New Year Greetings from the TYPICA Team
Masashi Goto, Co-Founder
Happy New Year.
Thank you all for your support in the past year.
To be able to write New Year greetings itself is a true blessing. I’d like to take this opportunity to express my deepest gratitude to you all.
TYPICA was founded on November 3, 2019, the Culture Day holiday in Japan, with the goal of democratizing the direct trade of green coffee beans. Our mission has always been to promote sustainability through high-quality coffee.
Ever since, we’ve been working toward realizing our visions for the year 2030. One of them is to fundamentally evolve and deepen the coffee industry. Another is to set a leading example of a people-driven business that brings sustainability to industry and economy and happiness to the entire global population. And we believe we can achieve these objectives by creating and proliferating communities sharing the same mission globally.
In my New Year greetings in 2021 and 2022, I announced “Year 1 as a global company” and “Year 1 of public management ” as the guiding principles for those years, respectively.
Now, TYPICA has offices in the Netherlands, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and the United States, and serves 71 countries. Our website is available in five languages, and the online marketplace in eight languages. We are finally at the starting line to further solidify the foundation of the public management that we aspire to execute. Through these experiences, I have learned that if you consistently work towards a mission with conviction, your values will align with those of others around you. As a result, the mission that started out as your vision can become their vision too, and eventually a reality.
All of this is thanks to the tremendous help, support, guidance, and mentorship from everyone who has been with us thus far.
Reflecting on the past three years since our establishment, we have been in a preparatory phase where we worked to build support for our mission and lay the foundation for a business that serves and is run by the people.
As the democratization of direct trade has increased the sustainability of high-quality coffee, we have come together on this journey, fostering mutual prosperity and valuing our humanity while working towards a better environment for all. As a result, we stand at the beginning of a public management community that spans 71 countries, dedicated to fostering the future of the coffee industry through an ideal form of direct trade that transcends borders.
As we move forward towards our 2030 goals, our central theme for this year is “dimensional shift.” This represents our renewed attitude and dedication to achieving outcomes in the coming year.
One of our main objectives for the year is to turn supporters into allies.
TYPICA was established in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, focusing on online sales and communication. As the pandemic subsides and borders reopen, we have actively organized events such as TYPICA Lab, the TYPICA Annual Meeting, TYPICA GUIDE, TYPICA CLUB, and TYPICA Culture Pairing Pop-up to allow producers, roasters, and coffee enthusiasts to directly engage with one another.
As a result, many people using TYPICA are starting to move beyond their positions as producers who produce and sell coffee, roasters who buy and roast coffee, and coffee lovers who order and consume coffee. They are beginning to shift to being allies who work together in the pursuit of the ideal form of direct trade and a better future for the coffee industry, regardless of their individual roles.
Also this year, we are launching a collaborative project that will nurture a sense of publicness across borders, as part of our global reforestation initiative “OKAGESAMA” in coffee-producing regions around the world. This will accelerate the shift from commodity to specialty.
Another shift we’ll be making is toward a true sense of community.
This year, we aim to transcend the “tacit dimension” mentioned in Michael Polanyi’s book “The Tacit Dimension,” where “we can know more than we can tell,” and move towards a new level of collaboration where we can act on our shared knowledge (conscience) together. By joining forces with people from 71 countries and working across borders, we hope to create a completely new dimension of direct trade.
This year, we hope to expand our team to over 100 members and support each member in their transition from player to leader, leader to manager, individual to human being, division to unity, and conflict to harmony.
Also in this current global context, we aim to shift from taking precautions against Covid to improving our immunity, from building a sustainable society to fostering enduring connections among humans, from civil wars and conflicts to peace, and from nationalities separated by borders to global citizens who coexist on this planet. With this in mind, we will continue to wholeheartedly devote ourselves to our daily tasks and take the lead in becoming individuals and an organization that can positively impact our families, friends, and those around us.
Thank you for your continued support and mentorship for the coming year.
Masashi Goto
Representative Director of TYPICA
January 1, 2022
Ayane Yamada, Co-Founder
TYPICA has brought people around the world together, helping them to make strong connections that go beyond buying and selling coffee. I believe that 2023 will be an even more dynamic year for us.
To everyone who is a part of TYPICA, let me say how happy and grateful I am for being able to share this moment with you.
Yui Fuji, Community Manager, Japan
Happy New Year from Japan!
2022 was the year we finally got control of the pandemic, and were once again able to travel abroad. It was a year that reminded many of us of the special warmth you can only get from meeting and talking to people in-person.
Three years ago, Covid was completely unexpected. Yet in the three years since, I’ve had so many more unexpected experiences.
Countless moments when I was overcome by the sincerity of people’s thoughts for others. And the discovery that by pouring our hearts into something, we can not only enhance the value, but help enrich lives and bring happiness.
Our distribution has expanded beyond Japan to include Korea, Taiwan and Europe, and there are now more coffee producers using the platform to sell coffee. Everyday I can see the TYPICA community getting bigger, and getting global.
This is all thanks to everyone who takes part in what we do at TYPICA.
This year, we’ll keep working on creating a positive coffee cycle, one that people in the industry can feel inspired and excited about.
Have a great 2023!
Shinichiro Nishio, Community Manager, the Netherlands
Happy New Year!
It’s Shin from the TYPICA Europe team.
I hope your 2022 was splendid. For me, I got my beautiful house in Amsterdam together with my girlfriend and had a chance to go back to Japan to meet my family for the first time since the pandemic started. My life has been really good last year. For TYPICA, after we launched here in Europe, we have had many things together with roasters and producers such as cupping events, World of Coffee, TYPICA annual meeting, TYPICA Lab and so on. I appreciate all the people who have kindly supported us. I cannot stop thanking you all.
