Why more producers are focusing their marketing around authenticity
Jordan Montgomery
March 3, 2026
An illustration of a producer inspecting a coffee bean in an article about authenticity.
Coffee producers are communicating in a more authentic manner than ever before
As the language of specialty became standardised and repetitive – this shift may be a way to break the mould
With nearly 69% of the global population now online, digital connectivity is less of an issue than ever before
In specialty coffee, marketing at origin has rarely stood still. Over the past decade, producers increasingly professionalised how they presented themselves to buyers: structured websites, brand decks, certifications, traceability and sustainability data, and carefully curated storytelling became standard.
But that polish now appears to be recalibrating. Across producing countries, more farms and exporters are leaning into direct & personal communication. Founder updates, origin commentary, and less mediated messaging are becoming more visible.
Rather than signalling a retreat from professionalism, this shift may reflect something more structural. As more producers seek to build stronger connections to their global customer base, there is a generational and technological reset in how credibility is built, and how relationships are maintained.
Less polish, more personality
There are several reasons behind this shift, but they include greater exposure to global markets, improved access to information, and overall generational change.
Heleanna Georgalis, General Manager of Moplaco Trading, does not see this as a rejection of sophistication. Instead, she describes it as an evolution in who is communicating, and why.
“Producers have become a bit more sophisticated and exposed to the outside world,” she says. “They have a more direct relationship and are able to communicate better on what they do and how … in general there is a shift towards more control and more understanding.”
Helenna attributes this in part to generational change, pointing to a younger cohort entering origin businesses, who have different expectations around visibility, language, and engagement.
“I think the materials have become more hipster [sic] and more and more sexy, rather than just brochures and boring explanations,” she says. “I see a buyer’s shift also that is more approachable and more direct.”
Characterising this above all else isn’t directness as much as it is authenticity. And this trend isn’t just limited to producers – buyers and roasters are shifting towards more genuine first-hand accounts as well.
A coffee producer inspecting green coffee on a tray.
Digital access changes the equation
If earlier eras of specialty coffee were shaped by informational asymmetry, today’s environment is defined by accessibility.
Global connectivity data supports this structural framing. Reports state that as of early 2025, nearly 69% of the global population is now online, which has fundamentally reduced communication barriers between producing and consuming regions.
“With modern means of communication, extensive traveling, social media, our world has become so much smaller,” Helenna says. “For me, this makes direct communication much more feasible.”
In specialty coffee, this “directness” may translate as preference for more direct voices from origin rather than narratives led by traders. Especially as smaller roasters – and consumers – are experiencing fatigue with overly curated or corporate-style origin telling, more personalised communication becomes even more important.
Authenticity has been proven to be effective outside coffee too. As many as half of the leading brands on social media make their mark by simply replying directly to people. Perhaps with more content out there than ever, something more “stripped back” can be more appealing.
However, Helenna is cautious about framing the shift as fatigue.
“I think [it’s] just a generational change that shifted the way a story is told. Fatigue, I am not sure,” she says. “But they definitely need something that is easier to communicate.”
The question, then, is whether producers are facing less pressure to professionalise their marketing than they did five years ago – or whether expectations have simply evolved.
“There is a young crowd involved in coffee that wishes to be communicated to in a different way,” Heleanna says. “This is a generational shift and we must follow it.”
A coffee producer watching coffee on drying beds.
Is authenticity a strategy?
Specialty coffee has experienced similar cycles before. As brands’ storytelling professionalised in the 2010s, visual tropes like minimalist design and industry-specific terminology became a differentiator; before becoming commonplace.
This trend is circular: brands appeal to bored customers by trying something different, it becomes popular, and then everyone else follows suit – which leads to customers becoming bored again.
But this has largely been an area of focus for roasters and coffee shops. Is it the same for producers?
Heleanna says yes – and that she believes people are “getting tired of the poor farmer’s image showing red cherries”.
“Marketing will always evolve,” she adds. “Once it does, brands imitate and then a new trend is formed. I think everyone is always trying to adapt.”
She does however caveat that “much larger producers have different customers” – which means that they ultimately need different marketing, which means that more raw, stripped back strategies aren’t quite a fit.
Ultimately, honesty and authenticity are a response to an audience which is possibly overstimulated by a wealth of content. Artificial intelligence has made previously complex marketing strategies much more accessible.
It’s natural that the response to this is a push for less polish and more personality, especially in a highly connected, faster-moving market. But if history shows us anything – this shift certainly won’t last forever.
Coffee Intelligence