It’s been a while since we have posted on this blog. The reason for that is simply the fact that there has been a lot of traveling as well as a lot of non-coffee related stuff to deal with. As Nordic Approach is a new company there is a lot of strategically and structural things to be implemented. That goes for everything from financing, accounting and audits to warehousing and general administration. To give you an idea of where we are heading I have listed some things we have worked with below.
Design and Logo
We are about to release our company profile, design and logo. It should be finalized within the next month.
Web and web shop
We are currently working on a web shop solution for online sales of small quantities of green coffee. You will be able to buy volumes down to one bag or box. All purchases for less than a pallet will have to be done online. You can also purchase samples, and volumes down to ½ kg of any coffee. We will also offer roasted samples of the coffees available. All info on the products will be on the web as well as Flickr for downloads of photos. The web shop will be launched during May.
As we can’t afford to have staff this first year, doing online sales will make it more streamlined as we will be travelling a lot in origin to follow up coffees. I do also believe it’s easier and more efficient for our clients.
Warehousing
We have just finalized an agreement with a third party warehouse in Oslo. It’s with a distribution company called Nordcarrier that will also assure effective and competitive transport of coffee throughout Europe. That goes for those who don’t want to buy coffees FOB. We have our own assigned space in the warehouse to fully be in control of our inventory. The warehouse is temperature stable so there should be no issues regarding inappropriate storage conditions. We are currently working out transport rates for different destinations and issues regarding custom clearance.
Budgets and business plan
We would really like to build a model with a 100% transparent and predictable pricing system. To be able to do so we have worked a lot on our business plan and budgets to figure out a pricing system that works for all parties, i.e. for the producers, us as an importer/coffee provider and our clients. To buy coffees, keep inventory and sell coffees spot requires control of certain factors, specially as the coffee market today is very volatile. We have to build trust towards our financial partner regarding the trading model to access credits for our purchases.
We will release the model soon as well as our buying criteria’s, terms and philosophy.
Coffees
The first coffees are already on their way to Oslo. We have so far been contracting coffees from great suppliers and producers in Ethiopia, Kenya, El Salvador and are just about to finalize some small quantities from Guatemala and Honduras. The harvest in Rwanda and Burundi is just starting followed up by Brazil and Colombia next fall.
We will build a base of products from reliable and progressive producers to be able to develop a great quality range over time. Most of the coffees will be returning on annual bases, but we will still have a great range of variation.
If you are interested in buying coffees from us, please contact Morten.
