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Weekly Coffee News: Fired Manager Awarded $25M, NFT Brand Acquired, and More

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Starbucks Coffee

Fired Starbucks Manager Awarded $25.6 Million in Racial Discrimination Suit

A federal jury in New Jersey has ordered Starbucks to pay $25.6 million in damages to a regional manager who was fired in 2018. The lawsuit stems back to a high-profile incident in 2018 in which two Black men were arrested without cause after waiting for a business partner in a Philadelphia Starbucks shop.

Regional manager Shannon Phillips, who is white and was not at the scene, was fired by the company shortly afterward. Phillips’ lawyers argued that she was treated as a “scapegoat” in the incident, which led to local protests as well as the temporary closure of some 8,000 Starbucks stores for racial bias training.

Fairtrade Launches Child Labor Prevention Program in Cocoa

Citing an increase in the incidence of child labor in the cocoa sector over the past decade, Fairtrade International is launching a new child labor prevention program. The cocoa sector initiative, focused on Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, may help inform future labor-related interventions in the coffee sector, where child labor remains a persistent issue.

San Francisco Bay Coffee Hires Enveritas for Corporate Sustainability

San Francisco Bay Coffee, which is based in suburban Sacramento, has enlisted the nonprofit corporate sustainability firm Enveritas for sustainability assessment and assurance services.

SCA Board Nominations Now Open

The Specialty Coffee Association is now accepting nominations for the 2024/25 board of directors. Nominations close on Tuesday, June 26. The SCA board consists of 18 volunteer members, who are supported by the CEO and SCA staff. Nominations can be made here.

Eversys Acquires 100% of Eversys UK Shares

Swiss super-automatic coffee machine maker Eversys S.A. has acquired the remaining 49% of shares in the Eversys UK branch that were previously held by local management. The Swiss company acquired the 51% majority share of its UK subsidiary in 2019. Eversys UK and its Ireland subsidiary employs approximately 50 people.

Metavesco Acquiring NFT-Focused Coffee Brand Boring Brew

Georgia-based web3 enterprise Metavesco has signed a letter of intent to acquire fellow web3-focused coffee, artwork and packaging company Boring Brew. According to Metavesco, which is publicly traded on the OTC pink market, the acquisition will involve a $45,000 cash payment plus 500,000 unrestricted Metavesco shares.

Mozambique Joins the International Coffee Organization

The Government of Mozambique this month officially joined the International Coffee Organization (ICO) while signing the new International Coffee Agreement. In an announcement of the signing, the ICO pointed to six specific Mozambique coffee brands that will be promoted internationally.

Ally Open Celebrates Three Years with Giveaways, Promotions

Ally Open, the online small-volume platform of Greenville, South Carolina-based green coffee company Ally Coffee, is celebrating its third birthday with a month full of equipment giveaways and green coffee specials. Ally Open launched in 2020 with direct-to-roaster deliveries of specialty coffees and online educational resources.

BLK & Bold To Be Sold in Hundreds of Kum & Go Locations

Convenience store chain Kum & Go is featuring BLK & Bold coffee in more than 300 stores in 13 states. Both companies are based in Des Moines. Launched by Pernell Cezar and Rod Johnson in 2019, BLK & Bold continues to contribute 5% of its proceeds to social causes, particularly those benefitting at-risk populations.

Scottish Importer Caribbean Goods Hires Hotel Vet Maurice Taylor

Scottish coffee importing company Caribbean Goods, founded by Guatemalan Javier Gutierrez Abril, has hired hotel industry veteran Maurice Taylor as chairman, according to Welsh news group The Herald.

In Case You Missed It

Here are some of DCN’s top stories from the past week…

zero-bypass-brewers

The DCN Guide to Bypass in Coffee Brewing

A growing number of manual coffee brewing devices categorized as “no bypass” or “zero bypass” brewers have recently entered the market, while a technique called “bypass brewing” has also gained traction in coffee circles… Read more

Comandante’s New C60 and X25 Trailmaster Grinders Command Attention

German manual grinder maker Comandante has rolled out its largest-capacity hand grinder to date, the C60 Baracuda… Read more

NKG Acquires Green Coffee Companies Nordic Approach and Tropiq

Multinational coffee trading and development group Neumann Kaffe Gruppe (NGK) has acquired Norwegian specialty coffee trading company Nordic Approach and its sibling company TropiqRead more

ICE Launching EU ‘Deforestation-Free’ Compliance Service for Coffee Buyers

As coffee trading and roasting companies throughout Europe prepare for sweeping new anti-deforestation regulations, the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) is launching a new service designed to promote compliance among commodities buyers… Read more

FairWave Acquires Milwaukee’s Anodyne Coffee Roasting Co.

Building upon a wave of acquisitions, Kansas City, Missouri-based FairWave Holdings has acquired longtime Milwaukee roaster and retailer Anodyne Coffee Roasting Co.Read more

Hex Coffee Roasters Conjures a World of Flavors in Charlotte

Charlotte, North Carolina-based Hex Coffee Roasters has relocated and expanded its retail operations into a 2,700-square-foot cafe and wine bar called Hex Coffee, Kitchen and Natural WinesRead more

US-Based The Green Coffee Company Secures $25 Million More

Seeking to become the world’s largest individual producer of arabica coffee, Colombia-focused The Green Coffee Company (GCC) has closed a $25 million Series C funding round… Read more

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