Demetria’s quality tracking system combines low cost sensors with AI and cloud-based computing (photo: Demetria)
Demetria, a startup that uses low-cost sensor technology, artificial intelligence (AI), and software as a service (SaaS) cloud-based computing to track coffee quality secured US$3 million from a funding round led by Latin American-Israeli investor Celeritas and a group of private investors, including Mercantil Colpatria, the investment branch of Grupo Colpatria, a leading player in the Colombian financial sector.
Demetria aims to digitize the way coffee quality is assessed and claims the technology it developed can be used at every stage of the supply chain, throughout the production and distribution process, from farm to cup. The company uses portable near infra-red (NIR) sensors to analyze and “fingerprint” green coffee beans using biochemical markers. This data or ‘sensory fingerprint’ is fed into a cloud-based intelligence platform that accurately matches bean profile to the industry standard coffee flavor wheel. The company will launch a suite of SaaS solutions to replace age-old, manual processes used to ascertain bean quality – including cupping – delivering taste assessment and profiling, swift, accurate quality measurement and traceability throughout the supply chain.
“The ability to discover the quality of green coffee beans is a game changer for the industry,” said Felipe Ayerbe, co-founder and chief executive of Demetria. “It’s hard to believe that until now, the world’s biggest roasters have effectively been buying coffee with very limited knowledge about its quality, and that the majority of coffee farmers – the most important players in the supply chain – don’t understand the quality of their own crop. Our technology delivers the intelligence needed to ensure crop consistency and quality control.”
Demetria recently completed a successful pilot project with Carcafe, the Colombian coffee division of one of the world’s oldest and largest agricultural commodity traders, Volcafe/ED&F Man. Carcafe identified a distinct high value cupping profile and Demetria built a matchmaking solution to determine which green beans will suit.
“Carcafe worked with Demetria to develop a pilot application that allows anyone, anywhere, with a portable sensor, to detect a specific, high value sensory profile for green coffee,” said Sebastian Pinzón, general manager of Carcafe. “ We are in the process of adopting and rolling out the technology to greatly increase the efficiency and effectiveness of our prospecting process at our purchase points and in the field. Demetria’s technology can replace many manual processes to determine vital data that is proving invaluable in making better decisions.”
The company also works with the National Federation of Coffee Growers in Colombia (FNC), to develop a series of apps that will help farmers and organizations at transaction points in the supply chain control and track bean quality and price it accordingly.
“It is extremely important that Colombia continues to strengthen its position in the specialty coffee market with more consistent, better quality coffee, in order to meet increasing demands for unique and differentiated profiles,” said Roberto Velez, president of FNC. “Using affordable sensors, cloud computing and other technology, coffee growers will be able to manage each stage of the production process in a simple, timely and accurate manner. More importantly, they will be able to evaluate the quality of their crop and gain a price that reflects this. Technology like that developed by Demetria will empower the FNC and growers.”
The company was formed by Ayerbe, a former investment banker and consultant based in Bogota, Argentine-Israeli high-tech entrepreneur and investor Eduardo Shoval, Salomon Kassin, a commodity trader specializing in the Colombian coffee sector and Yori Nelken, an AI pioneer. The company is headquartered in Bogota with an r&d team in Tel Aviv. The company also has a lab in the heart of Colombia’s coffee growing region and a commercial presence in Brazil and Switzerland.
Shoval said premiums for high-quality coffees have increased exponentially, but farmers haven’t benefitted in the way they might. “Our vision is to provide an enhanced and sustainable quality coffee experience for all coffee drinkers globally, while revamping the industry’s value chain.”