Progeny Coffee Farmers

Progeny Coffee is a Colombian specialty coffee company co-founded by Maria Palacio and John Trabelsi, built on an impact-driven model that directly supports struggling coffee farmers across Colombia. The company sources, roasts, and distributes high-quality specialty coffees while bypassing traditional cooperative and middleman structures that have historically underpaid farmers. By working directly with producers, Progeny compensates farmers at up to 250% above fair trade pricing, providing a stable, score-based pricing model that insulates growers from volatile global market fluctuations.

The company operates as a farmer-led organization, maintaining a team on the ground in Colombia year-round to provide free agricultural education, technical support, and guidance on improving farming methods and processes. Progeny's sourcing standards are rigorous: the platform currently accepts only coffees achieving a specialty score of 84 or above, categorized as Excellence Specialty Coffee, with plans to expand access to farmers who produce coffees scoring at the foundational specialty threshold of 80 and above. To date, the company has doubled the income of over 25 farmers through its model.

Progeny's distribution platform is designed to eliminate unnecessary intermediaries from the supply chain, enabling a more equitable and transparent flow of value from farm to consumer. Their approach contrasts sharply with the dominant cooperative model, which research conducted over four years of farmer interviews and field studies revealed to be inadequate in compensating growers for their actual output quality and labor.

On the consumer-facing side, Progeny curates a coffee collection that reflects the quality standards its farmer partners achieve, with each coffee selected, roasted, and packaged to honor the work invested at origin. The company uses compostable packaging as part of its operational philosophy. Progeny serves retail consumers and positions itself within the specialty coffee segment, targeting customers who prioritize traceability, quality, and ethical sourcing.

Looking ahead, Progeny has articulated ambitions to grow into the first international impact-driven coffee company, with community development initiatives including school facility construction, public agriculture education programs, and funding for new farming tools. The company currently operates primarily in the U.S. market with sourcing rooted entirely in Colombia.