Coffee as a Service: Embedding Efficiency and Sustainability in Coffee Roasters

This article addresses the issue of sustainability in coffee through a different lens, taking a diametrically opposite approach to cracking the problem compared to the methods adopted so far, by engaging not with producers but with the strongest players at the other side of the value chain, coffee roasters. First, the article provides an unbiased review of sustainability in coffee that is in stark contrast to the dominant discourse and the marketing claims that abound in the industry. Second, it describes the new Coffee as a Service model proposed by a young tech startup that is pioneering transparency and digitalization of the coffee value chain. The proposed solution is rooted in technology and permits to improve the economic efficiency of coffee roasters, while at the same time increasing their transparency and accountability within the value chain. The ambition of this paper is to become, through the startup-led proof of concept, the trigger to a better, more balanced and more redistributive coffee industry, creating momentum towards a more impactful and sustainable coffee sector.