#002 - David vs Goliath: How the specialty coffee movement is benefiting the entire value chain.
- Renato Stivanin
- Dec 14, 2025
- 2 min read
Updated: Jan 4
Consumers demand more. Local roasters offer much healthier and tastier products than Nescafé.
From 1980 to 2000, four companies—Nestlé, Philip Morris/Kraft (now JDE Peet’s), Sara Lee, and Procter & Gamble—went on an acquisition spree and locked supermarkets into exclusive contracts. By 2000 they controlled more than 50% of total coffee sales*.
Nescafé turned Nescafe into the largest coffee brand by pushing cheap robusta. Robusta’s production share rose from 25 % in 1980 to 45 % in 2024.
Instant / soluble coffee is mostly robusta and became 50% of consumption in over 40 countries - from 15 % in the 1970s.
Industrial blends like standard Nescafé score only 65–75 points on the SCA protocol; while specialty coffee starts at 83.
At the origin, concentration is even worse.
Just eight trading houses—Louis Dreyfus, Neumann Kaffee Gruppe, Olam, Ecom, Sucafina, Volcafe, Cargill Coffee, and sometimes Bunge—move 70–80% of all internationally traded green coffee**. Together with the big four roasters, they commoditized coffee for five decades: farm-gate prices frequently below production cost, per-capita consumption dropping in many markets, and flavor sacrificed for margin.
The consumer realized this and reduced the consumption of coffee.
But that era is over - consumers want more.
The specialty & direct-trade movement now pays farmers 200–400 % above the C-market price, has brought millions of hectares under sustainable practices, and made 85+ point coffee the new normal in thousands of independent cafés worldwide.
Every single time you buy a transparent, high-scoring bag from a local roaster who knows the producer’s name, you are directly dismantling that old system.
Your nearest independent roaster is changing the supply chain. Ask him for the farm name and the cup score.
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NY ICE C Futures: 369.30¢/lb (↓1.8% WoW from 376.20¢). B3 Brazil Arabica (USD): $374.30 (↓1.5% WoW). USD/BRL FX: +0.2% to 5.42 (from 5.41). Santos-Rotterdam 20' Freight Proxy: $1,650 (↑2% WoW via CFI surge). Top 10 News Hits (Dec 7-13):
USDA forecasts 2025/26 global deficit, prices to rise.
Cecafé warns on Brazilian supply tightness.
Arabica plunges 4.4% to $3.60/lb on tariff relief.
Robusta dips 4.2% to $4,438/MT.
J.M. Smucker pauses hikes post-tariffs.
Brands eye expansion amid steady spot prices.
Arabica weekly close ↓6.35¢ to 374.85¢.
Vietnam harvest pressures ease prices.
USDA cuts Brazil 2025/26 crop by 2M bags.
US tariff cut prospects flood market with supply fears.
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Source:
*International Coffee Organization & USDA historical reports.
** (USDA GAIN reports 2023–2025 & trader disclosures)
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