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STiR’s 10th Anniversary: Executive Forum Q&A. Part 1
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Marcus Clausen (Dethlefsen &Balk)
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William Murray (National Coffee Association)
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Ralf Torenz (Neuhaus Neotec)
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Dr. Monika Beutgen (Tea &Herbal Infusions Europe)
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Mansoor Akarbally (Akbar Brothers)
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Holger Preibisch (Deutscher Kaffeeverband e.V)
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Sunalini Menon (Coffeelab)
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Nicola Panzani (IMA Coffee)
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Cindi Bigelow (Bigelow Tea)
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Peter Goggi (Tea Association of the USA)
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Doug Bishop (BUNN)
Read 'STiR’s 10th Anniversary: Executive Forum Q&A. Part 1...
..continued from 'STiR’s 10th Anniversary: Executive Forum Q&A. Part 2...
Ten years goes by quite quickly, and that’s where we stand with STiR – realizing it’s the magazine’s 10th anniversary yet feeling like it wasn’t that long ago we completed all the exciting work to transform Tea & Coffee Asia magazine into the global STiR coffee and tea.
For STiR’s 10th anniversary we invited some industry leaders to give us their input and this is the third part in that series.
We are quite thankful to have this incredible range of executives taking the time to give their thoughts and views. We have input from a wide variety of celebrated and leading coffee and tea industry manufacturers and suppliers, such as:
Mansoor Akarbally of Akbar Brothers, tea exporter from Sri Lanka; Dr Monika Beutgen of Tea & Herbal Infusions Europe, industry tea association; Cindi Bigelow of Bigelow Tea, tea blenders since 1942; Doug Bishop of BUNN, world leader in dispensing equipment; Marcus Clausen of Dethlefsen & Balk, supplying the wholesale specialty coffee and tea trade; Peter Goggi of the Tea Association of the USA; Sunalini Menon of Coffeelab, and ambassador of coffee from India; William Murray of NCA, National Coffee Association of the US; Nicola Panzani of IMA Coffee Petroncini, leader in coffee processing, packaging, and roasting; Holger Preibisch of Deutscher Kaffeeverband e.V, the largest German coffee association; and Ralf Torenz of Neuhaus Neotec, leading manufacturing of coffee processing equipment.
Without further ado, let’s hear what they have to say...
QUESTION #3: What are the biggest changes coming, challenges to face, and how do we prepare for the next 10 years?
Cindi Bigelow (Bigelow Tea): The first biggest challenges that we’re going to face is access human labor, which is becoming truly scarce. This problem is not just in the world of tea but spans industries on a global basis. Unfortunately, it seems to be an enduring factor.
The second significant issue that we will have to address is driven by continued cost increases with a reduction in the quality and availability of the critical botanicals we need to meet growing consumer demand. Maintaining our strong, long-standing relationships help offset this demand but still impact pricing and environmental challenges.
Peter Goggi (Tea Association of the USA): Climate change is clearly a number one priority for virtually all agricultural products. Tea is no different and we are already seeing some changes in the arrival times of key monsoonal rains as well as extensions of droughts. Temperature shifts in key areas are also evident and the tea bushes are being stressed in different ways than before.
It is imperative that the industry acts together to fully understand the issues and to map out steps needed to mitigate this risk. New botanical clones, changes in production techniques, irrigation, etc., are all areas that might be needed to help solve this issue going forward.
William Murray (National Coffee Association): Coffee dates back centuries, and we expect it continue being America’s favorite beverage well into the future! As we look down the road, the most important goal for everyone is to support coffee farmers. So many companies are doing so many things – and yes, there’s more to be done. This is why NCA proudly partners with organizations like World Coffee Research and the Sustainable Coffee Challenge to advance innovation, resilience, and sustainable practices from bean to cup.
Second, it is important that all of us continue to remind coffee drinkers about the growing evidence surrounding coffee’s health benefits. Consumers are skeptical about health messages – especially when they appear contradictory. Coffee is unique in that the evidence about its impact on health is growing steadily, year after year – you can’t say the same for most other so-called superfoods!
Finally, we are in a moment when social issues and business issues are enmeshed like never before. Living standards, economic equity, gender equity, and racial justice are at the forefront of our minds as an industry and as individuals, and everyone in the coffee community has a duty to keep moving us toward a future that is fair and equitable for all.
Sunalini Menon (Coffeelab): Being forced to work at home during lockdowns created a “home culture, which is now being looked at positively with companies realizing savings in rentals and expenses. Millennials especially in IT, started purchasing coffee on-line through e-commerce and are enjoying brewing coffee at home; experimentation and Innovation have come to stay at home. This increases home consumption and will grow in the coming years.
