Last week we brought you coverage of the ongoing efforts for the world’s largest coffee trade organizations to unify. Today a major win in that direction has been announced, as the Speciality Coffee Association of Europe issued a press release under the heading “SCAE members vote overwhelmingly in favour of unification.” Members of the Specialty Coffee Association of America will have their chance to vote on unification later this summer.
A total of 51% of SCAE members voted on the unification ballot, a number that far exceeds expectations for voter turnout. In Liz Clayton’s report on unification over on the main page, SCAE Deputy Directory Yiannis Apostolopoulos told us the predicted voter response rate for SCAE members was only around 5-10%. “Such a high percentage of SCAE members voting has been attributed to the significance of what was being proposed,” says the press release, which features the following quote from SCAE President Paul Stack of Marco Beverage Systems:
“We’re thrilled at the final number which demonstrates a clear intent of our members. The SCAE vote has given us the legal and moral mandate to effect this change and make unification happen. We would urge our friends and colleagues of the SCAA membership to turn out in equal number and to supersede the legal requirement so that together we have the moral and legal mandate to complete the unification process.”
Next up, the Specialty Coffee Association of America’s membership will have its turn at the ballot box, with voting expected to begin in early June.
This story is developing…
