Uganda Launches First National Coffee Brand As Africa’s Coffee Powerhouse Steps Onto The World Stage

Officials from Uganda at the launch of the country’s  first national coffee brand, Uganda Coffee: It’s in Our Nature, at World of Coffee Brussels

Uganda has today launched its first national coffee brand, Uganda Coffee: It’s in Our Nature, at World of Coffee Brussels, marking Uganda as no longer being presented only as one of the world’s major coffee suppliers but as a premium origin country with its own brand, story and commercial proposition.

The launch signals Uganda’s ambition to ensure that a country which is already Africa’s leading coffee exporter by volume is recognised by international buyers, roasters and consumers for origin, quality and a coffee culture rooted in nature and trust.

The brand is intended to become a long-term trade promotion platform for Uganda Coffee across buyer engagement, events, digital campaigns, packaging and future market activation.

Uganda is the birthplace of Robusta and an increasingly important source of Fine Robusta and high-quality Arabica. In the 12 months to April 2026, Uganda exported 8.78 million 60kg bags of coffee worth US$2.38 billion, up 22 per cent in volume and 23 per cent in value on the previous 12 months. In April 2026 alone, exports reached 591,687 60kg bags worth US$155.54 million.

Desire Muhooza, Minister of State for Agriculture, said: “Uganda’s coffee sector is charting a bold path forward – anchored in stronger quality systems, full compliance with the EU Deforestation Regulation, and expanded entry into Europe’s markets. In line with President Museveni’s vision of coffee as a strategic national asset, Uganda is determined to transform its beans into a global brand of trust, sustainability, and economic strength.”

The centre of the new identity is the promise: ‘It’s in Our Nature’. Literally, it points to Uganda’s soils, altitude, water, climate and biodiversity. Figuratively, it makes excellent coffee an expression of Uganda’s national character: welcoming, hardworking and dependable. It captures how coffee is not merely produced in Uganda but reflects the country’s unique characteristics.

The story told is bigger than just of production as Uganda Coffee is a national asset rooted in landscapes, biodiversity and community life. The new brand is drawn from traditions in Uganda in which coffee beans have symbolised trust, reconciliation and enduring friendship, including the historic local rituals where beans helped seal bonds between families and communities. This heritage gives explains how coffee is not just a crop that happens to be produced in Uganda but is rooted in the country’s landscapes, communities and identity.

The visual identity has been created to make Uganda instantly recognisable in a crowded global coffee market. It combines a bold Uganda Coffee word mark, an emblem and the tagline It’s in Our Nature. Coffee beans are incorporated directly into the word mark, while the Crested Crane is Uganda’s national bird and has long represented peace, gentleness and the natural beauty of the country. It gives the new brand a national quality and a sense of motion, pride and place.

The wider visual system draws from Uganda’s national colours and from the sensory world of coffee. The primary palette is led by black, sunshine yellow, bright red and neutral beige, giving the brand an immediate link to Uganda’s flag. A secondary palette of forest green, green teal, caramel and espresso brings in the landscape, the crop and the cup.

Uganda’s role as Portrait Country at World of Coffee Brussels gives the country a prominent platform at the event in a city that is also home to the European Union, a long-standing partner of Uganda’s coffee sector. In April 2026, Europe accounted for 52 per cent of Uganda’s coffee exports by continent, with Italy and Germany among the leading destinations.

The brand launch included a drum-led Ugandan procession through the exhibition space, traditional music and dance, a brand launch video, hospitality, giveaways and daily cupping sessions. It has been supported through MARKUP II, the EU-funded Market Access Improvement Programme implemented by the International Trade Centre.

Mirjam Blaak Sow, Uganda’s Ambassador to Belgium, said: “The World of Coffee in Brussels offers a unique platform for Uganda to present its coffee story directly to the European market the world’s largest coffee-consuming region. Through this campaign, we aim to strengthen trade relations, attract investment, and elevate Uganda’s brand as a producer of world-class coffee.”