Dive Brief:
- Regulatory changes in regard to imports into the U.S. from Cuba support Nespresso's purchase of Cuban Arabica coffee, bringing its new product, Cafecito de Cuba, to the U.S. in the fall, according to a statement.
- Nespresso will partner with TechnoServe, a nonprofit, to work with smallholder coffee farmers in Cuba to support the production of sustainable coffee and create economic opportunities for the farmers.
- The partners have teamed up to work with coffee farmers in countries including Columbia, Kenya, Ethiopia and South Sudan.
Dive Insight:
Nespresso, a pioneer in premium single-serve coffee, is taking advantage of changes made by the U.S. Department of State in April, where it updated its list of goods produced by Cuban entrepreneurs for import into the United States. Nespresso has obtained federal government licenses to send single-use pods with the Cuban coffee to the United States from Europe, which is where Nespresso is processing and packaging the beans, according to Reuters.
Cuban crops hold promise for U.S. food and beverage manufacturers, including opportunities to source organic ingredients from the nearby economy; the country's farmers have not used chemical fertilizers or pesticides since the early 1990s.