Maverick Coffee Trading Launches in The Netherlands

The Maverick Coffee Trading logo. All images courtesy of Maverick Coffee Trading.

A green coffee trading company called Maverick Coffee Trading has sprung to life in The Netherlands, focusing on coffees from numerous countries and continents of origin.

Based in Woerden in the central Netherlands, Maverick was founded by UK native and longtime coffee trading professional Will Hobby, who said the business will focus on specialty and conventional coffees while also implementing measures to promote supply sustainability and transparency.

Maverick Coffee Trading Founder Will Hobby at the cupping table.

“We are driven by our ethics, principles and belief that open, honest, transparent and fun supply chains are more reliable, more trustworthy and more sustainable,” Hobby recently told DCN.

Hobby said that the business will not maintain spot inventories, but will instead focus on assisting producers in finding market access, financing and fair prices. On the buyer side, Maverick plans to offer increased access to producers, a suite of logistical and financing options, as well as assistance with sustainability programs and quality assurance.

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The startup venture is being financially supported by Dutch food distribution company Subo International, which is also providing financing and logistical services to complement Maverick’s coffee expertise.

“Our main customer segment [or] target market are medium sized roasters who roast anywhere between 2,000 to 20,000 metric tons annually,” Hobby told DCN. “Large enough to have a commercial approach to business, sourcing full container load contracts, but not so large that they have fully integrated themselves into the supply side through multinational trade channels, for example. We can add value to these customers with our connections in origin, transparent and traceable approach, as well as advice on supply issues.”

Hobby started his career as an intern at Volcafe group company Dormans, importing coffee from Tanzania before eventually becoming the commercial manager of Tanzania operations for another Volcafe group company, Taylor Winch. Hobby then worked as a trader and business development manager at the UK-based DR Wakefield. For more than three years prior to the Maverick Coffee launch in March of this year, Hobby served as head of coffee trading for the Dutch firm Daarnhouwer.

While Hobby maintains deep connections to East Africa, he said the business will initially be focusing on coffees from Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Honduras, Nicaragua, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Indonesia and India.

“There aren’t any origins that are off the cards for us,” Hobby said, “and we are currently looking at a project in Haiti, for example.”