Alo Coffee

What Alo Coffee does

Alo Coffee Export PLC is a privately held Ethiopian specialty coffee exporter founded in 2020 by Tamiru Tadesse and his wife Messi, headquartered in Addis Ababa and operating from the founders' home village of Alo in Bensa, Sidama. The company sources, processes, and exports premium green coffee micro-lots to international specialty roasters through direct sales and a proprietary auction platform (alocoffee.auction). Its core products are natural-process, washed-process, and experimental small-lot coffees built on the heirloom varietal 74158 (developed by Jimma Agricultural Research Center) and, more recently, Panamanian genetics acquired from Elida Farm (Lamastus family) in 2024.

The company's production platform consists of a network of processing stations across Sidama (Bensa, Bona, and Burra zones) and West Arsi Nensebo — including Alo Main Station, Chilaka, Murago Adilo 1 & 2, Miriga, Hatessa, Bombe, Gute (the largest), Morkie, Worku, Gemechu, and Yusuf — collectively drawing from 860+ smallholder farmers. Its underlying coffee technology rests on high-altitude micro-lot harvesting and controlled fermentation techniques using coffee-derived materials (Mossto, cascara, mucilage) to produce distinctive flavor profiles. The company emphasizes traceable farm-to-buyer sourcing and on-time global delivery.

Alo Coffee's revenue model is B2B transaction-based: per-kilogram pricing of green coffee with premium margins awarded to competition-grade and experimental lots, supplemented by auction-driven competitive bidding on its online platform. The customer base consists of international specialty coffee roasters and coffee competition participants. The company is founder-owned with no institutional investors, and its primary commercial validation is the 1st and 5th place finishes achieved at Ethiopia's inaugural Cup of Excellence 2021 on its first-ever submission.

Name

Alo Coffee

Legal name

Alo Coffee Export PLC

Website

https://alo-coffee.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Alo Coffee Export PLC is an Ethiopian specialty coffee exporter founded in 2020, selling traceable natural, washed, and experimental micro-lots from Sidama and West Arsi Nensebo to international specialty roasters via direct export and its own auction platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Green Coffee Export

NAICS

Coffee and Tea Manufacturing (311920), Coffee and Tea Manufacturing (31192), Beverage Manufacturing (3121)

SIC

Beverages (2080)

akta.pro primary industry

Specialty Coffee & Tea (Single-Origin, Micro-lot, Premium) Processing (AFAFADAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Coffee, Tea & Cocoa Trading/Wholesale (AFAIAKAD), Coffee, Tea & Cocoa Beverage Wholesale (AFAIAGAD)

Keywords

• Specialty green coffee
• Ethiopian coffee export
• Green coffee beans
• Single-origin coffee
• Coffee processing services

Headquarters

HQ city

Addis Ababa

HQ country

Ethiopia

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Specialty Coffee Export: B2B export of premium specialty coffee lots to international roasters. The company sells traceable micro-lots through direct relationships and auction platforms. Revenue is generated through per-kilogram pricing of green coffee beans with premium margins for award-winning and experimental lots.
2. Coffee Auction: Online auction platform (alocoffee.auction) enabling global buyers to bid on premium micro-lots. This competitive bidding process maximizes prices for their highest-quality coffees and provides market access for international roasters.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Alo Coffee is an Ethiopian specialty coffee producer and exporter that sources, processes, and ships premium green coffee beans from the Guji zone to international specialty coffee roasters. Its portfolio includes washed, natural, and experimental small-lot processed coffees, with select top-tier lots submitted to the Cup of Excellence auction program. The company is positioned as a direct-trade exporter serving the global specialty single-origin coffee market.

Product overview

Alo Coffee is an Ethiopian specialty coffee exporter offering a unified portfolio of premium coffee products. The core offerings consist of naturally-processed and washed-process specialty coffees sourced from high-altitude farms across Sidama (Bensa, Bona, Burra zones) and West Arsi Nensebo, featuring the heirloom varietal 74158. The product line is complemented by experimental small-lot coffees crafted through controlled fermentation techniques. All products are traceably sourced from a network of processing stations and smallholder farmers, with a focus on producing competition-worthy, award-winning lots (including Cup of Excellence placements).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Natural process green coffee

Quantifiable outcome

• 860+ farmers supported through fair practices and community reinvestment
• +1 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Mr. WilfordminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Provided additional coffee seeds to Alo Coffee in 2025, supporting their varietal development and genetics program.
• Andrea and ErikminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Friends who facilitated the acquisition of seeds from Elida Farm in Panama (Lamastus family) in 2024, enabling Alo Coffee to diversify their varietal offerings with internationally recognized genetics.
• Elida Farm / Lamastus FamilyminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Renowned Panamanian coffee farm belonging to the Lamastus family. Provided seeds to Alo Coffee in 2024 through friends Andrea and Erik, marking a strategic genetic exchange between award-winning producers.
• Jimma Agricultural Research Center (JARC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment research center that developed the 74158 varietal, which forms the foundation of Alo Coffee's main cultivated variety. This varietal provides disease resistance and superior cup quality suited for high-altitude farms.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union: Ethiopia-based cooperative union exporting traceable Yirgacheffe and Sidama specialty coffees. Comparable because it competes in the same Ethiopian micro-lot export market serving international specialty buyers, though with a cooperative rather than private exporter structure.
• Sasa Coffee Exporters: Ethiopian specialty coffee exporter serving international specialty roasters with traceable washing-station-sourced lots. Comparable because it operates as a domestic Ethiopian exporter with similar station-based micro-lot sourcing and direct roaster relationships.

Direct peers

• Trabocca: Amsterdam-based specialty green coffee importer with deep Ethiopian sourcing roots. Comparable because it sources traceable single-origin and micro-lot Ethiopian coffees for international specialty roasters, overlapping directly with Alo's B2B export model.
• Cafe Imports: Minneapolis-based specialty green coffee importer with one of the largest specialty portfolios including Ethiopian origins. Comparable because it supplies award-winning micro-lots and competition-grade coffees to specialty roasters worldwide.
• Nordic Approach: Specialty green coffee importer specializing in traceable, high-scoring East African and Latin American lots. Comparable because it operates a similar B2B sourcing-and-export model focused on competition-grade micro-lots for global roasters.
• Royal Coffee: Bay Area specialty green coffee importer and exporter with strong Ethiopian sourcing. Comparable because it provides traceable, high-cupping micro-lots to specialty roasters and runs the Crown Jewel/Mocha Joe auction platforms analogous to Alo's auction.
• Falcon Coffees: UK-based specialty coffee importer with significant Ethiopia and East Africa sourcing operations. Comparable because it sources traceable micro-lots, runs farmer relationships, and sells direct to specialty roasters globally.
• Crop to Cup Coffee Importers: Brooklyn-based specialty coffee importer focused on traceable single-origin lots from East Africa and Latin America. Comparable because it sources directly from smallholder networks and sells competition-grade lots to specialty roasters.

Broad incumbents

• Sucafina: One of the largest specialty coffee trading companies globally with extensive Ethiopian origins. Comparable because it operates across the full specialty value chain (origin to roaster), but with vastly broader portfolio and scale than Alo's focused micro-lot model.
• Volcafe (ED&F Man): Global coffee trader with a dedicated specialty division sourcing from East Africa including Ethiopia. Comparable because it competes for the same international specialty roaster customers, but operates at much larger scale across all origins.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/alocoffee20
• Instagraminstagram.com/alocoffee.et
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/alocoffee

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Alo Coffee