10 Mins with Flowins’ Danielle Fonseca



We communicate to Danielle to discover the adventure of Flowins, a pioneering startup that seeks to empower espresso manufacturers and foster a extra equitable espresso provide chain.

BY VASILEIA FANARIOTI
SENIOR ONLINE CORRESPONDENT

Pictures courtesy of Flowins

Within the middle of Brazil’s coffee-producing area, a crew of passionate people is revolutionizing the business from inside. Referred to as Flowins, this cutting edge startup is on a challenge to turn into the best way espresso is sourced, produced, and fed on.

Drawing inspiration from private stories in coffee-producing households, Flowins is tackling long-standing demanding situations within the sector with a mix of generation, sustainability, and transparency. On this unique interview, Danielle Fonseca, co-founder & COO of Flowins, stocks insights into the founding of Flowins, its dedication to sustainability, the have an effect on of its SuperApp on espresso manufacturers, and its imaginative and prescient for the way forward for the espresso business.

Four people gathered for a photo in front of drying beds.
Flowins crew contributors (left to proper): Iago Junqueira (CEO), Danielle Fonseca (VP), Priscila Fonseca (CQO), and Adrian Griffin (CDO).

Barista Mag: Danielle, may just you proportion the muse at the back of founding Flowins, and the way your individual stories in coffee-producing households motivated you to handle the demanding situations within the sector?

Danielle Fonseca: Completely. Flowins was once born out of our firsthand stories rising up in coffee-producing households within the South of Minas, Brazil. Our crew, hailing from coffee-producing households in Brazil’s South of Minas area, known commonplace demanding situations confronted via manufacturers, reminiscent of a loss of perception into their year-round manufacturing high quality, and reliance on intermediaries who prioritize benefit over toughen. In accordance with business shifts in 2018 towards quality-driven approaches, myself, Iago Junqueira, and Guilherme Diniz collaborated to broaden control tool. This tool empowers manufacturers with real-time get right of entry to to their farm records, together with high quality metrics, and offers rapid high quality studies by the use of the Flowins app. Development in this, Flowins initiated the NOCA challenge. This challenge established an internet market, enabling consumers to browse a catalog of coffees and request samples immediately from manufacturers. This streamlined procedure fosters direct gross sales, making sure traceability and empowering manufacturers during the availability chain.

Flowins objectives to reinforce sustainability and environmentally pleasant practices in espresso manufacturing. Are you able to elaborate at the particular tactics wherein your startup achieves those targets and contributes to a extra eco-friendly espresso business?

Unquestionably! Our strategy to bettering sustainability in espresso manufacturing comes to a number of key methods. We prioritize sourcing espresso beans from manufacturers who make use of sustainable agricultural practices, pay honest costs to make sure financial sustainability, and put money into decreasing the carbon footprint related to espresso manufacturing and distribution. Moreover, we put in force waste relief and recycling projects, train shoppers concerning the environmental have an effect on of espresso manufacturing, and put money into analysis and construction to spot cutting edge answers for sustainable farming practices.

Aerial view of a pond surrounded by trees.
Situated in Santana da Vargem, Minas Gerais, Flowins helps espresso manufacturers throughout Brazil to make use of extra environment friendly and sustainable crop control practices.

May you let us know a bit of about SuperApp? How does it empower farmers to enhance high quality, traceability, and excellent practices of their espresso manufacturing?

SuperApp is principally a device we advanced that gives manufacturers with a complete toolset to observe high quality metrics, observe their espresso beans from farm to cup, get right of entry to sources on excellent agricultural practices, make data-driven selections, optimize the availability chain, and ceaselessly enhance their operations. By way of leveraging generation and information, manufacturers can reinforce the standard, traceability, and sustainability in their coffee-production processes, in the end handing over higher-quality merchandise to the marketplace.

Flowins supplies get right of entry to to a top quality lab with a qualified Q Grader crew. How does this option get advantages espresso manufacturers, and what position does it play in making sure top quality espresso?

We at all times knew that get right of entry to to a top quality lab with a qualified Q Grader crew lets in espresso manufacturers to procure function tests in their espresso beans, establish defects, be sure that high quality assurance, benchmark their espresso towards business requirements, and differentiate their merchandise available in the market. By way of leveraging the experience of the Q Grader crew, manufacturers can handle constant high quality, construct believe with shoppers, and determine a name for excellence within the business.

Two women looking at coffee trees, one in a Flowins t shirt.
Danielle manages the farm that belonged to her grandparents and which lately is the Flowins experimental farm, a spot the place they put into follow the whole thing they proportion with the manufacturers to be able to connect to them.

How does the platform allow manufacturers to have direct get right of entry to to buying markets, getting rid of intermediaries, and making sure transparency within the espresso provide chain?

Flowins facilitates transparency within the espresso provide chain via offering manufacturers with direct get right of entry to to buying markets, getting rid of intermediaries, selling clear pricing, offering traceability and documentation, and inspiring comments and rankings. By way of empowering manufacturers to glue immediately with consumers and exhibit their merchandise transparently, we lend a hand foster believe, responsibility, and sustainability within the espresso business.

Are you able to proportion luck tales or notable examples the place Flowins has made a vital sure have an effect on on a espresso manufacturer’s operations or the entire espresso group?

We’ve noticed a large number of luck tales the place Flowins has helped espresso manufacturers enhance marketplace get right of entry to, reinforce transparency and believe, undertake sustainable practices, and succeed in financial empowerment. As an example, small-scale manufacturers have won direct get right of entry to to international consumers, leading to greater gross sales and earnings, whilst others have effectively transitioned to regenerative farming strategies, resulting in stepped forward soil well being and higher-quality espresso beans.

A group gathered at a coffee farm.
Flowins envisions endured evolution, that specialize in sustainability, have an effect on, and group development within the espresso business.

Within the means of growing Flowins, what have been essentially the most important demanding situations you confronted, and the way did you conquer them to create a a success platform for espresso manufacturers?

One of the most most important demanding situations we confronted incorporated figuring out the complexities of the espresso business, growing powerful generation answers, development believe and credibility, making sure regulatory compliance, and using person adoption and engagement. To triumph over those demanding situations, we performed intensive marketplace analysis, recruited a skilled crew, collaborated with stakeholders, adhered to rules, and iterated at the platform according to person comments.

Taking a look forward, what are Flowins’ long run plans and targets in contributing to the evolution of the espresso business, and the way do you envision the platform evolving within the coming years?

We’re in reality fascinated with the adventure forward for Flowins. We’ve were given giant plans to succeed in new corners of the marketplace, embracing the newest tech to stay issues state of the art. We additionally plan to reinforce records analytics and insights, focal point on sustainability and have an effect on, diversify products and services, and foster group development and collaboration. By way of staying conscious of person wishes and business developments, we intention to proceed using sure trade within the espresso business and empower manufacturers to thrive in a sustainable and clear market.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Vasileia Fanarioti (she/her) is a senior on-line correspondent for Barista Mag and a contract copywriter and editor with a number one focal point at the espresso area of interest. She has additionally been a volunteer copywriter for the I’M NOT A BARISTA NPO, offering content material to lend a hand train other people about baristas and their paintings.

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