Creating a new balance in the coffee industry!
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Every week we’ll sit around the kitchen table of a different impact entrepreneur to discover their secrets, to see how they live and, not unimportantly, to score a free meal. ;-)
This week we are at Sjoerd Koopman, partner bij Moyee.
Preparing to become a father for the second time, Sjoerd just moved from Amsterdam to Haarlem. At his new place he tells us all about his life in Dubai and how it changed his view of the world, how Moyee sometimes keeps him awake at night and, how a foolish prank resulted in a damage claim of over ten thousands of euros.
Why did you start Moyee?
Sjoerd: When you look into the coffee industry, you realize it’s totally unfair. Most of the money earned, which is 98%, is going to the coffee consuming countries such as the Netherland. This is troubling, since the raw materials on which coffee producing countries such as Ethiopia could earn money, are exported elsewhere. Moyee wants to restore this balance. We’ll roast and package our coffee in the country of origin, ideally ensuring a fifty-fifty deal. We started in Ethiopia, because the income of 25% of the population is generated by coffee beans. This year our coffee-roasting factory is ready and will deliver 800.000 kilos of coffee.
Sometimes working for Moyee keeps me awake at night
You used to work for Nestlé, is that correct?
Sjoerd: In 2006, my girlfriend came home one day and asked me if I wanted to move to Dubai. I immediately said ‘yes’, and started working at the department of Nestlé. Dubai is surrounded by wealth. During my travels in the region afterwards I experienced a lot of poverty. That changed my view of the world completely. When we moved back to the Netherlands, I continued working for Nestlé. However, the drive to build a career within this company had faded. I wanted to work for a company where the basic principle was making impact.
At Nestlé you were dealing with big budgets, while managing hundreds of people. At Moyee you work with a very small team. Did you feel you had more responsibilities at your previous job?
Sjoerd: No, not at all. At Nestlé, you’re a part of a big corporate machine. You’re making deals to set up a new warehouse, but above you, there is board of directors and supply chain managers who can consult a support network in Switzerland if necessary. At Moyee, my job entails something completely different. Spending money instead of earning it is a big difference. I also never used to stay awake at night. Now I do. Sometimes when I wake up in the middle of the night, I just get out of bed and start working.
A damage claim of 50.000 euros
Do you think big companies discuss the emergence of small startups, such as Moyee?
Sjoerd: When Tony’s Chocolonely started in The Netherlands, it was discussed in the management team of Nestlé in the Middle East. “This is happening in The Nederlands.” And: “Be careful, because this is going to be picked up by the media at some point. They will call us and ask us why we are not producing sustainable chocolate!” This made me realize how such a small company — which Tony’s Chocolonely used to be back then — can set such a giant like Nestlé in motion.
Are the ‘big boys’ in the coffee industry also talking about Moyee?
Sjoerd: I don’t know. However, we once had this thing with Max Havelaar. We fully copied their website to www.nexthavelaar.nl and wrote a press release about it. “We have been on the market for 25 years now, but we’ll improve our product! From now on, we start producing coffee in the country of origin.” For us it was a foolish prank, but at the same time a way of reaching out. We were hoping to talk with them and push Max Havelaar a step closer towards local production. It seems that with only a small percentage of the volume of Max Havelaar, you could make an enormous impact. Instead, we received letters from their lawyers with warrants about a damage claim of more than ten thousand euros.
How much did you have to pay in the end?
Sjoerd: Nothing. At that time, we were only selling 200 kilos of coffee every week. It didn’t make sense to take us to court. It would have been an amazing marketing stunt, though. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.
But why isn’t everybody doing what we do?
Is selling your products in big supermarkets the next step?
Sjoerd: We would definitely want our products to be available in every supermarket. However, the coffee shelf is a battlefield. In order to make a difference, we are working hard to create a strong brand. We want to be more recognizable as a quality coffee brand. And if we don’t do this well, consumers will choose their coffee based on its price. This is like a rat race to the bottom. But you don’t actually want to get involved in this, do you? You want consumers to pay a fair price for good coffee.
What is your marketing strategy?
Sjoerd: Right now, we are trying to approach consumers online. This way, the storytelling is more comprehensive than in the supermarket. We talk to our corporate and hospitality clients face to face, which means we have enough time to explain our FairChain principle. The buyer — who we lovingly call ‘Moyeesta’ — is able to ask questions and always ends up well informed about our concept. It is simply the profit of shareholders of which we call ‘Big Coffee’, that is holding people back from doing something like this. There is literally no reason why nobody else is doing this.
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Twentie Four is a web series that follows 24 impact entrepreneurs for 24 hours around the globe.
