First in Weekly Observer, July 2007

Uganda surprises world with coffee bag

One Café Uganda Original looks like a chance for eastern Uganda farmers to break away from the chain of exporting only coffee beans at miserly prices.

By Carolyne Nakazibwe

COPENHAGEN – When Ambassador Joseph Tomusange saved it for last, his speculation about its reception was accurate.

Inviting his fifteen guests to an after-dinner coffee, the Ugandan envoy to the Nordics unveiled a first to all present: a disposable coffee bag – One Café Uganda Original – with quality Ugandan coffee.

Born in Tororo by Elgonia One Café International Ltd, the packaging solution is the brainchild of Swedish, Danish and Ugandan collaboration, now licensing its solution to roasters in other parts of the world.

The coffee comes in a neat bag – similar to a tea bag – that makes one cup of coffee, with the ‘Gifted by Nature’ logo, as well as an attached plastic pouch for easy disposal.

It looks like another chance for eastern Uganda farmers to break away from the chain of exporting only coffee beans at miserly prices.

The proprietors in Tororo are roasting and processing their own coffee, as well as packaging it before placing it on the international market.

 “This is maximal value adding. The coffee is roasted and then packed 10 grams in every One Café product. Some One Cafés also get wrapped in banana fibre and sold as gift packs,” One Café’s Chief Executive Officer Johnny Ragazzo said in an email interview.

 “The Coffee is high quality Arabica coffee from 3 different areas on the slopes of Mount Elgon. These three districts we have named and branded Farm Mountain,” Ragazzo said.

He said what comes from the Tororo production line is reinvested in Elgonia, because it is still a small and growing company.

In the 50/50 joint venture, the coffee bag is being marketed in Uganda, Sweden and Denmark.

“Normally Uganda is exporting mainly fish, flowers and agricultural products, while the EU exports consumer goods to Uganda. We are doing the opposite. We deliver packaging material to Uganda and Uganda exports finished consumer goods,” he said.

But this was before a production facility was last month inaugurated in Eslöv Sweden, spewing out more of the 10-gram bags, albeit with the Uganda brand.

“We are back to square one on exporting beans because the Tororo packaging was done manually by some women. The Swedish partners got a loan and started a production line to package faster but with the Uganda brand,” Ambassador Tomusange, who inaugurated the Swedish facility in June, said.

Ragazzo and his partners are also looking at finding a wider market worldwide for the Farm Mountain coffee in addition to selling their packaging solution to other countries.

The Uganda facility is headed by Cassim Bukawa, who was reportedly in the USA for a business exhibition and could not be reached for comment.

 

carol@ugandaobserver.com