The Green Coffee Company will raise $100 million to expand farms in Colombia and upgrade processing facilities.
The Green Coffee Company became the largest owner of coffee farms in Colombia following major acquisitions of land earlier this year. Now the company is doubling down on expansion there through a $100 million Series C fundraising round launched on September 8.
The company, headquartered in the United States, plans to use the proceeds to acquire 1,515 acres (613 hectares) of farmland in Salgar, Colombia, its flagship farming region, according to Adam Jason, a member of the company's board and partner at its main shareholder, the Legacy Group, a private equity firm focused on Latin America.
“We will focus on farm purchases in Colombia’s ‘Coffee Triangle’ because of the large spring harvests in the region to supplement our current heavy fall harvest periods,” he explained. “Principally, we expect this replication and expansion to aid us in meeting year-round client demand for our farm-direct coffee.”
The company will also improve efficiency at its existing operations, which include 27 farms across some 6,600 acres (2,600 hectares). The firm might build or acquire a coffee dry mill as well.
The Green Coffee Company aims to lift profitability by establishing regional roasting operations in the United States, in a shift from reliance on contracted roasting. “U.S. roaster production will provide complete vertical integration and allow us to sell our coffee for approximately 60% higher margins than if we sell coffee only in green coffee form,” said Jason. The company is initially focused on Florida and Texas, with plans to open its first roasting facility in 2024.
The firm will support sustainability by planting 2.5 million coffee trees in 2022. Its infrastructure is designed to save 20 million liters of water during processing, according to Jason.
New funds will also help it monetize coffee byproducts. “Our focus on a ‘circular economy’ for everything we grow on our farms will enable us to enter the coffee byproducts business where we will convert coffee cherry, pulp, and nutrients, which coffee farmers typically discard or destroy, into our own collection of vodkas, spirits, and other consumer products,” said Jason.
The Green Coffee Company forecasts $13.4 million in sales in 2022, according to the recent press release. The Series C funding round is anticipated to include $25 million in equity and $75 million in debt financing, and is open to accredited investors, institutional investors, and coffee industry businesses.