#035 - Meiero’s European Home: Quick Lessons that Change Everything

After months of planning, our family moved to the Netherlands 10 days ago. Meiero is more real than ever.

Organizing our move from Brazil was tough, but we had help along the way. Arriving in the Netherlands with two kids during the summer added a little stress, but the country is amazing. Our entire family is already loving the sense of freedom here.

When we founded Meiero, we often wondered why more Brazilian cooperatives or large producers had not pursued this type of international expansion. From outside, it seemed simple.

Now that we are executing it, we realize why. I can’t just hire an employee to handle a move like this. You need a true partner to navigate the complex legal, fiscal, banking and logistical bureaucracy.

During our first 10 days here, it seemed the entire country was on vacation. And they really were. So we held back on commercial efforts for a few days. Our days were consumed by unpacking, entertaining the kids, and handling administrative matters.

If you are handling some international expansion, here is my quick advice: rush to secure your physical bank account and your physical phone chip. These details seem small, but they quickly become bottlenecks that delay vital processes later.

Meanwhile, the Dutch Tax Authority requested all our transactions since inception and a detailed business plan. While these complex processes take time, they build a solid foundation. It really reinforces that we are here to stay.

The Transformational Change

We now have a permanent base in Europe, with a co-founder offering direct access to new coffee profiles and on-the-ground support to our partners - including producers, cooperatives and roasters.

We want to go beyond corporate words such as ‘promote sustainability’. Our goal is to effectively help them distribute their products, incentivize quality improvements and facilitate access to capital. For many of our partners—especially those going through generational transition - this process is life-changing.

More on that in a future edition of our newsletter.

____________________________

Weekly Highlights:

• Coffee Futures KC Price in NY: -0.51% weekly, closing at 314.30 cents/lb (front end month)

• Coffee Price in Brazil’s B3 in USD: +0.73% weekly, closing at 403.95 USD per 60kg bag (front end month)

• BRL/USD fx rate: +2.38% weekly (USD/BRL settled at 5.222).

• Proxy of 20’ container freight prices from Santos to Rotterdam: down ~1.5% weekly (averaging ~$1,605–$1,650 USD/20’ container).

• Tight ICE Certified Stock Levels: Certified Arabica inventories monitored by the ICE exchange fell further to a multi-year low of ~236,430 bags, severely narrowing the global supply cushion.

• Brazil Harvest & Weather Disruptions: Drier conditions across Brazil allowed local producers to advance the final harvest phase, boosting short-term physical availability despite earlier rain-related quality concerns.

• Emerging El Niño Climate Risks: Global climate centers warned that a developing “super” El Niño pattern could disrupt rainfall during Brazil’s critical flowering period in September–October.

• Colombian Export Flow Disruptions: Export logistics out of Colombia experienced temporary slowdowns following a major 7.4-magnitude earthquake in the Chocó department.

• Strong Brazilian Export Volumes: Cecafé reported Brazil shipped 3.03 million 60-kg bags in July (start of the 2026/27 crop year), up 9.9% year-over-year despite persistent congestion at the Port of Santos.

• At-Home & Specialty Coffee Shift: High interest rates and retail margin pressures drove consumers toward premium at-home coffee machinery, benefiting home-brewing manufacturers over traditional fast-food outlets.

• Vietnam Robusta Outflow: Vietnam’s cumulative Jan–July 2026 coffee exports rose 21.1% year-over-year to 1.31 MMT, dampening Robusta price gains even as Arabica rallied.

• Fiscal Rules on Import Equipment: Regulatory updates in key Asian consumer markets increased import tariffs on commercial coffee machinery, adding cost pressures for local coffeehouse chains.

• Functional Coffee M&A Trends: Corporate acquisitions across North America targeted health-focused, functional, and plant-based coffee alternative brands to meet shifting consumer wellness habits.

• Port Logistics Bottlenecks: Exporters in Santos faced average vessel loading delays of 6 to 7 days, forcing trading houses to secure container bookings earlier to avoid delivery defaults.