How Greensquare is shaking up the coffee industry

Greensquare is the new digital platform focused on balancing the demand for specialty coffee with sustainable practices.

Launched in early 2023, co-founders Caleb and Chris hope to streamline the process of obtaining quality suppliers and products, allowing Australia’s coffee industry to flourish in a digital age.  

 

 

Australia’s coffee industry 

Globally, the coffee market is expected to grow at an annual rate of 11.3 percent between 2023 and 2030. In order to match this rapidly expanding market, production across the coffee industry would need to triple by 2050. This equates to an additional four million to fourteen million tonnes of coffee every year.

With so many suppliers and sellers, it can often be difficult to find quality, sustainable products for reasonable prices. For Aussie coffee roasters and buyers, the search for ‘green’ coffee can be a frustrating and fruitless endeavour. Importers are often forced to use restrictive softwares, and communication between buyers and sellers is limited. 

This is challenging in a country that roasts around 132 million kilograms of coffee every year, equating to around $800 million. Australians love their coffee, and the industry is struggling to keep up.  

 

 

What is Greensquare?

That’s where Greensquare comes in. Greensquare is an online platform that already supports 200 registered Aussie coffee roasters,

The platform is a hub for coffee professionals and technological innovators. It seeks to connect roasters with traders, streamlining the process from farm to cafe. In other words, greensquare is a way to simplify the coffee industry by utilising our access to technology in this digital era. Traders can access a network of roasters, with information about their practices and process at the click of a button. For roasters, the ability to store their sales and production in one simple location makes shipping their products an easy and transparent process. 

Caleb Holstein, co-founder of Greensquare, says redefining coffee trade to meet the increased demand of the industry is vital to its continued success. 

“As global coffee demand continues to rise, it’s crucial we optimise every step of the supply chain,” he argues.

 

 

How does it work?

According to Chris Meier, the other co-founder of the platform, “With the current inefficiencies, any miscommunication or error directly affects the cost and quality of the final product, posing a significant threat to our coffee supply. Greensquare seeks to mitigate these risks and ensure coffee accessibility for all.”

Greensquare has been described as a “virtual green coffee buying assistant.” Currently, it offers more than 450 products from 10 unique suppliers, reducing the complications and risks of sourcing high-quality and sustainable coffee products. 

Its usefulness is already being felt across the industry, as leading coffee roasters comment on the effectiveness of having all the necessary information at the click of a button. 

Saxon Wright, Greensquare user and Founder of Pablo & Rusty’s Coffee, is just one individual impressed by the platform.

“Over my career as a coffee roaster, I’ve had to spend countless hours trying to find the right coffee, negotiate deals, and manage spreadsheets to keep track of everything. But with Greensquare, we can see exactly how much of each product we have available and when we’ll run out. This gives us the peace of mind that our other systems never could,” he says.

 

 

What’s next?

According to Chis Meier, the impact of Greensquare doesn’t end with the coffee industry. 

“We’ve received licensing inquiries from various agricultural industries, including grain and fish. We will continue to explore these opportunities.”

With technology offering everyone the chance to simplify and extend the capabilities of their industry, it’s no surprise that platforms like Greensquare are picking up popularity. Currently, Greensquare is being supported by SquareX Innovations’ proprietary technology, and has launched a crowdfunding campaign with the aim of gaining support for their innovative new solution. 

The demand for coffee is bigger than ever, and Greensquare is ready to meet the challenges of the industry. 

To learn more about Australia’s coffee industry, click here.