EP 1073 Part 3 of 5 | Coffee's Biggest Technology Blind Spots (Matthew Thornton) | Map It Forward
Advertising Sponsor
MIF Coffee Business Plan Review Service: AI can write a business plan. We'll help you determine whether it will work in the real world. Email support@mapitforward.org or DM @mapitforward.coffee to get started.
Episode Description
This is Part 3 of a five-part series with Matthew Thornton from Arkena Coffee Market on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward hosted by Lee Safar, exploring where technology is genuinely changing the coffee industry, and where it still isn't.
In the first two episodes, Lee Safar and Matthew Thornton explored where technology exists across the coffee supply chain and why some technologies succeed while others struggle to gain traction.
Now they ask an even bigger question: What are the industry's biggest technology gaps?
Rather than focusing on building more sophisticated software, Matthew argues that coffee's greatest opportunities lie in solving much more fundamental problems. Information remains fragmented across the supply chain. Pricing lacks transparency. Communication often breaks down between origin and consuming countries. Valuable data exists, but rarely reaches the people who need it most.
Throughout the conversation, Lee and Matthew examine why these disconnects continue despite rapid advances in artificial intelligence and digital tools. They explore the difference between creating technology that impresses investors and creating technology that genuinely improves the way coffee businesses operate.
One of the recurring themes throughout this series becomes increasingly clear in this episode: technology cannot fix broken incentives on its own. Before the industry can build better tools, it must first understand whose problems deserve solving and why many of today's systems continue to leave critical gaps unaddressed.
As more technology companies enter coffee, this conversation challenges founders, business owners and industry leaders to think beyond features and ask whether they are addressing the issues that matter most across the supply chain.
Connect with Matthew Thornton and Arkena Coffee Market here:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arkenacoffee/
Website: https://arkenacoffee.com/