Yearly, the variety of espresso business occasions held world wide solely continues to develop. Though most happen in majority-consuming international locations, increasingly more organisers have began to host commerce exhibits and expos at origin in a bid to enhance accessibility.
The advantages of attending and exhibiting at business occasions are indeniable. Along with experiencing the newest developments and applied sciences firsthand, espresso professionals can community, construct relationships, and doubtlessly safe new clients. For a budding espresso store proprietor or new roaster, participating in occasions is important to construct model visibility.
However with increasingly more commerce exhibits scattered throughout the globe, journey and logistical bills rapidly begin to add up – and never everybody can afford the prices. Furthermore, the stress to show as much as as many occasions as potential is felt by many, with the concern of lacking out changing into all too actual.
So has the price of attending occasions made them too inaccessible for many espresso professionals? Or are there methods to nonetheless interact with commerce exhibits which might be extra inexpensive?
To seek out out, I spoke to Andrea Melo-Leon, COO at Producer & Roaster Discussion board, Steve Moloney, founding father of Ordna Occasion Company, Navin Rajes, Director of MSP Espresso, Sierra Roberts and Camilo Arbelaez, co-founders of Encantado Espresso, and Spencer Ross, Affiliate Professor of Advertising at College of Massachusetts Lowell.
You may additionally like our article on why it’s necessary to host occasions in producing international locations.
Why occasions serve a key function within the espresso business
Commerce exhibits, expos, and festivals are a few of the most participating occasions within the espresso business. Baristas, roasters, merchants, producers, tools producers, and different manufacturers have the chance to showcase their merchandise, join with their friends, and be taught extra concerning the newest market developments.
In recent times, occasions more and more have an emphasis on schooling, too. Many embody lectures, seminars, panels, workshops, and stay demonstrations for attendees to achieve as a lot worth as potential. What’s extra, most of the business’s high-level competitions happen at a few of the greatest espresso occasions of the yr – showcasing thrilling new coffees and modern brewing strategies.
Though there are a whole lot of native, regional, and worldwide espresso occasions held throughout the globe yearly, just a few stand out as must-attend commerce exhibits. Occasions like World of Espresso, Specialty Espresso Expo, HostMilano, and London Espresso Pageant repeatedly attract tens of 1000’s of tourists each version.
Sierra Roberts and Camilo Arbelaez are the co-founders of Encantado Espresso – an exporter which focuses completely on sourcing specialty espresso from Colombia.
“Espresso occasions are an effective way to fulfill and community with different individuals within the business,” Sierra says. “The 2024 Specialty Espresso Expo in Chicago was our first espresso occasion since we began Encantado in November 2023. Expo hosted a wide range of lectures masking matters like advertising and marketing, retail, and challenges that small exporters face, which have been extremely helpful to us.”
Camilo provides: “It was additionally inspiring to listen to the tales of different espresso companies which have succeeded of their area of interest markets, and to get a really feel for upcoming developments within the specialty espresso business.
“From our perspective as a small two-person operation, the largest factor you miss out on once you don’t attend occasions is the social side of in-person networking with different espresso professionals and companies,” he continues.
The expectation to attend
When the time comes yearly, many people are requested if we might be on the business’s greatest (and arguably most necessary) occasions. For bigger and extra established corporations, masking attendance bills is far simpler, whereas smaller-sized companies and unbiased espresso professionals might battle to pay journey and lodging prices.
Furthermore, with occasions like World of Espresso now happening in Europe, Asia, and the Center East (with a Latin American occasion additionally set for 2026), prices for guests and exhibitors solely enhance.
Steve Moloney is the founding father of Ordna Occasion Company, which organises occasions like The Barista League in many alternative international locations and Nordic Espresso Fest in Sweden.
“For the reason that pandemic, journey and lodging prices have elevated dramatically, which has made attending occasions much more costly,” he says. “So perhaps it has grow to be unrealistic to attend each commerce present, however there are such a lot of attention-grabbing native and smaller festivals which you could nonetheless interact in with out breaking the financial institution.”
On the identical time, there may be lots of worth in attending the largest business occasions, nevertheless it’s not all the time achievable for some.
Excessive prices are exclusionary
Spencer Ross is an Affiliate Professor of Advertising at College of Massachusetts Lowell and a specialty espresso fanatic. Whereas on a Fulbright Analysis Change in Colombia, he tells me he spoke to native business professionals about attending the Specialty Espresso Expo, which takes place in a unique US metropolis yearly.
Out of curiosity, Spencer explains he calculated attendance prices, together with visas, flights, lodging, entry badges, meals, and extra spending.
“The approximate value for one particular person to attend is US $1,992, whereas the common annual earnings for a espresso farmer in Colombia is about US $789,” he tells me. “The move itself just isn’t even one-fifth of the entire value, so 80% is spent on journey bills, which makes it more difficult for low-income producers to attend.”
Inevitably, this implies participating in key business occasions is unimaginable for a lot of producers – significantly smallholders who might make lower than a residing wage. Among the many many points this creates, gatekeeping market entry is among the most blatant.
“Furthermore, some producers don’t communicate ample English to completely interact with different occasion attendees, which marginalises them even additional,” Spencer provides.
Is internet hosting extra occasions in producing international locations the answer?
