CAFEX: 網上特色咖啡拍賣市場

Abstract

This thesis presents a business plan to develop an online specialty coffee auction marketplace that could drastically improve the economic benefit received by coffee producers for their product. Coffee producers have been left at the bottom of the barrel in terms of their compensation for their product compared to the price end consumers pay for it. Being the most important step in the supply chain, CAFEX’s marketplace concept aims to change this by making the coffee market more efficient.\nBy improving the communication between coffee retailers and coffee producers we plan to reduce intermediary costs and turn these into revenues for coffee producers. Furthermore, our auction modality will allow coffee producers to receive higher prices for their coffee. By making buyers compete for this special product, the coffee producers will be able to more completely price discriminate among their buyers. Therefore, by pricing our specialty coffee through auctions we would extract most of the buyer surplus.\nCAFEX aims to, through its business model and practice, contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals of no poverty, zero hunger, climate action, responsible consumption and production, decent work and economic growth. Our business philosophy is guided by market efficiency, socioeconomic development, sustainable agriculture, and access to information. Dreaming of a world where coffee producers have access to better living standards, the ability to innovate upon their product, and cut back on carbon emissions through sustainable agriculture, we present the following business plan.