International Coffee Week reaches 58 countries in historic digital edition

The 8th edition of International Coffee Week, held between the 18th and 20th of November, it has established itself as one of the main events in the sector in the world in a edition digital History who achieved 58 countries. Bringing together the entire chain, from grain to cup, it connected producers, professionals, brands, organizations and authorities in a true business and training journey focused on discussing opportunities and solutions at a time in the market that calls for strategy.

Organized by the Federation of Agriculture and Livestock of the State of Minas Gerais (FAEMG), Café Editora, Sebrae and the Government of Minas, through the Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (Seapa), SIC became even stronger in 2020 as a of the five largest coffee fairs in the world. The event is also part of the calendar for companies and professionals, who find important guidance in the program for decision-making in business and careers.

This is reflected in the massive engagement of the first 100% digital edition. The total audience was 25 thousand hits until November 20th. Among the visiting countries are - highlighted - Brazil, United States, Australia, Colombia, Italy, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, attracted by a schedule of 70 hours of content, 176 speakers and 55 exhibitors such as Nescafé, Nespresso, Sistema Ocemg, 3Corações, Codemge, Melitta, Sicoob, Cooxupé, Kahlúa and Montesanto Tavares Group, also sponsors of SIC.    

Agenda

With its own platform and simple navigation, but with all the resources for a complete digital experience, SIC served diverse interests, from the countryside to coffee shops, from technical certifications to consumer behavior, with the advantage of enabling visitors to organize agendas personalized.

Among the guests, economist Ricardo Amorim, who brought a vision of the macroeconomic scenario in agribusiness with a focus on coffee; businessman João Appolinário, one of the biggest names in national retail, who raised the discussion about entrepreneurship and impact on business; Bill Murray, president of the National Coffee Association (USA), and Rachel Muller, director of coffee at Nestlé, presenting post-pandemic supply and demand scenarios.

In three days, the panel of lectures, courses and panels also covered topics such as the resumption of coffee shops, how to produce specialty coffees, micro-roasting coffee, the diversity of Minas Gerais coffee, policies for the coffee sector, digital retail opportunities, the presence of women in agribusiness, innovation in coffees, how to educate consumers, among many others.

Another advantage of the digital format is the possibility of making materials available for a longer period of time. Those who were unable to follow SIC between the days of the event will still be able to check out the videos and content on website.

New Releases

SIC is also recognized for presenting products and solutions that impact the market. In this sense, the 2020 edition had two major highlights. One of them was the official launch of the territorial brand “Cafés da Região Volcânica”, a project developed by Sebrae Minas, in partnership with the Association of Coffee Producers of the Volcanic Region, and which covers 12 cities between the states of Minas Gerais and São Paulo .

The area has a rocky formation and soil rich in minerals due to an extinct volcano, which results in extremely high-quality coffee and an operation that will benefit 7 local producers. The other was the launch of the NOMAD platform by Nescafé. An initiative focused on specialty coffees that combines curation of high-quality beans, immersive content, technology and traceability.

Awards

The event was also the stage for recognizing products and producers. At the 4th AT&G Specialty Coffee Cupping, which is part of the Technical and Management Assistance Program of the FAEMG/SENAR/INAES System to promote and map the quality of coffees over the years, Sul de Minas showed strength, conquering the top 3 places in the general ranking in the natural category. Nespresso saved the delivery of the Nespresso AAA Sustainable Quality Program, which completed 15 years in Brazil providing knowledge and techniques in the production of high-quality sustainable coffees. Minas, once again, was the protagonist in categories such as “The Enthusiast”, “The Vanguardist”, “The Entrepreneur”, “The Environmentalist”, among others.

On the last day of SIC, attention was focused on the Coffee of The Year 2020 Award. Held since 2012, the competition is one of the main in the sector, covering four categories: arabica, canephora, arabica induced fermentation and canephora induced fermentation. There were more than 400 samples registered from all over Brazil and, in addition to the technical committee, they were evaluated by the public, who were able to vote for partner coffee shops in different regions of the country. Cafés in Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais, Bahia and Rondônia took the title of the best of the harvest, with the first positions being conquered by new producers. To see the full list of winners, simply access here.

Even more connected through coffee

The challenges of holding a digital event become even greater when there is a history of success in the conventional format, which takes place in exhibition halls. They also gain an additional degree of stimulus in a transformation scenario. But none of this was an impediment to planning, producing, transmitting and multiplying the biggest coffee celebration in Brazil and the fifth biggest in the world.

For Roberto Simões, president of the FAEMG System, “holding the SIC in digital format allowed us to reach people who had not yet had the opportunity to participate with us. It is an intense event, with many meetings, lectures, business rounds and workshops. Always with the motto of serving the entire chain, from production to cup, we discuss topics such as sustainability, quality, technology, innovation and value addition. And once again SIC stood out as one of the main global events in the sector”

Breno Mesquita, vice-president of the FAEMG System and president of the FAEMG and CNA coffee farming committees, said that “SIC has proven, with this new digital footprint, that coffee agribusiness, and, in particular, the production sector, is prepared for this new moment of distancing, in which creativity and innovation are preponderant factors. We believe we have achieved our objectives. We have matured and, in 2021, with the prospect of an in-person event, we will be stronger and prepared for new challenges.”

Caio Alonso Fontes, director of Café Editora, also highlighted the power of the format. “We were able to expand the participating regions and countries, which means that more professionals were able to update themselves on the market and trends, which creates opportunities not only for recycling, but for reflection on the future of the coffee chain”, he said. Priscilla Lins, Agribusiness Manager at Sebrae Minas, recalled that “the world has given new meaning to the word connection, but creativity and innovation have always been part of all editions of SIC. The digital format only encouraged the preparation of something even better”, she added.

Niwton Castro Moraes, special technical advisor on coffee at the Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply of Minas Gerais, reinforced that “for Seapa, SIC stopped being an event a long time ago to reach the level of a public policy of dissemination and promotion of Brazilian coffees, not under the state character, but due to the scope of its results, effectively contributing to the development of the sector, especially in the post-portation sector”, he said.