The leading and largest grower and exporter of Arabica coffee in Brazil, the MB Coffee Group, is achieving a new milestone as it celebrates its 100th anniversary this year. With a land area of 25,000 acres or 10,000 hectares of fertile and productive farms growing soybeans, sugar cane, and live cattle aside from coffee, MB Coffee Group is poised for an exciting new season as the family is introducing a family member to help out in managing the operations.
MB Coffee Group CEO Paulo Fiod de Barros looks back with fondness to his memories of the farms when he was just a young boy. His family has been in the industry for over 120 years, and it is a legacy that he wants to pass on to the next generation. At the rate the coffee industry is going at present, he understands that he needs someone younger and competent enough to brave the changing times and technology. As the family business has grown in leaps and bounds over time, he is now getting ready to turn MB Coffee Group over to his eldest daughter, Fernanda Maretto de Barros Gabbert.
“It’s a lineage of amazing coffee growers, we have many other farms and businesses but this one is the closest one to our hearts,” shares Paulo Fiod de Barros. “At my age, the only thing I want is to pass this one to my children and grandchildren,” he adds.
“I have a lot to learn and I have a great teacher, my father. He has been doing this since he was a young boy with his family, and although I worked in a different industry for the past 10 years, I want to continue this amazing coffee heritage and pass it on to my children someday,” reveals Fernanda Maretto de Barros Gabbert.
Before agreeing to join MB Coffee Group in Brazil, Fernanda pursued a master’s degree in law at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law in Chicago. After becoming a lawyer, she joined the World Bank in Washington, D.C. After living in the United States for a considerable amount of time, Fernanda embraced the opportunity to join the family business and relocate to Brazil so that her children could also experience the same memorable childhood she enjoyed while growing up in her home country.
On top of her work as a lawyer, Fernanda is also a businesswoman. Together with her husband Gunther, they successfully launched a roasted coffee distribution network in the US. Their clients, both in the past and the present, include Starbucks, Walmart, Amazon, Whole Foods, Sam’s Club, Nescafe, Nespresso, and several retail stores.
“I noticed people paying absurd amounts for coffee that, well, honestly wasn’t that good. MB Coffee was established to provide high point certified coffee at reasonable prices,” Fernanda explains.
To ensure that the quality of coffee being exported remains intact, MB Coffee Group invests in the certification of its products. In 2005, the company established Cafe MB, an exclusive brand created to produce unique and premium Arabica coffee. Since its founding year, the brand has been trading coffee not just in Brazil but also in Italy and Spain. Cafe MB produces three types of coffee: Yellow Bourbon, Mundo Novo, and Red Catuaí. All of the coffee variants being grown and traded by the business are certified by AMCS, UTZ, Nespresso, Bourbon, Alta Mogiana, and Rainforest Alliance.
As an organization, Fernanda Maretto de Barros Gabbert sees MB Coffee Group becoming an internationally recognized distribution channel and a brand that is part of every coffee lover’s home.
Learn more about MB Coffee Group by visiting its website.
