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A visit with Kayd Whalen – INSIDE NKG | MAG

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Sharing Solutions: How local approaches enable global success

Setting sail for the coffee business of tomorrow: On course to the first ERP rollout for NGUS

Depicting NKG’s growth in Asia: Insights from Mira Yudhawati and Emily Chua

Smart design for a sustainable future: The Ibero Uganda mill project

Behind the scenes

Mail from NG Comms: A personal Update

Virtual Tour: Berindo Jaya

Faces and portraits

Interview with Thomas Silva

Interview with Marcelo de Paula Nogueira

On a Cupping with Maks Mazurkiewicz

A visit with Kayd Whalen

NKG Integrity Champion: Thumbs up for reliable colleagues

NKG Holding who is who: Introducing Legal Department

Breaking the coffee ceiling: Inspiring women at NKG

Out of the box

Three by Three Questions: EUDR challenges and implementation

Time to take action: Neumann Gruppe donates to the promotion of democracy

At a glance

Recap: What happened in half-year one / 2024

It's your turn

Quiz: Spot the Difference

Faces and Portraits

Interview

Faces and Portraits

Interview

NAME
Michelle Maisto

COMPANY
Neumann Gruppe USA

POSITION/ DEPARTMENT
Head of Marketing, Neumann Gruppe USA, and Program Coordinator, NKG PACE

DATE OF BIRTH
September 18

DATE OF FIRST DAY AT NKG
May 23

WHAT DO YOU LIKE BEST ABOUT WORKING AT NKG?
From helping to promote NKG Bloom, with its farmer-benefitting impacts, to running NKG PACE, with its racial-equity intentions, to liaising with GrainPro to encourage our industry to recycle tons of plastic waste, I believe my daily work at NKG has impact — and that feels wonderful!

A visit with Kayd Whalen

Michelle Maisto: I hear you’re just back from a whirlwind week that included visits with 11 customers! What are you hearing that feels new and exciting?

Kayd Whalen: One topic that kept coming up is “half caf” – half caffeine, half decaf. We’ve heard about it before, but it feels like it’s becoming a bigger thing. This younger generation is very health conscious and making different beverage choices. They’re drinking less alcohol, they’re looking at mocktails, they’re drinking boba and hop teas. I think there’s the idea that it’s a healthier option if it’s only half the caffeine.

MM: Kind of the equivalent of a low-alcohol session beer.

KW: Exactly! You can sip all day, versus having coffee only in the morning and not in the afternoon. We have one customer with a very popular RTD (ready to drink) that’s half-caf, and they don’t even advertise it as that. They just want people to feel like their heart’s not racing when they drink it – that it’s a more pleasant experience.

MM: What other trends are you seeing?

KW: There’s a move toward new washed processes. The last wave of coffee included so many big, fruity coffees. I think people are feeling a bit over it. Especially in the morning, a big natural coffee now feels too aggressive. 

MM: I’m also having palette fatigue with those.

KW: We went through an interesting arc, with everyone wanting that, but now they want unique washed coffees. There’s a lot of experimentation using yeast strains – kind of like they do in beer and wine – to create a consistent profile. I think we’ve seen the heyday of big naturals.

MM: Anything else came up in your conversations?

KW: There’s talk of using origins more interchangeably, to meet a profile, which I love. I think we got steered away from that, with roasters wanting to highlight single origins. But it seems consumers want blends. They appreciate the consistency. So many customers tell me that their lowest-cost blends are also their best sellers.

Michelle Maisto spoke to Kayd Whalen about the latest trends among American customers.

MM: There can be a nice sustainability component to a flexible blend.

KW: Exactly – and a lot of benefits for freshness. We got away from the idea of seasons, and it became people wanting to book a whole year of Mexico. But really, Mexico shouldn’t be on the shelf all year round. Clients get even more excited when these blends carry a sustainability and traceability component, for example NKG Bloom.

MM: Are you hearing talk of fine Robusta?

KW: Yes and no. We need to figure out how to get over that hurdle with American consumers. There could be an interesting space for Robusta, if it’s being processed in different ways – which certainly some suppliers, including within the group, are experimenting with. Most of our clients that buy Robusta use smaller quantities for espresso blends.

MM: What about you personally? You’ve been in charge of the San Diego office for 13 years now! Are there changes that you’re feeling?

KW: In coffee there is never a dull day. These days I’m having a lot more conversations encouraging people to turn their attention to value. Like, just because you pay a farmer $5/lb for a 20-bag microlot doesn’t mean you’re making a big impact on the entirety of the farm. More people are moving away from microlots, which are inefficient – for the farmer, for us, for the warehouse. It’s more about “buying the rainbow” from the farm, not just its highest end. If we do buy a microlot from a farm, we often consolidate it with a blend from the same farm.

MM: It sounds like we’re coming out of a specialty industry that was heightened and extreme and settling into something more balanced.

KW: I believe we need to be on the same page as consumers, versus what our industry thinks is interesting and innovative. It’s kind of like NKG Bloom: We want farmers to think of “coffee as a business” instead of “being stuck with a coffee farm.” Because who wants to be in a business that’s not profitable? It’s no fun for any of us. I feel like there’s a fresh business mindset toward thinking about value, quality, sustainability and business relationships. I’m happy to be seeing this more and more. It’s also amazing to have been doing this with a consistent team for so long – Erika for 20 years, Krista 16 years, Dana 13 years and Pablo just hit 5 years. Our team has a good reputation. We’re professional and our partners trust us. We hustle here on the West Coast!

General Info

NAME
Kayd Whalen

DATE OF BIRTH
November 24

COMPANY
InterAmerican Coffee

POSITION/ DEPARTMENT
Senior Trader & Customer Development, Head of San Diego Office

DATE OF FIRST DAY AT NKG
When InterAmerican bought Elan Organic Coffees in September 2008

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Coffee Plaza • Am Sandtorpark 4
20457 Hamburg • Germany 

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Neumann Gruppe GmbH
Coffee Plaza
Am Sandtorpark 4
20457 Hamburg • Germany

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