Thanks to this approach, we have been able to forge alliances with ngos, certification bodies and private roasters to identify coffee professionals (students) at origin that have interest in taking courses with Vuna Coffee School. Some of the partnerships we have been able to forge are with:
-The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH (GIZ)
-Fairtrade International and Fairtrade Producer Networks (CLAC, Fairtrade Africa, NAAP)
-Farm Africa
-Progreso Foundation
-Rikolto Latin America
-Root Capital
-GEPA – The Fairtrade Company”
Digitisation: key word for the development of a new approach. How do you educate farmers in this new opportunity of connection?
“Our main audience is coffee professionals that work for producer organizations, local export companies, washing stations and drymills. We leverage the power of digital education to provide students with the most relevant content, on a platform that is accessible 24/7, and in a language of their choice (English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Vietnamese, Indonesia Bahasa). Through Vuna Coffee School, we are building the largest digital community of coffee professionals at origin to achieve three main goals:
-Unify best trading practices,
-Scale coffee knowledge & community digitally
-Create tangible impact at origin”
With your programme, you emancipate the farmer by empowering him within the usual market dynamics: how do you improve their purchasing power in the green trade?
“Our courses are specifically designed to empower and equip coffee professionals at origin to sell more coffee at better prices. How? We have a range of courses that focus on the 4 main market strategies:
-Procurement
-Sales & Marketing
-Price Fixing
-Finance
We offer courses that range from:
-Green Coffee Trading Fundamentals
-Digital Market Access & Client Engagement
-Seed to Cup Fundamentals
-Gender equity & inclusion in coffee
-Price Risk Management (basic, intermediate, advanced)
We have plans to roll out more trainings in 2023 such as:
-Road to Expo: making the most of trade shows
-Access to Finance (basic, intermediate, advanced)
-Seller’s Guide to Specialty Coffee Markets”
Another node you have developed is the Coffee Champions League: what exactly does it consist of? Why a quiz test and what is it broadly about?
“The Coffee Champions League wants to make coffee education a fun and friendly endeavor. The Coffee Quiz is a team-based game that tests students on coffee knowledge and awards winners with special prizes such as a coveted hard copy of The Coffee Guide (by the International Trade Centre), coffees and chocolates by GEPA, German roaster and much more!
The quiz will touch on a range of topics:
-Coffee market
-Quality from seed to cup
-Coffee trading
-Sustainability
-Risk & finance”
You also collaborate with coffee roasters: is this sector getting stronger even in places where the core business remains cultivation and not green processing?
“Private roasters recognize the need to support and strengthen coffee value chains and the professionals working within it, especially at origin. We partner with roasters to provide their origin-based partners with the most relevant content to help them meet roasters’ demands and remain competitive in the global market.
What are Vuna’s next steps, between consultancy and school?
“Our mission to keep providing effective business solutions to coffee market disparity. Either through our consulting services, or through our digital coffee education platform, we support producer organizations and origin-based companies in:
-growing their business
-scaling their reach of the business on digital channels
In 2023, we are launching a Vuna Coffee School global tour, where we will be organizing events such as the Coffee Champions League to engage with students during important industry event and local gatherings.
At the moment, we plan to host events at:
-African Finest Coffee Association Conference (15th February, Kigali)
-Coffee Expo (April date tbd, Portland)”
