When coffee crosses borders: the export challenge for multi-country roasters

Italian coffee’s aroma knows no borders – but bringing it, both physically and digitally, into cups around the world takes far more than a great blend.

When a roastery expands abroad, there isn’t a single counterpart to work with. You have local distributors, commercial partners, HoReCa customers, marketplaces and digital channels—each with different information needs and operational requirements.

When information isn’t structured and shared consistently, exports slow down. And with them, growth opportunities.

That’s where a different approach comes in: a B2B customer portal and a Product Information Management solution designed to be integrated from the start – built to work together and support the real-world complexity of international markets.

One “brain” for product data: .one PIM

In coffee roasting companies, product information is often scattered across Excel sheets for price lists and ranges, marketing files for descriptions and images, the ERP for SKUs and pricing, and shared folders for certifications and technical sheets.

When you operate across multiple markets, this approach quickly becomes a bottleneck.

At the core of this model is .one PIM– the system that centralises all product information into a single source of truth, enabling you to:

• Build different product hierarchies by channel and market:
  a distributor in Germany, an importer in the United States, and an international marketplace don’t share the same requirements. With .one PIM, you can create dedicated catalogues without duplicating data.
• Prepare data for marketplaces and digital channels:
  information is structured so it can be published instantly to digital catalogues, B2B portals, and international marketplaces.
• Manage languages and content with full control:
  descriptions, attributes, certifications, and blend storytelling remain consistent, up to date, and aligned across every language.

Borderless collaboration: .one B2B Portal

Selling abroad isn’t just about orders – it’s about maintaining an ongoing relationship with distributors and local partners.

A basic ordering portal isn’t enough. You need a tool that enables collaboration, keeps information aligned, and reduces operational friction between those who produce and those who sell in-market.

That’s why, at Aton, the B2B customer portal is never standalone – it’s designed as part of a broader ecosystem.

 .one B2B Portal isn’t a simple e-commerce site, but a true collaboration hub:

• Self-service for distributors and international customers:
  always up-to-date digital catalogues, technical sheets, certifications, marketing assets and documents available on demand—across time zones and without endless email threads.
• Native integration with the PIM:
  .one B2B Portal and .one PIM are built to work together. Update a description, image or technical detail in the PIM, and the change is instantly reflected in the B2B portal—anywhere in the world.
• Greater operational efficiency:
  fewer manual requests, fewer “latest price list” emails, and more time to grow the market and strengthen relationships.

The Aton advantage: truly understanding the coffee world

Da oltre 38 anni affianchiamo storiche torrefazioni italiane nella digitalizzazione dei processi di vendita e distribuzione, dalla tentata vendita alla gestione della forza vendita internazionale. 

Companies such as Segafredo, Caffè Vergnano and Hausbrandt chose Aton for one clear reason: technology only works when it’s built around the real-world processes of the coffee industry.

Tangible outcomes for roasters

Adopting .one B2B Portal and .one PIM means: 

• reliable, value-rich product data
• easier collaboration with international partners
• fewer errors and shorter operational lead times
• faster publishing across digital channels
• exports that are more scalable and easier to govern

Because in today’s coffee world, the difference isn’t only in the blend—it’s in how effectively you bring it to the right market, in the right way, at the right time.