This year, I hope we build a better coffee world together with all of you, more than last year. From every offer, every event, or every single day, I hope I will be the one who initiates to build a stronger relationship between the roasters and producers.
Wishing you health, wealth, and happiness in the New Year ahead.
Shin
Soi Sin, Community Manager, Korea
How was 2022 for you?
For me, it was the year I joined TYPICA. It’s been a year filled with meeting new people and having new experiences.
Today, on the first day of 2023, everything feels brand new.
What are your dreams for the future? Have your dreams stayed the same or changed?
I hope that this year you succeed in your goals and achieve your dreams.
Wishing a successful and dream-filled year!
Daigo Sekine, Community Manager, Taiwan
Happy New Year from Taiwan.
It’s been one year since we launched TYPICA in Taiwan, with everything done remotely from Japan.
While not being able to enter the country has been frustrating, I’ve been amazed and filled with gratitude for all the people who’ve believed in TYPICA in the short time since the launch, and have made TYPICA Taiwan what it is today.
This year will see us strengthening our base in Taiwan, visiting local roasters and taking part in the Taiwan International Coffee Show.
I’m looking forward to a year when our team – passionate and colorful like a good cup of coffee – can finally get offline, and go out and visit all the amazing roasters in Taiwan.
Shuhei Hagimori, Community Manager, US
A roaster in New York once told me, “I remember the face of every customer that comes here.”
This year, in preparation for the TYPICA launch in the US, I’ve visited more than 100 cafes and roasteries. From the interior décor to the menu and coffee, each was completely unique – except on one point: The desire to make people happy with coffee. I also learned from my conversations with roasters that it is a desire that transcends culture, language, and nationality.
TYPICA will be officially launched in the US in March this year. I look forward to fostering a community, led by roasters, that explores the appeal of coffee and the beautiful stories that come from it.
Wishing you all a fantastic 2023.
Ayumi Igari, TYPICA Annual Meeting
TYPICA Annual Meeting 2022 would not have been possible without all of your love, compassion and collaborative support. Thank you to every single soul for making this a beautiful event that it was.
Our goal for this event was so that producers, roasters and coffee lovers can all become one. With different languages, different ideas and different cultures, I must say that there was some doubt in my mind.
But as we all gathered in Japan and we spend more and more time together, I saw that none of our differences hindered our goal to be one.
Perhaps that is the power of coffee or the power of being passionate about the future or both.
We look forward to seeing you at TYPICA Annual Meeting 2023. To learn, to grow and to be even more inspired by each other.
Andrews Ernest Droes, Origin Team
Hello, it’s Ernest Here from the Origin Team, the new year has started, and I’m looking forward to tasting some amazing coffee and visiting new and old friends on their farms, mill, and washing stations.
I feel truly blessed that I had the opportunity meeting you all last year and for those who I have not yet met in person may this be the year to drink coffee on all your farms.
May you have a successful year of rain, fantastic yields, and happy memories with your family and friend.
We will see you soon on the farm 🙂
Samuel Pérez Corea, QC
Happy new year! Feliz año nuevo! あけましておめでとうございます
2022 has been one of the most challenging years for so many people but also full of reasons to be excited for the future.
For me I can’t be happier and thankful to have moved to Amsterdam from London and join this wonderful team of amazing humans who are part of my life now.
It fills me of joy to remember all the people I have met along the way in origin and producer trips in Guatemala and El Salvador. All the roasters around Europe I have met and all the people that join World of Coffee in Milan and TYPICA Annual Meeting in Tokyo. I can definitely say that many of this persons I can call now my friends who I shared amazing experiences together.
I have no doubt we are all making a better coffee world and I can’t wait to keep meeting new people along this journey to a better future for this amazing industry.
I wish you all the very best for this new year
Sam
Yuga Nakano, TYPICA Club
First, let me start by saying thank you to everyone for your support in 2022.
From a single cup of coffee I’ve been given the opportunity to meet and spend time with many wonderful people.
From that, we were able to launch the community-based subscription service, TYPICA Club, last October.
In 2023, we will focus on expanding TYPICA Club in Japan.
This new community would not be successful without the help of the coffee producers, roasters and everyone who supports TYPICA.
I will never forget the help and that everyone has given us, and it will support me as I work to make this new community better.
Thank you and have a great 2023!
Mao Fujihara, TYPICA GUIDE
Happy New Year, everyone.
Last year we launched the TYPICA GUIDE, a brand new service.
Thank you to everyone who supported this project and helped get it off the ground.
We will keep working on improving the service to connect more roasters with more coffee enthusiasts.
I wish you all the best for 2023 and look forward to sharing the potential of TYPICA GUIDE with you all.
Tatsuya Nakamichi, Content Team
The job of the content team is to bring out the human element in each story, and help create new connections. Coffee is a medium that can introduce you to a story that moves you, or help you discover the friendship of a lifetime.
It can even show you a side to yourself that you never knew. Our narratives seek to discover these infinite possibilities, hidden in the power of coffee encounters.
I hope you enjoy reading our stories, and I wish you a very happy new year.
Akiyo Azuma, Back Office & Logistics Team
Happy New Year.
Thank you for believing in the TYPICA vision and supporting us in 2022.
Last October, we held the TYPICA Annual Meeting in Tokyo, which was an incredible opportunity to meet producers and roasters from all over the world. Thank you to everyone who participated and attended.
As we aim to increase the value of being part of a global community, we in the back office will be making sure that everything runs smoothly as we try to bring about a better world.
With 2030 in our headlights, we at TYPICA are speeding toward new challenges. We look forward to your continued support in this year and the years to come.
Wishing you all the best for 2023.