For years, the global coffee supply chain has been viewed through a simple lens: big corporations exploit farmers, while small specialty roasters champion fairness and sustainability. But recent research reveals a more complex truth — one that challenges long-held assumptions about who actually benefits along the chain from bean to cup.
While coffee prices, tariffs, and retail margins fluctuate worldwide, the distribution of value within the coffee supply chain has barely changed in two decades. Farmers, particularly in producing countries, still capture roughly the same share of the final retail price as they did 20 years ago — around 20 to 25 percent. Meanwhile, profits are concentrated further downstream, among traders, roasters, and retailers.
The Stability of Inequality in the Coffee Supply Chain
Even as global retail coffee prices increased, particularly in the specialty sector, the extra revenue didn’t flow back to the farms. Instead, it was absorbed by middle actors within the coffee supply chain, such as roasters, exporters, and retailers.
In theory, specialty coffee was supposed to “lift all boats,” rewarding farmers for quality and traceability. In practice, the study found that small specialty roasters often keep a larger share of the pie, despite their “ethical” image. Many operate on boutique scales with high branding costs, and their higher consumer prices don’t always translate into higher farmgate payments.
The Margin Myth: Bigger Isn’t Always Greedier
Large multinational roasters — long cast as the villains of the coffee supply chain — may actually operate with thinner profit margins than small specialty brands. Their advantage lies in scale.
Big firms buy in bulk, hedge effectively against price swings, and optimize logistics globally. They sell coffee in supermarkets at competitive prices and depend on massive volume rather than high mark-ups. Their margins per cup may be small, but they move millions of cups per day.
By contrast, small specialty roasters often charge $20 to $25 for a 250-gram bag of single-origin beans. These companies mark up heavily to cover small-batch roasting, marketing, rent, and the costs of storytelling — not necessarily to pay farmers more.
The result? A paradox: the consumer buying “ethical coffee” may be paying more for a brand’s narrative than for the farmer’s labor.
Value Distribution and the “Fairness” Illusion
The coffee supply chain has long been portrayed as a story of good versus bad — specialty versus commercial, small versus big. But as researcher Karl Wienhold of the University of Lisbon explains, fairness is not determined by firm size.
While specialty coffee often pays a premium above the global “C” market price, that premium tends to shrink as coffee moves downstream. Marketing, packaging, and overhead consume much of the added value before it reaches producers.
Meanwhile, large industrial roasters — though less romantic in image — may actually leave more value on the table for suppliers and consumers due to their efficiency. Their lower prices don’t always signal exploitation; sometimes they reflect optimized costs.
The Consumer Paradox
For consumers, this reality is unsettling. The much-criticized supermarket blend might, in some cases, deliver a fairer deal to farmers than the minimalist $6 café pour-over.
Within the coffee supply chain, the problem is not simply exploitation by size but imbalance in value capture. Specialty firms excel at storytelling — the “origin story”, the farmer photo, the artisanal label — but those stories are often monetized far from the farm itself.
Wienhold calls this “farmwashing”: using images of farmers to sell coffee, without materially improving their livelihoods. The study argues that even in high-end markets where quality premiums exist, the majority of added value remains downstream.
The Role of Efficiency and Scale
Understanding the coffee supply chain requires acknowledging that efficiency and fairness are not opposites.
Large firms may hold more bargaining power, but that power doesn’t automatically translate into abuse. Economies of scale enable them to manage risk, maintain supply stability, and keep consumer prices lower — all while navigating volatility from climate change and tariffs.
Small roasters, on the other hand, face higher per-unit costs and limited access to hedging tools. To survive, they must raise prices sharply — leading to inflated retail costs that don’t always benefit producers proportionally.
In short: size doesn’t determine greed; structure does.
A Call for Transparent Value Chains
The future of the coffee supply chain depends on greater transparency — not just in traceability, but in how value is divided.
Producers need fair access to information, markets, and branding opportunities. If farmers can tell their own stories and control their narratives, they could capture more of the “emotional value” that currently benefits roasters and cafés.
Brands, meanwhile, must move beyond slogans and measure the real impact of their sourcing models. The next wave of consumer awareness will not be satisfied by “ethical” marketing alone; it will demand proof of equity and shared prosperity.
Conclusion: Rethinking Fairness in the Coffee Supply Chain
The findings challenge one of coffee’s most comforting myths: that small equals fair, and big equals greedy. In truth, the coffee supply chain is far more nuanced. Efficiency and fairness can coexist — but only if transparency and accountability extend to every link, from farmer to roaster to consumer.
As climate risks, trade barriers, and supply shocks reshape the global coffee market, stability will depend not only on who grows the coffee, but on how the value is shared. For the industry, this means moving beyond appearances — and for coffee lovers, it means asking not just where their coffee comes from, but who truly benefits from every cup.
At Helena Coffee Vietnam, we are not just part of the coffee supply chain — we work to make it fairer and more transparent from farm to cup. Based in Buon Ma Thuot, the heart of Vietnam’s coffee region, Helena partners directly with farmers and cooperatives to ensure every bean carries real value — for growers, roasters, and consumers alike.
We supply green Robusta and Arabica beans, roasted coffee, instant coffee, and private label solutions, helping our global partners build sustainable and ethical sourcing models. With Helena, every shipment tells a true story of quality, responsibility, and shared prosperity.
👉 Visit www.helenacoffee.vn or Info@helenacoffee.vn to explore our products and request a direct quote today!