Welcome to Recap, a brief overview of recent coffee developments every two weeks from the Specialty Coffee Association.

More than 700 coffee growers in the Kona district of Hawaii are eligible to receive the first settlement payments of a 2019 class action lawsuit. Filed against 22 big-name retailers and suppliers, the lawsuit addresses the false labeling of commodity coffee a s coffee grown in the Kona district. The coffee growers named in the lawsuit argued that falsely advertising commodity coffee as Kona coffee has damaged the coffee’s reputation and depressed prices for growers. The Kona growers’ claim is similar to a successful 2006 effort by French vintners to limit the use of the word “Champagne” for wines grown outside of the region. Within Hawaii, Kona coffee may only be labeled as such if it was both grown within the district and meets quality standards, but the state has had difficulty enforcing the labeling restrictions beyond its borders. As a result of the settlement, retailers selling Kona coffee on a nationwide basis will be subject to Hawaii’s more stringent labeling laws. Though none of the defendants have acknowledged mislabeling, more than a quarter of the large retail defendants have settled to avoid further litigation. 

Digital Coffee Future will host three webinars on the intersection of climate change and coffee digitalization, starting today, March 25th. Supported by Expressing Origin and The Chain Collaborative, the series will discuss the viability of integrating digital solutions in the coffee sector in order to respond to climate change. The second webinar of the series, scheduled for April 8th, will share case studies of current tools and projects in the space. This includes the recently released Cool Farm Tool, a collaborative effort between five coffee-buying companies and six coffee-producing cooperatives that helps farmers track and understand the environmental impact of their production. The tool is completely free to use and provides immediate feedback. The third and final webinar in the series, scheduled April 22nd, will explore what’s needed to scale these solutions while taking regional differences into account. 

Tim Hortons, a Canadian coffee and doughnut chain, announced a significant corporate investment in its digital guest experience. As guests increasingly interact with the company through its digital channels, the Tim Hortons mobile app reports a five-fold growth in monthly active users since 2018. It also estimates nearly one third of all Canadian adults have used the Tims Rewards loyalty program in the last 18 months. The 80 Million Canadian dollar investment will support the company’s strategic digital initiatives and the building of a “best-in-class” digital experience for guests. 

According to the BBC, small start-up coffee businesses have done well in the United Kingdom last year despite challenging conditions. Both mobile coffee vans and subscription services have seen an increase in business across the last year, with some new businesses likely to seek brick-and-mortar locations once the pandemic ends. While chains located in the UK’s busy city centers saw sales drop significantly, only 2% of chain stores have actually closed, bolstered by click-and-collect sales as well as government support. The Guardian reports that a survey conducted by Barclaycard, a UK debit and credit card operator, indicates that local and online retailers are likely to continue to benefit from pandemic-induced changes to shopping patterns. Nearly two thirds of UK consumers have chosen to buy closer to home in the past year, and more than nine in ten who have shopped locally say they will continue to do so even once restrictions are lifted. 

If you want to dive deeper into anything you heard today, check out the links in the description of this episode. Recap will be back in two weeks’ time. Thanks for listening. 

Further Reading: 

UK Shift to Local Shopping Could Last Beyond Pandemic - Poll (The Guardian)