Navin Rajes is the Director of MSP Espresso – a espresso farm in Tamil Nadu, India. As a producer, he explains why attending occasions is necessary.
“You may community and acquire publicity by sitting behind a display screen at house, however human connection can be crucial,” he says. “That is what helps set up long-term relationships, and lots of points of espresso commerce are based mostly on belief. Assembly individuals and placing a face and persona to the voice on the telephone or the identify within the electronic mail signature is crucial.”
Given, nevertheless, that almost all business occasions are held in majority-consuming international locations, it may be extremely difficult for a lot of producers and different espresso professionals at origin to afford journey and logistical prices.
Moreover, most commerce exhibits and expos are focused in direction of the market that roasters, espresso store homeowners, and merchants function in, which is extra consumer-facing. On this regard, producers would obtain little worth from attending.
To handle these points, occasions like PRF convey business professionals collectively in origin international locations in a format that finest serves the wants of producers. This yr, the first-ever PRF: Farm Summit will happen solely on a espresso farm on 17 & 18 October with a novel give attention to regenerative agriculture and natural farming.
Andrea Melo-Leon is the COO at PRF. She explains how the format of the occasion is extra geared in direction of business professionals in producing international locations.
“Internet hosting occasions at origin as a substitute of majority-consumer international locations has important implications for the business,” she says. “Producers have a extra distinguished platform to showcase their merchandise and straight interact with roasters and consumers.
“This helps to amplify their voices, which are sometimes underrepresented within the world espresso commerce,” she provides. “We goal to degree the taking part in discipline and foster direct collaboration and communication between producers, roasters, and merchants.”
Accounting for a unique audience
Organising business occasions in producing international locations inevitably means bringing collectively a extra various vary of espresso professionals, in addition to putting extra of a highlight on producers and the challenges they face.
However it may be all too straightforward to oversimplify these advanced points, as Andrea explains.
“At PRF, we goal to create areas for constructive discussions that assist us tackle these challenges collaboratively and responsibly,” she says. “Producers and their experiences and challenges must be precisely represented and revered, they usually want the chance to share their very own tales.
“It’s additionally necessary to encourage open and sincere dialogue about inequities within the espresso provide chain, together with poverty, exploitation, and lack of entry to assets,” she provides. “Producers aren’t passive members – they’re important stakeholders within the espresso business whose views are invaluable.”
According to this, organisers must create occasion codecs that guarantee producers and different espresso professionals at origin acquire as a lot worth as potential, in addition to reducing limitations to entry.
“Because of our Diamond Sponsor Mayorga Espresso, PRF gives scholarships to smallholders who wouldn’t be capable to attend with out it,” Andrea says. “We additionally supply multilingual help and translations, and design our lecture and workshop programmes to deal with the precise wants of producers.”
Perceive which occasions work finest to your wants
Though the stress to attend as many commerce exhibits as potential is felt by most espresso professionals, companies want to know extra about which forms of occasions will work finest for them. For instance, if a roastery sells most of its espresso in a regional market, then attending worldwide expos or festivals might not all the time work of their favour.
“I don’t suppose it’s all the time essential to attend larger occasions,” Steve tells me. “If most of a espresso store’s clients are in the local people then their time is best spent attending, and even working, occasions in that space.
“Some commerce exhibits are financially unique, and if these are the one locations the place you possibly can go to advance your profession or broaden in a brand new market then you may have an issue,” he provides. “However in that case, new occasions will seem that meet demand for extra accessible choices.”
If a espresso firm is trying to construct a stronger shopper base in several worldwide markets, nevertheless, attending larger expos and festivals might be a key a part of this development. In the end, this choice lies with what works finest for the person enterprise.
How can organisers make occasions extra accessible?
To run profitable occasions, organisers understandably must cost guests and exhibitors charges. However Steve emphasises that additionally they have a accountability to enhance accessibility based mostly on the manufacturers they need to entice.
“If it’s an occasion for CEOs and massive companies then the dimensions for affordability is completely completely different for a small espresso competition or barista competitors,” he says. “In my view, there’s no good excuse for organisers to cost baristas a whole lot of {dollars} to attend.
“On the Barista League, for instance, we all the time be certain that our ticket costs value not more than the equal of two hours’ native minimal wage,” he provides. “For Nordic Espresso Fest, one in all our core necessities of the venue is that it’s accessible by practice or bus from any Scandinavian nation.”
Relying on the scale of the occasion, location will invariably place attendance restrictions. Steve, nevertheless, factors out that organisers must do extra to offer help.
“A superb occasion organiser has eager oversight over its working prices and income to make aware selections about ticket costs and the way accessible they need the occasion to be,” he says. “There’s additionally a possibility for progressive organisers to sponsor attendees from marginalised communities or set up grant schemes.”
Attending commerce exhibits is a vital a part of working within the business, however rising prices imply that companies and occasional professionals should prioritise the occasions that profit them essentially the most.
On the identical time, organisers want to ensure they create occasions that finest swimsuit the wants of attendees and exhibitors, and try to enhance accessibility throughout the board.
Loved this? Then learn our article on whether or not commerce exhibits truly profit smaller companies.
Picture credit: Producer & Roaster Discussion board, Ádám Csordás
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