EP1655 Part 5 of 5 | Why Coffee Technology Fails to Get Adopted (Matthew Thornton) | Map It Forward

Advertising SponsorThis episode is brought to you by Map It Forward Podcast Advertising. Interested in advertising on this podcast? Email [email protected] to learn more.Episode DescriptionThis is Part 5 of a five-part series with Matthew Thornton from Arkena Coffee Market on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward hosted by Lee Safar, exploring where technology is genuinely changing the coffee industry, and where it still isn't.Throughout this series, Lee Safar and Matthew Thornton have examined where technology is appearing across the coffee supply chain, why some innovations succeed, where important gaps remain, and how technology often looks very different from the perspective of producers.The series concludes with one final question: Why do so many coffee technology products fail to gain adoption?Building software has never been easier. Artificial intelligence has dramatically reduced the barriers to creating new digital products, and coffee is seeing more technology startups than ever before. But creating technology is only the beginning. Convincing people to trust it, change their behaviour, and continue using it is a far more difficult challenge.Lee and Matthew explore why adoption depends on much more than features. They discuss the importance of trust, relevance, convenience and incentives, and why many technology companies struggle because they build products before fully understanding the people they hope to serve.Matthew also shares practical advice from his own experience building Arkena Coffee Market, offering lessons for entrepreneurs, software developers and anyone creating products for the coffee industry. From identifying genuine customer needs to embracing minimum viable products and remaining flexible as markets evolve, the conversation becomes as much about building sustainable businesses as it is about building technology.The series closes with a reminder that technology alone cannot solve coffee's structural challenges. Lasting innovation begins by listening carefully, understanding incentives, and creating solutions that make life meaningfully better for the people using them.Connect with Matthew Thornton and Arkena Coffee Market here:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arkenacoffee/Website: https://arkenacoffee.com/If you found this episode valuable, make sure you’re subscribed to the podcast and follow along for the rest of this 5-part series. ***************************************About Map It Forward The Daily Coffee Pro is produced by Map It Forward, supporting coffee professionals globally across the supply chain.Website: https://mapitforward.coffeeMailing list: https://mapitforward.coffee/mailinglistPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforward‘The Coffee Report’: https://www.patreon.com/mapitforwardInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/mapitforward.coffee/Contact: [email protected]