The animation starts with our narrator, voiced by Hillary Chindodo CEO and Founder of Coffee by Kings, talking about various delicious coffee options and questioning the process of coffee making. If 80% of the quality of coffee is determined by the bean production in the beginning of the process at the farm, then that should mean that the majority of the price goes to the farmer correct? Unfortunately, that is not the case and instead from a £2,50 cup of coffee the value of the coffee itself amounts to 10p from which 1p goes to the farmer/grower. This is a result of the long coffee value chain that prioritises other sections of production over farming.
In a simplified description of the value chain at the start would be the growers, then the processors who prepare the beans that are passed down to middle men – importers, traders and exporters – who then give the beans to the roasters, that later pass the final product to retail. From this chain the biggest margin of the earns go to the roasters who are the leading beneficiaries, though recently retail and shops are also taking most of the margin.
The solution proposed by Hillary Chindodo is to turn the growers into roasters as well, ensuring a fair payment is given to the hardworking farmers, resulting in 8p to be added to the initial 1p gain per coffee cup sold.