A great article from Zachs.com (an investment research firm) gave me a healthy dose of encouragement that despite the recession, this was good timing to start a new brand of coffee! Not only has demand for specialty coffee not experienced a downturn like most other industries, but it has actually risen! People are drinking the same amount of coffee as always, but are making more coffee at home in an effort to save money. This is great news for Buena Beans, obviously.
The fact that it is specialty coffee specifically also indicates to me that people are starting to care more and more about where their coffee comes from. Over the last few years, and especially due to the focus on fair trade, single origin coffees have become increasingly more popular. Even Starbucks has finally heard the call and has some single-origin specialty brews in certain locations.
This news is really great for coffee farmers, who finally have a chance to make a decent living off the plant that has at certain times in history been as valuable as gold while those who grow it have been relegated to a life of poverty. Coffee impacts people in such a huge percentage of the global south that a rise in the demand for single-origin and high quality coffees means that we are truly at a precipice where coffee drinkers have the power to diminish poverty with every pound they buy responsibly. I’m inspired!
Read the whole report from Zachs here.
