Despite ideal growing conditions for premium-grade Arabica coffee, some origins cannot access valuable mainstream and speciality markets due to their low profile. Selling to such markets not only requires quality; buyers also expect consistency, volume and a dependable service. Twin identified two unknown origins with enormous potential in Malawi and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to tackle both market and production side barriers.

FRICH value chain partnership

Twin joined forces with Sainsbury’s and the roasters Finlays via the UK Government’s Food Retail Industry Challenge (FRICH) fund to develop new origins from the Sopacdi cooperative in the DRC and Mzuzu in Malawi. The partnership brings together a wealth of industry expertise to support these marginalised coffee producers in meeting very different challenges with a commitment to developing and launching a single origin product following investment in quality, sustainability and productivity.

Mzuzu coffee from Malawi

Despite rich volcanic soils and high altitudes ideal for growing speciality coffee, production look set to decline at Mzuzu due to monoculture production and poor agricultural practices. To sustainably boost yields, Twin worked alongside Mzuzu to renovate ageing coffee farms, growing new seedlings in nurseries and encouraging biodiversity and shade-grown coffee production. At the end of the project, a limited edition Mzuzu single origin coffee was launched in Sainsbury’s as part of their Taste the Difference range. This gave Mzuzu much needed visibility and acted as a springboard for entering new markets around the world.

Sopacdi coffee from DR Congo

Coffee farms were abandoned and infrastructure destroyed during the civil war in the DRC, causing a near total collapse of the country’s coffee industry. To support the Sopacdi cooperative in rebuilding the sector, Twin successfully lobbied Fairtrade International for special certification in a conflict zone. Alongside organic accreditation, this supported access to international markets to co-fund investment in new infrastructure, including a new washing station. Thanks to this focus on quality, Sopacdi not only launched the UK’s first single origin from the DRC in Sainsbury’s, but also went on to win the SCAA Sustainability Award and enter speciality markets in the US and Europe.

FRICH 2 and beyond

TTD Sopacdi fairtrade Mzuzu coffee package Kopakama Fairtrade coffee

Following the success of the first three-year FRICH project, the partnership began a second phase in the DRC which extended the reach of the project to include Muungano. FRICH 2 invested intensively in quality, constructing three washing stations at Muungano and Sopacdi. Quality Control was enhanced with the addition of new coffee labs and cupping training for cooperative staff in partnership with Finlays. The partnership also went on to launch two new coffees from Chirinos in Peru and Kopakama in Rwanda – the first mainstream fully-traceable grown by women product in the UK.

Project overview:

  • Fairtrade certification and organic conversion: special measures in a conflict zone with Twin as guarantor enabled Sopacdi to become the first cooperative in the DRC to achieve Fairtradea and organic certification

  • Sustainable increase in productivity: renovation of coffee farms and promotion of sustainable agricultural practices

  • Construction of new infrastructure: first modern washing station in the DRC for 40 years

  • Investment in quality control: training of cooperative staff and construction of new cupping labs, resulting in improvement in cupping scores (Sopacdi was first in the DRC to achieve top national grade Kivu 2)

  • Strengthening Business Management: investment in accounting and exporting skills

  • Accessing markets: facilitation of buyer trips and trading of speciality coffee to roasters in several market countries. Development of marketing strategies and new product lines developed and launched in Sainsbury’s

  • Profile raising: DRC and Malawi promoted as quality coffee origins in the media and to consumers, including successful application to Specialty Coffee Association of America Sustainability Awards

Reach: FRICH 1 reached approximately 11,000 smallholder farmer members of Sopacdi, Muungano and Mzuzu.