Innovation

MyCoffeeBox has a business model that works with small coffee producers in Chiapas to offer different types of coffee packed freshly and distributed directly to houses and offices in more than 70 cites in Mexico and abroad.

With the help of a monthly subscription, the e-commerce platform ensures planning, payment and business for small coffee plantations.

The business is scalable and growing, now that there are more distribution points in Mexico City and Monterrey to provide more volume and integrate more of the small and local organic coffee producers.

MyCoffeeBox only works with certified organic coffee producers where social and environment consideration is properly managed.

Inspiration

In Chiapas, there was a group helping small producers perfect the coffee production process. Luis Miguel had the opportunity to taste a cup of a fresh coffee of a small producer and he was astonished of the quality, smell and taste of coffee brew. In same year, a challenge to build your own business was presented in one university and Luis Miguel thought that Chiapas has been an eco-tourism land destination, but not everyone was benefiting from it. So he came with the idea to use technology to help to grow small producers and not be dependable of the international commodity prices.

He was going to innovate the business model of delivering coffee and at the same time, improve income for the families of the different small produces.

He participated and won the challenge, and his dream come true. MyCoffeeBox was created, and in the same week he had already a few customers already subscribed and paid their monthly subscription. The next step was to integrate the small and certified organic producers to the network and offering the business, this was the easiest step.

Overall impact

All was started by local distribution of coffee produced in the area. Luis Miguel had the opportunity to taste the great coffee that was made by local producers, and ask himself how it was possible that people in small villages were able to produce a high quality coffee, a great smell, and a great taste. And at the same time taking care of the land that represents natural paradise to México.

In the world there are a lot of big coffee plantations where coffee is commercialized to coffee traders where price is fluctuating as a commodity. The margin is small for the producer, and many steps are made to deliver a coffee box from the plantation to your home.

With the new trend of delivering goods directly to your home, what if Mexican people can have the same opportunity that Luis Miguel had to taste, smell and brew a high quality coffee produced with passion and love from small producers dedicated also to care environment and the land. So he and his wife founded MyCoffeeBox, a platform that connects the small produces to the door of your house.

In a monthly subscription club, MyCoffeeBox was able to pay the producers each month and ship a coffee box with fresh coffee to the door of the customers, assuring just one step in the supply chain and assuring small producers money to invest and not to wait for a payment of 30-60 days.

Business benefit

• Fair Trade Price, margins that are not controlled by international commodities allow producers to have an income 2-3 times more than selling to international trade prices, where there are like 6-15 intermediaries where margin is diluted.
• Immediate payment to producers avoids accounts receivables for 40,60, 120 days. Helping to increase cash flow in the communities.
• Using e-commerce platforms gives the opportunity to be a scalable business and apply the model for other small producers in other states of Mexico, or even in other countries.

Social and environmental benefit

• Improvement and training for working people as a producers that considers the economical growth, social and community growth and considering environment, land, and water as always natural and taking care of this.
• Organic certification where environmental and land is considered and improve their natural conditions.
• Improving their income allows producers to produce a high quality coffee, where land and water better take care of.
• Avoid the use of chemicals that promote the contamination of the land, and promote the responsible use of land.

Interview

Luis Miguel Coutiño, Co-Founder

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