Cup of Excellence & Alliance for Coffee Excellence announce new auction platform with M-Cultivo
Image: M-Cultivo
The nonprofits Cup of Excellence (CoE) and Alliance for Coffee Excellence (ACE) have partnered with technology services company M-Cultivo to launch a new auction platform aimed at improving market access and financial compensation for coffee producers while creating more transparency and connections in the supply chain. The new auction platform will open with the Costa Rica National Winner auction that runs from 1 August – 12 August and the Nicaragua National Winner auction that runs from 1 August -12 August. The new platform will host the first CoE auction with Nicaragua on 4 August. The partnership with M-Cultivo, formed in 2021, will also extend to other technology services that support the organizations’ mission of rewarding and recognizing quality coffee producers.
“We’re honored to partner with Cup of Excellence and the Alliance for Coffee Excellence as their new technology services partner. Our goal is to support COE and ACE as they expand their auction and event services to better scale their market access and financial impact for coffee producers. M-Cultivo is thrilled to build an evolved, scaled model for various auction types that not only provides more opportunities for quality discovery and direct-trade relationships, but will provide a more streamlined user experience for buyers. We look forward to working alongside and enhancing the auction experience for all stakeholders in the auction process,” said David Paparelli, founder and CEO of M-Cultivo.
With features including an integrated payment option for buyers and a robust back-end lot management for in-country organizations and producers, the auction platform will support increased financial reward and better margins for producers while creating efficiencies in the auction process, logistics and sample set management.
The new platform will offer a check-out process on winning bids with multiple payment options including credit card and wire transfer. Credit card fees will be passed on to the buyer to avoid extra costs for producers. Shipping options will also be expanded and managed directly at check out allowing buyers to select options including: air-freight, consolidated air-freight, ocean freight, and self-managed. Information about the winning coffee and photos of the producers will be displayed by each lot. Bidders will also enjoy customizable auto-bidding by choosing increment levels and maximum bids. Lastly, there will be an on-demand support chat and resource center.
“This work and partnership with MCultivo in building a platform together to meet the needs of our principle partners, the coffee producers whom we serve, is vital to our mission. As a non-profit, we feel this work with a group committed to enriching farmer livelihoods is key to our strategic plan for the future,” said Darrin Daniel, executive director, Alliance for Coffee Excellence and Cup of Excellence.
Along with the new auction platform, the organizations – which launched a Brazil Select Marketplace pilot program in late 2021 – will also focus on other technology services to better forge direct-trade relationships. Following the pilot program in Brazil, an Ethiopia Select Marketplace will feature over 80 individual farmers, dramatically increasing the market reach and securing higher premiums for producers who entered the CoE program. This direct–to-roaster marketplace for coffee vetted by Ethiopia National Jurists will run from 8 August to 15 September, 2022.
For more information about the new auction platform and marketplace, please visit http://mcultivo.com/. To register for an auction, please visit https://allianceforcoffeeexcellence.org/.