I can foresee rapid growth in the innovation and development of varied coffee drinks also, with the cold brew leading the way. Selling and purchase of coffee through e-commerce will come to stay and becomean important part of the Indian way of life. Take away coffee will gather momentum, considering that delivery services have improved by leaps and bounds.
Wellness drinks with coffee will become a large and popular segment of consumption, especially considering that Ayurveda is an important part of Indian life. By-products of coffee such as cascara, coffee oil, and coffee pulp are also being made into different products such as coffee soap, coffee tisane, coffee cream, coffee scrub, coffee shampoo, coffee lipstick, etc. and this is going to become an established industry in India, with a demand for such products
Nicola Panzani (IMA Coffee): Sustainability will surely be the challenge... requiring a comprehensive approach, from support to coffee farmers to ensure availability of green coffee, to environmental sustainability of coffee production and its packaging. IMA Coffee can support the last points with low emissions machines able to handle any new materials approaching the market, which is the company’s core strategy. The coffee industry is well positioned in this challenge, and I am sure that it will prove its innovation capacity once again, being a leader in the cross-industry trend toward sustainable business models.
Dr. Monika Beutgen (Tea & Herbal Infusions Europe): The European Green Deal is the biggest upcoming challenge for the tea and herbal infusions industry – in the European Union (EU) and beyond. Although the goals set by the Green Deal primarily concern the EU, the clear intention is to export the ideas to the world. Environmental impact shall be a key criterion in decisions on setting maximum residue levels for substances in tea from now on. How does that get along with WTO rules? How can a fair system for controlling emissions be found? There are a lot of open questions. Nevertheless, the Green Deal is not only a challenge it is also a chance for the tea industry. Tea and herbal infusions are products which meet a lot of the requirements of the Green Deal and its Farm to Fork strategy: they are healthy beverages, affordable for everybody and – growing herbal materials is biodiversity per se.
Mansoor Akarbally (Akbar Brothers): The shift to organic fertilizer will lead to a major drop in tea quantities in the near future for which we (and all exporters in Sri Lanka) will have to brace ourselves for and strategically overcome.
The ever-increasing cost of logistics (sea and airfreight) has been a major obstacle over the last 12-15 months and based on what we have heard, they will likely continue to keep rising until early 2022. This will burden exporters further as they have by-and-large had to absorb all these costs without passing anything on to export customers around the globe, experiencing challenges of their own.
Increasing nationalism poses a major threat to globalism as countries across the globe continue to embrace protectionism. This creates uncertainty for exporters and international brands whose success has largely been attributed to globalization.
Doug Bishop (BUNN): From a business standpoint, technology is going to play an even greater role in coffee and tea. Modern equipment offerings are able to provide even greater ease of use for both the consumer and the operator going forward. The consumer is going to be looking for quickness and consistency in preparation and ease of pay (digital) to make their experience smooth and easy. Operators will also benefit from the updated technology which will help reduce labor shortages and waste reduction. Equipment will continue to be connected to the “cloud” and will become self-monitoring. If any equipment is need of service it can send information to a call center that can then determine the appropriate solution without management or staff involvement.
Marcus Clausen (Dethlefsen & Balk): Climate change and the inherent threat to the cultivation of coffee and tea as well as tea ingredients is one of the main challenges that we will have to face and address in the coming years. In addition to sustainable and ecological agriculture, social responsibility will become vital, as consumers are much more educated about living and working conditions in the origins and will choose much more carefully who they will support with their purchases. Our strong ties with the origins as well as membership in the German Tea Association with their Code of Practice based on the International Labor Organization by the United Nations have already allowed us to put a strong focus on sustainability in the past, but the industry also needs to act as a whole to secure ethical working conditions in tea and coffee cultivation.
Ralf Torenz (Neuhaus Neotec): The new dominant theme is climate-neutral production. Machine and plant manufacturers for the coffee sector must also face this challenge. New technologies in exhaust gas cleaning and exhaust heat utilization are available and a new generation of highly efficient power units allows for a significant reduction in energy costs at the same high machine performance. While the use of fossil fuels for energy supply in roasting was still the rule a few years ago, new energy management concepts are being developed in the engineering departments of roaster producers that may allow complete plant operation with ecologically generated energy in the near future.”
Holger Prebisch (Deutscher Kaffeeverband e.V): Will there be enough coffee in the desired qualities in the future? There are five major challenges to be solved: climate change; working conditions in cultivation for the current and next generation; increase demand for quality; higher demands on agro-economic conditions; and increasing demand on shrinking acreage.
Will we succeed in positioning coffee as a modern, healthy lifestyle beverage in the future? Only then will consumers continue to enjoy coffee with pleasure, with enjoyment, and with the knowledge of benefits to their health. Everyone in the entire coffee community is called upon to ask themselves every day what they themselves are contributing to answering these key questions for the bright future of the coffee sector.