Houston, USA, March 26, 2025 – The Alliance for Coffee Excellence (ACE) and Cup of Excellence (COE) are pleased to announce they have partnered with V-Auction, part of the Vollers Group, as their official auction platform. This partnership enhances transparency, efficiency, security and accessibility, benefiting both producers and buyers. Starting with the Nicaragua competition winners on June 19, 2025, all auctions for award winning CoE coffees and any other ACE sponsored auctions will be hosted on V-Auction’s platform.
Enhancing Coffee Auctions with V-Auction
For over two decades, the world-renowned Cup of Excellence has led the way in discovering extraordinary coffees in multiple producing countries. The auctions for these unique coffees have set the global standard for transparency, innovation, marketplace access and reward to farmers. Since its first auction in 1999, COE has continuously evolved to connect the world’s best coffees with passionate buyers. The V-auction platform leverages its advanced technology and industry expertise to enhance the overall auction experience, which is critical to the success of both ACE and COE.
Powered by V-Auction’s proven technology, the platform enhances exposure for coffee producers while providing bidders with an optimized, seamless experience. A live demo at the SCA Expo in Houston in April will introduce stakeholders to the platform, and ACE & V-Auction will provide online training in English and Spanish to ensure a smooth adoption.
By combining innovation with tradition, COE and V-Auction are shaping the future of specialty coffee auctions—ensuring a reliable, technology-driven platform while preserving the integrity and prestige that define the Cup of Excellence.
Erwin Mierisch, Executive Director at ACE, emphasized the impact of this collaboration: “As we enter the next 25 years for Cup of Excellence, we are excited to form a partnership with an organization that is technologically advanced and that also supports our vision for the future. Cup of Excellence is a unique competition with far reaching benefits in producing countries. This collaboration ensures a seamless, exceptional auction experience and in addition supports the exploration and execution of additional programs that can enhance long term gains for both farmers and buyers.”
Christian Vollers, General Manager at V-Auction, highlighted the shared vision: "We are proud to support ACE & COE in their mission to connect top-quality coffee farmers with decerning coffee buyers’ worldwide. This partnership is an investment in the future of specialty coffee auctions and sales, combining ACE & COE’s dedication to quality with V-Auction's and the Vollers Group’s experience in coffee logistics and digital transformation."
Why This Partnership Matters
This partnership reinforces a shared commitment to innovation and accessibility in specialty coffee auctions. It increases producers’ visibility, enhances buyers’ experience, and strengthens ACE & COE’s auction platform for long-term value creation. By partnering with the globally recognized Cup of Excellence program the Vollers Group enhances the visibility of V-Auction and ACE & COE gain access to the Vollers Group’s 90+ years of expertise in coffee logistics and digital solutions. This collaboration marks an exciting new chapter for coffee producers and buyers worldwide. Now is the perfect time to join ACE & COE and experience the future of specialty coffee auctions firsthand!
For more information contact: support@cupofexcellence.org & anna-lena.bahr@vollers.com
ABOUT ALLIANCE FOR COFFEE EXCELLENCE
The Alliance for Coffee Excellence is a non-profit global membership organization dedicated to advancing excellence in coffee through the marketplace. With members and supporters from over 50 countries it is unmatched in its efforts to bring roaster access to top quality winning coffees though its auctions and to ensure farmers receive these premiums. Its largest impact has been a unique design that builds a bridge between high quality buyers and high quality farmers resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for farmers and greater financial success for roasters whose customers demand the best.
ABOUT CUP OF EXCELLENCE®
The Cup of Excellence is a 501c3 non- profit organization that owns and manages an annual multi- level competition in coffee producing countries. Since 1999 it has discovered remarkable coffees, unknown micro regions and brought international fame to individual farmers. It has advanced hand-crafted single farm specialty coffees and assured transparency back to the farmers. Its educational programs, focusing on the sensory aspects of top-quality coffees, have been taught world-wide. Over its 25-year history it has held competitions in 16 coffee producing nations.
V-Auction & Vollers Group
V-Auction is a digital auction platform specializing in coffee auctions. V-Auction combines deep industry expertise with cutting-edge digital solutions. V-Auction is part of the Vollers Group, a company with over 90 years of history, founded in Bremen, Germany. The group relies on highly experienced logistics specialists and focuses on coffee, cocoa, tea, and other valuable commodities across Europe. It provides tailor-made and digitally powered logistics solutions for transport, warehousing, and value-added services.
