EP1641 Part 1 of 5 | When Coffee Branding Becomes the Business Model (Lee Safar) Map It Forward

**Advertising Sponsor** Get “**The Coffee Report by Map It Forward”** directly to your inbox every Friday by signing up for either our Green Coffee or Roasted Coffee Patreon tiers in our Patreon community. Head to https://www.patreon.com/collection/2275485 to read the first report free. Sign up for as little as $5 per month. **Episode Description** This is episode 1 of a five-part solo series of The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward titled Saying the Quiet Parts Out Loud. This series was not originally scheduled to be a solo series. A guest who had recorded a five-part discussion about the rise of branded coffee producers asked for the episodes to be withdrawn shortly before publication. Rather than abandon the subject, podcast host Lee Safar uses this episode to examine the argument herself: has building a recognisable personal or farm brand become more important than building a responsible coffee business? Lee explores how producers, roasters, baristas and other coffee professionals have increasingly used visibility, competitions, public relations and social media to differentiate themselves. She traces part of this evolution through Panama’s most prominent producer estates, whose global recognition helped create demand for highly exclusive coffees while giving select roasters a powerful point of differentiation. The success of estates including Hacienda La Esmeralda and the Lamastus family estates demonstrated that strong producer brands can create considerable value. But their success also established a model that many producers are now encouraged to emulate without necessarily having the capital, access, infrastructure or customer base required to make it work. Building an internationally recognised producer brand requires far more than producing excellent coffee. It can involve extensive travel, marketing, media exposure, relationship building and significant long-term investment. That makes the model inaccessible to most of the millions of coffee producers operating around the world. Lee also questions what happens when the same attention-based model is adopted by roasters and coffee professionals. A large audience may generate recognition, invitations and free products, but it does not automatically produce profitability or a commercially sustainable business. The episode examines whether the coffee industry has begun confusing visibility with value, revenue with success, and brand recognition with sound business fundamentals. The conclusion is not that producers or roasters should avoid building brands. A strong brand can be an important business asset. The problem begins when branding becomes the primary strategy rather than one component of a responsible business with a responsible pricing model. This episode asks the coffee industry to consider whether its obsession with exclusivity, recognition and high-profile coffees is building a sustainable future—or simply creating another business model that only works for a very small group at the top. **Connect with Lee Safar here:** https://www.linkedin.com/in/leesafar/ https://www.instagram.com/leesafar If you found this episode valuable, make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast and follow along for the rest of this 5-part series. \*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\** About Map It Forward The Daily Coffee Pro is produced by Map It Forward, supporting coffee professionals globally across the supply chain. Website: https://mapitforward.coffee Mailing list: https://mapitforward.coffee/mailinglist Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee/ Contact: [support@mapitforward.org](mailto:support@mapitforward.org?)