Beyond the Jar: The Story of Mexico's New "Wellness Coffee"
September 23 - 2025
Coffee Geography Magazine
Kim Miller
In a significant expansion of its "Food for Well-Being" program, the Mexican government has launched a new "Wellness Coffee," sourced directly from the states of Oaxaca, Puebla, Veracruz, and Guerrero. This new product joins a growing inventory of "Wellness" foods, including honey, chocolate, and beans, designed to promote healthy consumption.
The decision to launch an instant coffee was strategic, targeting the preferences of the majority of Mexican consumers. María Luisa Albores González, head of the "Food for Well-Being" program, explained the rationale during a press conference attended by President Claudia Sheinbaum. "I would like to explain to you why we’re launching instant coffee: because 84 percent of Mexican families prefer instant coffee," Albores stated.
President Sheinbaum at her Wednesday morning press conference
The "Wellness Coffee" will be available in three distinct presentations: a 50-gram jar priced at 35 pesos (US $1.86), a 90-gram jar for 65 pesos (US $3.46), and a 205-gram jar for 110 pesos (US $5.86). Albores emphasized the product's purity, noting that while Mexican standards allow instant coffee to contain up to 30 percent non-coffee ingredients, this blend contains none. "It has no additives or colorings, no artificial flavors, and its only ingredient is coffee," she said, describing the blend as predominantly Arabica and parchment coffee, with a small proportion of Robusta.
This initiative required an investment of 59.4 million pesos (US $3 million) to purchase 913.56 tons of coffee. The beans are sourced primarily from over 6,600 small producers who are members of the government’s Sembrando Vida (Sowing Life) program, with 50 percent of these producers located in the Guerrero Mountains. Albores highlighted that the coffee is purchased at a fair price and that six out of every 10 producers are women. She also noted the cultural significance of the partnerships, stating, "It’s very meaningful for us to know that we’re working with Indigenous peoples, with Mixes, Mixtecs, Nahuas and Otomis." The coffee is harvested using agroforestry systems that benefit both the environment and the local economy.
Like other products in the program, "Wellness Coffee" will be sold nationwide through the Wellness Stores network. Distribution will occur in stages, with the product first arriving in central Mexico, including Mexico City, México state, Michoacán, Morelos, Puebla, and Tlaxcala, before rolling out to the rest of the country.