World Coffee Conference 2023: Brewing a connect for that perfect blend

The collation of data is crucial for improving coffee's quality preservation and de-risking its trade.

Speaking at the World Coffee Conference in the city recently, Brianna Dickey, founder and CEO, CropConex, USA, said that data would also benefit the industry for price discovery mechanisms and reduced costs and clerical errors.

She was delivering a presentation on 'Supply chain technology for trading innovation' as part of the Startups and Innovations-Product Development and Packaging session during the conference. 

"According to the World Economic Forum, if we were to have a better supply chain coordination, we could increase GDP by 5 per cent and increase international trade by 15 per cent," she said.

To tackle those challenges, her global e-commerce company designed a digital supply chain that provides data visibility and market coordination to break down the data that exists in silos and digitise each layer of the value chain. This will enable direct buyer-seller connect, besides allowing new players to enter the global market.

Balancing packaging waste without compromising on the quality or aroma of coffee, Marcus Velezmoro, Business Development Manager-Global Coffee and Aroma Protection, Syntegon (Germany), spoke about how companies have now started focusing on creating environment-friendly packaging using recyclable materials.

A collaboration between manufacturers, suppliers, other stakeholders, and customers is needed, he said.

Top trends  

* Increasing demand for global and local coffee varieties

* Growing climate-resistant coffee species 

* Eco-friendly packaging

* Plant-based beverages 

* More customisation by coffee drinkers

* Coffee culture driven by Gen Z and millennials 

Visitors sample coffee at the World Coffee Conference 2023 at Bangalore Palace on Thursday.