Mail from Group Comms
Getting to know a lot more colleagues from trade helped me see the people behind the job, learn a lot more about their actual work and recognize how closely they are connected to other departments. They are by no means an isolated, exclusive team – on the contrary, they have a close connection to all the other departments. What stood out to me was also that trading is so much more than following the markets, analyzing numbers and negotiating contracts. It involves a lot of managing relationships, making quick decisions, taking on responsibility and relying heavily on colleagues across functions – from logistics to quality and many others.
This moment of realization was also due to this year’s International Women’s Day campaign, where a lot of fantastic women applied. One of these women is Victoria Kigo, the first female trader from NKG East Africa. Together with Agnieszka Thieleke, who also handed in her application, Victoria is so kind as to give us some insights into her career and work. I can highly recommend this article to you – it is an inspiring read!
Speaking of International Women’s Day: This year’s initiative “Give Diverse Voices a Stage” was one of the all-time favorite parts of my five years at NKG! I had the opportunity to join the winner to the Women in Tea & Coffee Conference in London. It was a huge pleasure to get to know Valentina Molano Paredes from SKN in Colombia and spend some days with her – she is such an impressive, competent, highly engaged and sweet person. Also, the colleagues from our London office welcomed and accompanied us in such a lovely way. Another highlight for me was our first Global NKG Townhall. It was very well prepared – a huge compliment again to Lena and Nina from our Group Comms team and all the other organizers. What made it even more special to me was all the shared excitement, the pictures and the participation in the space provided for impressions and comments. It blew my mind how many colleagues joined and shared their insight from where they were watching.
Coming back to trade for one last aspect in this article – why is it so important for me and other people not working in the area to understand what is going on at the heart of our business? It definitely helps us do our job better, too. And everyone is important for our joint success. So, though we obviously won’t be able to clarify every detail of the business in this issue, we still hope it will help some of you get moments where it all clicks. Because this is what this MAG should be about: staying curious for what is happening across NKG, learning from each other and feeling a closer connection – as one group.
Have a great time reading our articles or listening to them. It was super interesting to create this issue and again: the best part is always getting to know more colleagues and sharing their stories. Make sure to check them out and let us know how you liked them. Maybe you just click the like button, maybe you leave a comment or write us an email. We love all the feedback we get!
Have a great and successful rest of the year! I am very much looking forward to closing this series about all parts of the coffee journey with our third issue at the end of this year. Stay tuned – there are some exciting topics waiting for you.
Warm regards,
Julia Wichert
Global coffee production reached 173 million bags in 2024/25, with Brazil, Vietnam, and Colombia leading the way. Around 70% is grown by smallholders, and over 120 million people depend on coffee farming. Climate change threatens up to half of current growing areas by 2050, making sustainability more crucial than ever.
From seed to shipment, women play a vital yet often underrepresented role in the global coffee supply chain. Whether in the fields, in quality control, or in advocacy work, their contributions shape the future of coffee in meaningful ways. In this issue, we speak with three women from different position in the supply chain.
This time, you can embark on a search in “Search the seedling!” A photo of a seedling is hidden on various pages of our MAG. Find all the seedlings and tell us which articles you found them in.
