Whether enjoyed at a café counter or accompanied by the familiar hiss of a moka pot, coffee is far more than just a beverage: it’s a daily ritual that brings together aromas, cultures, and traditions. With over two billion cups consumed every day, coffee also represents the outcome of a long and complex supply chain, largely hidden from public awareness.
The coffee industry is among the most intricate globally, with a value chain that spans from cultivation in tropical countries—across Latin America, Africa, and Asia—to distribution and consumption, concentrated mainly in Europe and the United States. This geographical divide between production and consumption hubs creates complex trade networks and raises ethical, environmental, and socio-economic challenges.
In this context, the Blockchain Research Team of the Institute of Information Systems and Networking (ISIN), in collaboration with the company Alcomex SA and supported by Innosuisse, is developing an innovative blockchain-based system for international coffee trading.
The project, titled Self Sovereign Decentralized Architecture Applied to International Coffee Trading, addresses three key challenges: a lack of trust among supply chain actors due to limited transparency and cooperation, excessive bureaucracy, and the absence of clear and shared data.
Currently, coffee production is heavily influenced by commercial intermediaries—brokers who negotiate deals between exporters and importers. These players, leveraging privileged access to information, often increase their profit margins at the expense of producers.
“Through Web3 technologies, we aim to provide trustworthy information and create an ecosystem built on trust, transparency, and security among all supply chain participants,” explain Giuliano Gremlich and Tommaso Agnola, researcher and scientific collaborator at ISIN. “The goal is to foster direct connections between producers and buyers, improving efficiency and promoting a fairer and more sustainable system.”
Central to the project is the integration of Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) and decentralized technologies, allowing each actor to independently manage their credentials.
Key supply chain activities —from offers publication to contract negotiation and dispute resolution—are executed through Smart Contracts: digital programs that securely and transparently regulate agreements between parties, reducing transaction costs. Built on the Internet Computer Protocol (ICP) blockchain, these contracts record every step immutably, eliminating data tampering and loss.
Preliminary testing has shown promising results: the system can reduce intermediary costs by up to 80%, directly boosting profits for exporters and growers.
“Our goal is to build a platform that reshapes international coffee trade, distributing profits more equitably—especially to benefit small and medium-size producers,” says Evandro Kraft, Vice President of Alcomex SA. “While the pilot phase focuses on Brazil, our vision is to scale the solution to all coffee-producing countries and eventually to extend it to other supply chains.”
This project demonstrates how blockchain technologies can address real-world challenges in global trade, with potential applications in many other sectors where traceability and transparency are crucial.
Further information: read the paper Empowering Global Supply Chains Through Blockchain-Based Platforms: New Evidence from the Coffee Industry