Meet Samir El Sadawy!

What does your role as Trader at Sucafina Instant involve? 

My role requires understanding the ever-evolving trend of the instant coffee industry by engaging with the entire supply chain. My main goal is to build customer relationships to understand their needs better and identify their challenges. I proactively reach out to them whenever new opportunities arise or if adjustment to their supply chain strategy is advisable. Another important aspect of the job is staying in regular contact with our partners at origin, understanding the green coffee dynamics, and identifying any challenges that may impact our instant coffee flow. By remaining closely connected to both sides of the supply chain, I aim to be the information bridge between actors at origin and destination.

What do you find most exciting about your work?

What excites me most is the diversity of my tasks and human interactions. It is quite thrilling to jump from a call with a partner in India to conversation with a client in Turkey in the morning, and then speak to Colombia in the afternoon for feedback to an Italian client. Getting the chance to personally meet and bond with various actors in the industry from different countries and cultures is extremely fulfilling. The richness of the coffee industry is unique, with each year bringing its share of challenges and excitement. No two days are alike, and that’s what keeps my passion for the job intact after almost 10 years in the company.

What are some of your clients’ common challenges and needs when sourcing instant coffee? (Are these challenges related to quality, cost, supply chain, or something else?)

My clients require the right balance between sourcing an economical product and ensuring consistent quality over time, which fits perfectly with Sucafina Instant’s portfolio and strategy. Our expertise in both green and instant coffee manufacturing, together with our global reach and agility, are the main strengths that help us to address our clients’ challenges successfully. Another major consideration for our clients is being able to rely on us to deliver their orders on time. As we’ve experienced in recent years, logistics can be rather chaotic, and most of our clients rightly expect Sucafina to relieve them from these issues. We consider ourselves problem solvers and will always strive to provide solutions to our clients.

What tailored solutions does Sucafina Instant provide to meet clients’ need? (Can you give an example of a specific problem a client faced and how Sucafina Instant helped resolve it?)

Most of our clients need to remain competitive while ensuring their reputation remains intact. At Sucafina Instant, we constantly seek to innovate and create value for our clients. In recent years, we have emphasized finding alternative sources for our coffees, both to mitigate supply risk and to monitor the cost structure of our products better. A perfect example is Colombian Arabica prices getting out of control a couple of years ago, while availability was extremely tight, leaving many of our clients facing serious challenges. Thanks to our expertise and adaptability, we found suitable alternatives that were not only readily available but also more competitively priced. We are proud of our flexible sourcing strategy and trust that this is how we bring meaningful value to our clients around the world.

How important are sustainability and responsible sourcing in your clients’ instant coffee choices? What initiatives does Sucafina Instant offer to support these needs?

The interest in instant coffee that is more sustainable and responsibly sourced is growing yearly. While instant coffees certified as Rainforest Alliance or Organic were mainly a topic for Western Europe, we are now getting new demand from further East. This shift indicates a growing awareness among consumers globally, which is a positive development for all stakeholders. 

At Sucafina Instant, we are actively expanding our range of certified instant coffees to cater to this new generation of coffee drinkers. Our newest and most exciting initiative within Sucafina is our IMPACT Program, which aims to drive measurable, positive change in key areas of sustainability, delivering transparency and shared value for all stakeholders. It is essentially our own set of standards for responsible sourcing, tackling social, environmental, and economic concerns benefiting farmers, traders, roasters, and ultimately consumers. Learn more about IMPACT here: https://group.sucafina.com/impact/