We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Peter Kuria a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Peter, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s kick things off with talking about how you serve the underserved, because in our view this is one of the most important things the small business community does for society – by serving those who the giant corporations ignore, small business helps create a more inclusive and just world for all of us.
As an ambassador for small-scale coffee farmers in Solai, Nakuru City, Kenya, it’s imperative to recognize the oppression these hardworking individuals face in the coffee value chain. The farmer continuously struggle to promote their products in the market while adapting to inflation and sacrificing their livelihood to sustain the coffee ecosystem for consumers. it is no secret that this are the underserved people in the value chain and It’s time we take action and advocate for these farmers to ensure they are treated fairly and justly in the industry.
Coffee farmers face numerous challenges, including high production costs, inflation, and crop damage from climate change. These difficulties have forced some farmers to abandon their farms for better prospects. Furthermore, young people in coffee-growing regions face difficulties when considering a future in coffee. This situation is concerning for the coffee industry and poses a significant threat to its longevity. It is heartbreaking to see coffee farmers struggling to earn a decent living from their hard work. If no action is taken today, there is a threat to sustainable coffee supply in years to come.
Solai Coffee connects farmers directly with consumers through a farm-to-table, fair-trade model. We remove unnecessary intermediaries by importing the coffee ourselves, putting more money into the pockets of farmers rather than brokers. We also educate consumers on ethical buying practices.
Peter, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I am a second-generation coffee farmer from a family of coffee farmers. As far as I can remember, my dreams have been about growing/expanding my parents’ coffee business and changing the face of the Kenyan farmer. Unfortunately, most farmers in Kenya are elderly, with an average age of 60. The younger generation is not interested in pursuing farming as they believe it is not profitable. To reintroduce young people to agriculture, I aim to create better market opportunities for coffee and equip them with the necessary knowledge, resources, and technology to expand beyond Kenya’s borders.
As a farmer and young entrepreneur, I was never interested in the commodities industry. Instead, I dreamed of a business model that would pay coffee farmers fairly. After observing the coffee industry, I realized that everyone in the value chain received reasonable compensation except for the farmers themselves. To address this issue, I founded Solai Coffee, which establishes direct trade relationships with individual farmers and negotiates a fair price for their coffee. Our approach empowers farmers to produce high-quality coffee without sacrificing their livelihood.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
Selling vs Building Relationships:
I had been thinking about starting a coffee business in the US for a long time. I spent a lot of time researching the market and ways to improve coffee farming in Kenya while reducing production costs. Once I registered my LLC, I started looking for buyers before deciding to import coffee from Kenya. I thought selling would be easy since I was located in Orlando, with a considerable specialty coffee consumer base. However, I soon realized finding buyers was more challenging than I thought. Most of my potential customers wanted to taste samples first, but they were hesitant to commit since the coffee was not yet in the US. My family encouraged me to find someone who would commit to buying at least half of the available stock. That’s when I got introduced to an organization that advocates for African products, and they thought that coffee was a great product to begin with. We got into talks with them and started planning how we were going to market the coffee. After shipping a 132 lb bag for roasting and market sampling, we got excellent feedback, especially from one of the most experienced roasters, who said it was the best coffee he had ever tasted in his 40 years of roasting. We then exported all our coffee (15 metric tons, equivalent to 33,000 pounds) from Kenya. However, our marketing partners suddenly went silent on us when the coffee arrived, and we had no idea how we would sell all the coffee while still working our full-time jobs. I tried to sell the coffee every chance I got, but it didn’t work out. i remember sleeping for only four a night for a very extended period. I was burning out, borrowing money to substitute my sales to ensure things did not stop at the farm. With time I started getting desperate and even gave some coffee on credit, which some clients took advantage of. I realized it was easier to sell than demand payment from a debtor. After struggling for a while, I came to the realization that coffee is a relationship-based business, especially when it comes to the wholesale side, which makes up the majority of our sales. I started focusing on building relationships with potential clients, finding them, and finding the best way of representing the farmer. My approach switched from selling to relationship building. After three years, I have established an extensive network of coffee collaborators, creating a family-like atmosphere and making the business more collaborative than one-way.
Do you sell on your site, or do you use a platform like Amazon, Etsy, Cratejoy, etc?
To tell our story, we try to be as close to our coffee consumers as we can. We recognize that keeping up in a fast-paced world can be challenging, which is why we decided to develop our own e-commerce platform. At Solai Coffee, we cater to both wholesale coffee and retail coffee clients. We sell both roasted and green coffee. We import the coffee from Kenya to the US in green form (raw) and warehouse it in the Midwest (Indiana & Minnesota) and South East (Jacksonville and Florida). We then target coffee roasters and other resellers through trade expos and word of mouth. The same applies to our roasted coffee. We roast the coffee locally based on demand and distribute it mainly on our e-commerce site, solaicoffee.com. Our services extend to coffee shops and offices, including events. To reach out to consumers and spread our story, we find that farmers’ markets are the most effective platform. Our unwavering commitment to quality and customer satisfaction is the driving force behind everything we do. 
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.solaicoffee.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/solaicoffeellc
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/solaicoffee
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/74283979/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/solaicoffee
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUHuEp60RQ9ZN66tS5rsrJQ
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/solai-coffee-orlando
- tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@solaicoffee
- Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/solaicoffee/
Image Credits
Paul Nzioka @nziokakyome