You get up and you drink a cup of coffee, it seems to be the most normal thing in the world. Behind that deeply rooted tradition, there is a whole, often not transparent, chain.

What if you could simply take your smartphone, scan a QR code on the coffee package, and trace the coffee beans back to the source: the farmer?

That is Nyala Blue 's goal. We want to work with all companies and stakeholders to make the entire coffee chain transparent. In this way, consumers can find out who made their coffee, who they are and even how much they earned with one click on their smartphone. At a time where consumers are increasingly looking for trust and ethics, such a system is needed more than ever.

Coffee is one of the most important raw materials in the world. Last year, 150 million bags (60 kg) of coffee were produced, with an estimated market value of 200 billion dollars.

To solve this problem of transparency in such a gigantic market, Nyala Blue is building a platform that relies on blockchain technology. With this technology, we are building a value-shifting platform on which various stakeholders, from farmers to roasteries, map their part of the chain and open up their work to the consumer. With this, we ensure a more sustainable coffee chain, in which everyone gets a fair share.

PROBLEM

● Market research has indicated that consumers, especially millennials in North America and Western Europe, look for aspects like ethical sourcing, sustainability and certification. While it is difficult to quantify, fragmentation contributions to high levels of confusion among ethical consumers, who are confronted with various seals and labels and different sustainability claims.

● Little transparency: for the coffee drinker it is not clear how the coffee market works.
Where does their money end up and how much is the farmer ultimately paid.

● Selection: it’s hard to find a coffee that matches your taste profile.

TRENDS
1. Consumer trends
● Today's consumers are value-conscious, interactive, multicultural, health-driven, socially responsible and always connected.
● The shopper supports brands for environmental stewardship, animal welfare, women-owned businesses and supportive programs in the world.
● To change society, one must also change people's hearts. Sentiments ignite passion, fuel commitment, and literally move people to action.

II. A growing coffee market
● Nestlé has identified coffee as one of the biggest growth opportunities. Starbucks is planning to open 12,000 new stores globally. One of the strategies is to transform coffee into a worthy soda alternative, the RTDs (Ready to Drink).
● Venture capitalists injected $ 1 billion into coffee startups in 2018, marking four years of booming investments in the sector. The trend is going hand-in-hand with increased "specialty" coffee consumption in the US.
● Growing market: doubling or tripling by 2050. The estimated retail market value by 2050 will be between 400 and 600 billion $.

III. Stress factors
● No Viable Livelihood for farmers :
only 6 to 8% of the retail price goes to the farmers, < the production cost
=> farmers stop and do not / cannot invest in sustainable production methods
=> lower future coffee production => cannot meet the future demand

● Changing climate conditions puts agriculture under pressure
=> reduced yield and quality => new cropland is created => deforestation
=> damage of critical ecosystems

● Sustainability :
- Only 0.17%investments in the sustainability of the total market value.
- 55% of the coffee is certified.
- Sustainable sourcing options: an increasing number of companies make their own additions to certifications or bypass it.

OPEN TRANSPARENT TECHNOLOGY, BLOCKCHAIN, where multi-stakeholders can make the difference.
Create added value by transparency and servicing this added value!

Why blockchain?
This platform is based on blockchain technology.

We choose blockchain because:
● it traces.
Blockchain offers us a transparent registration system on which we register information from the coffee chain.
● it is reliable.
Blockchain allows us to register data securely on the blockchain, without the actors in the chain being able to change this.
● it is neutral.
Companies in the chain do not have to worry about the system being in the hands of one of their competitors. It is thus a neutral place where they share transparent information.
● it is transparent
In a public blockchain, anyone can follow the information that is placed on it. The information on the platform is therefore externally verifiable.

Storytelling
● The Coffee drinker selects or scans, and gets a story of the beans inside the bag. A resumé. For every batch of bags, the story renews, real-time.
● Each party (transaction) decides what they want to tell the Coffee drinker, based on facts.
● The coffee drinker has a real story, checked with the Blockchain Technology.

Personalized customer service
The platform will make recommendations about which coffee suites your taste profile.

● Coffee lovers who are value-conscious, interactive, multicultural, health-driven, socially responsible and always connected.

● Coffee chain suppliers who invest in relationships that go beyond the transaction and add a feeling of equality which manifests itself in mutual and transparent processes that promote best practices in coffee production and processing.

● NGO and certification companies who do amazing work in the field and can now translate this into a digital sticker.

There are multiple advantages, depending on the stakeholder, they are:
● Connect with the different parties (farmers, traders, roasteries, coffee shops, coffee drinkers)
● Buy and sell platform
● Better price negotiations
● Better quality control
● Finding trustworthy suppliers
● Have a digital sticker
● Complete traceability
● Faster dealings
● Cost saving
● Simplification
● No additional certification
● Strengthening relationships (trust)
● Added value creation through:
- transparency
- a personal approach
- building a community (from farmer to coffee drinker)