Anja Bernier

Hi from the largest coffee market in the world, dear Coffee Lovers, This weekend at the Javits Center in New York, thousands of coffee professionals gathered at one of the most important meeting points for independent coffee businesses in the U.S. Coffee Fest New York - a pulse check for where coffee is heading. The energy on the floor was unmistakable: roasters launching new concepts, baristas pushing craft to the next level, and operators navigating one of the most volatile coffee markets in decades. A few highlights from the agenda and conversations: ☕ The next generation of drinks: Sessions like “2026 Drink Trends” made one thing clear: visually striking drinks, bold flavor combinations, and hybrid beverages are redefining café menus and consumer expectations. 📈 Coffee businesses are becoming more strategic. Workshops on scaling roasting operations, pricing, and sustainable business models showed how quickly the industry is professionalizing. 🎓 Education is exploding. Coffee Fest offered nearly 120 hours of educational content - from barista craft to building and scaling coffee companies. During my keynote, I focused on three major shifts shaping the future of the industry: 🌍 Global demand keeps expanding Around 3 billion cups of coffee are consumed every day worldwide, and consumption has roughly doubled over the past 30 years. 🧊 Cold coffee is redefining the category Cold brew, RTD, and hybrid beverages are bringing entirely new consumers into coffee. ⚙️ The biggest transformation will happen behind the cup. AI, automation, and better data systems will reshape sourcing, trading, roasting, and logistics across the value chain. My takeaway from New York: Coffee is becoming more complex as a business but more exciting than ever as a culture. And the entrepreneurial energy of the independent coffee community remains one of the strongest forces driving this industry forward. Great to see so much passion, creativity, and innovation in one place here in New York - a powerful reminder that the future of coffee will be shaped as much by entrepreneurs as by global brands. #CoffeeFestNewYork2026 #InternationalCoffeeConsulting

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Regarding the zero-percent consumption tax on food products, we believe the likelihood of implementation has increased. However, because the LDP’s platform uses the phrase “accelerate discussions” rather than “implement a reduction,” and because Prime Minister Takaichi has avoided mentioning the consumption tax during campaign speeches, some participants in the JGB market appear to believe that zero-rating food items may ultimately not be implemented.

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🗞Weekly Digest by PBC - Keeping you in the loop on what matters. 🇬🇪 Local: Georgia's agri-food exports hit $722.5M — wine and nuts leading As of May 2026, Georgia has exported $722.5M worth of agri-food products — driven by wine, hazelnuts, and mineral water. The figure puts Georgia on track for a record annual export year. Borjomi's parent holding reported $704M in revenue in 2025. Domestic food brands are quietly becoming one of Georgia's strongest export stories. 🔗 Source: https://georgiatoday.ge/ 💳 Bybit brought regulators and Mastercard to Tbilisi — and launched a crypto card with Apple Pay In March 2026, Bybit hosted a high-level payments forum in Tbilisi with Bybit CEO Ben Zhou, Mastercard’s VP for Georgia & Armenia, Tether's VP of Global Expansion, and the Governor of the National Bank of Georgia. Topic: the future of crypto payments in real life. The same event marked the Georgian launch of Bybit Card — compatible with Apple Pay, usable at everyday merchants. 🔗 Source: https://lnkd.in/dG95WFYa 🌍 Georgia — the fintech corridor between Europe and Asia The Fintech Times called Georgia a "regional connector": the country is building its fintech ecosystem not for a domestic market of 3.7M, but to become a hub between Europe and Central Asia. Three digital banks licensed since 2023, 24 VASPs registered with the NBG, open banking live since 2022. 🔗 Source: https://lnkd.in/drCymdqf 💰 Business: US investment in Georgia up 121% — IT sector tripled US foreign direct investment in Georgia hit $158M in 2025 — up 121.7% year-on-year, making the US the fourth-largest investor in the country. Breakdown: real estate $80.7M, IT $60M (3x growth). Total FDI into Georgia reached $1.7B for the year. 🔗 Source: https://lnkd.in/drKEfUY5 June 25, we invite you to Futurum Payments — an event dedicated to traditional banking, payments, and crypto.  200+ attendees | 20+ partners | Media reach 500,000 people 📍 Tbilisi, Georgia | June 25, 2026 🔗 Registration and ticket purchase: https://lnkd.in/dTb7qeuH 🔗 Website: https://lnkd.in/dRx92GV4

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🚨 If your M&A advisor is just blasting your deck to a dusty email list…you’re already losing. Most “advisors” still think selling a company means sending a 100-page PPM to a few thousand “buyers” they haven’t spoken to in years. ❌ That’s not strategy. That’s spam. And just because someone spent a few years in PE doesn’t mean they know how to actually sell your business. If they don’t have live data—new buyer signals every single week, straight from the buyer’s mouth (or their inbox)—then whatever they “know” about a firm is probably wrong. Or at best, outdated. The truth: AI and software have completely changed the M&A game. 👉 98% of “M&A advisors” and “business brokers” have no idea how to play it. 👉 The 2% who do can create massive value—faster, and at the right price. It shouldn’t take 6+ months or cost you an absurd retainer for someone to hit ‘send’ on an email blast. 😅

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The truth about wine & spirits sales no one wants to talk about? Churn. We celebrate new placements. We tally up “Accounts Sold” and “PODs.” We pat ourselves on the back after a blitz day. But what no one seems willing to acknowledge is how fleeting most of that distribution really is. I recently analyzed a client’s footprint in a major state: 80% of their PODs were one-time purchases of just 3–6 bottles. That’s not distribution. That’s a mirage. Here’s the harsh reality: in today’s overcrowded market—where there are far more brands fighting for the same space than there were 5 years ago—temporary placements are the norm, not the exception. Yet many teams still cling to tactics like blitzes and incentives, pretending it’s still 1995 when those things worked. They’re ignoring the current reality: without quality distribution that sticks, you’re not building anything. Five years ago, I made a video warning about this very problem. If it was true then, it’s even more urgent now. 👉 Watch the full video here: https://lnkd.in/gEyJnABj

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Day 3 at Natural Products Expo West. What stands out the most this year is the acceleration of functional nutrition — from next-generation delivery formats to clinically backed ingredients. Over the last two days I’ve had some incredibly insightful conversations with:• formulators• CDMOs• ingredient innovators• functional beverage manufacturers• protein bar specialists As we continue building EONS Nutra, the focus remains clear:✔ science-backed ingredients✔ patented compounds✔ superior delivery formats✔ world-class manufacturing standards If you're a formulator, consultant, ingredient innovator, or contract manufacturer pushing the boundaries of nutraceuticals, I would love to connect before the show wraps up. The future of nutraceuticals is being shaped here. Let’s build it right. #ExpoWest #NaturalProductsExpoWest #Nutraceuticals #FunctionalNutrition #SportsNutrition #DietarySupplements #ProteinBars #RTD #Innovation #EonsNutra

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