MICE Report 2024

‘MICE’ stands for Melbourne International Coffee Expo. This year Condesa had the opportunity to host a stand at the 3 day event. Annually Condesa attends MICE as it’s a great opportunity to see clients as well as what’s trending in specialty coffee via competitions, roasters offerings and see the advances in brewing technology. We also use this time to showcase any guests we have visiting and host a dinner for our most valued clients. This year, as we had several members of the ECOM group visiting, we seized the opportunity to collaborate, hosting a stand to tell the coffee industry why they should work with us. The timing was great as Condesa had recently launched our “Why Statement” to the public and we saw MICE as a opportunity to practice what we preached;

"Condesa exists to authentically champion the work of coffee producers around the globe. We’re here to support, create networks and connect with producers for generations to come. Playing our part in making a sustainable future within the coffee ecosystem. We act as truth-tellers, deep thinkers, seeking solutions while challenging the norms. Thriving on fostering meaningful connections and uplifting those who lack a voice or market access. Our team is aiming to leave the world for the next generation better than it is today, protecting the environments we’re working within as well as making a positive social impact and enhancing our traceability. Our passion extends beyond coffee as a commodity, it acts as a doorway to understanding global history, culture, and tradition. Embracing diversity, and being empathetic, we utilise our collective strengths to teach, empower and bring ’fresh pots’ and fresh perspectives to everyone!"

Outside of the expo we attended the ACTA dinner (Australian Coffee Traders Association) where Ben Rimaud spoke on SMS. We also hosted a brunch for our clients and ECOM guests and handed out merchandise in the form of cupping cards and roasted coffee samples (promoting Supremo’s Akawa Project in Burundi).

Stand design - Condesa worked alongside Rita Bouhout to design a stand that would not only be seen as warm and inviting but represent our companies values and ethos. The stand was purposely made to be an inviting and social space to encourage connection and open conversations. We intentionally made sure there was no barrier or counters placed between ourselves and visitors. The stand had several spots to sit around comfortable furniture and coffee tables. The use of plants, warm colours and banners of our why statement alongside producer partners provided an opportunity to display our companies values and personality.

Objectives - Condesa used MICE as an opportunity to hold a space for our partners to share their story, their why and what is happening in their coffee origin. We used this opportunity to share about ECOM’s SMS program and how roasters can help create genuine impact at origin. Condesa chose knowledge sharing and education as our focus and steered away from traditional cuppings or a direct sales pitch. The main objective was to maximise our companies brand awareness for not just us but ECOM as a whole.

Challenges - In a tradeshow environment where attendees are fuelled on caffeine and confronted with so much information it can become challenging to grab peoples attention! Whilst all our guests did a fantastic job of presenting it was sometimes hard to keep attendees attention from waning in such a busy and distracting environment.

Successes - Condesa felt we succeeded in getting our companies name out into the public with over 12,000 people attending the event. We saw genuine connection between our guests and the coffee community here in Australia. ECOM guests (especially SMS team) gained valuable insight into what makes roasters here in Australia tick and how in the future we can collaboratively engage to create more successful synergies.

Guests we hosted at our #G12 stand;

Luiz Saldanha - Capricornio (BRAZIL)

Mohan Balaraman - Riverdale Estate (INDIA)

Dayane Soares - Bourbon Coffee (BRAZIL)

Emilio Estevez - Condesa /Sogimex (HONDURAS)

Ben Rimaud - ECOM / SMS (MEXICO)

Laurent Bossolasco - ECOM / SMS (VIETNAM)

Thomas Guichot - ACOM (VIETNAM)

Rodolfo Juan - Cafinter (COSTA RICA)

Susan Quesada Jimenez - Cafinter (COSTA RICA)