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Coffee technology company Cropster has acquired Firescope, a South Korean developer of roasting software, strengthening its presence in the Asian speciality coffee market.

Firescope, which serves more than 3,000 small roasters across Korea, Japan and other parts of Asia, will become Cropster’s new regional sales and support hub. The company’s self-service roasting platform will be integrated into Cropster’s software suite over the next year and made available to customers globally.

Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Austria, Cropster develops software used by coffee producers, roasters and cafés in more than 100 countries. Firescope, based in South Korea, provides data tools that help small roasters improve consistency and efficiency in their operations.

Firescope will continue to operate as a standalone product before being fully integrated into Cropster’s platform. The companies said customers will see no disruption during the transition.

Andreas Idl, co-founder and CEO of Cropster, said “Our vision is to digitalise the entire coffee supply-chain from initial production, through the roasting and sales process, to high-quality distribution through cafés. Firescope is an important part of the puzzle but we intend to acquire several more companies to realise our ‘crop-to-cup’ vision.”

Jason Jin, co-founder and CEO of Firescope, commented: “Firescope’s success in South Korea and other Asian markets laid the foundation for our next phase. Joining Cropster provides us with the resources and reach necessary to bring our solutions to small roasters worldwide. We’re excited to join Cropster, whose deep industry expertise will help us improve how roasters access and utilise data to grow.”

Ralph Karg, director at Verdane, added: “With the acquisition of Firescope, Cropster can now connect passionate micro roasters to its ecosystem, helping them bring their speciality coffee products into the global supply chain to support growth. Asia plays a vital role in the expansion of specialty coffee, and with this agreement, Cropster is now positioned as the leading provider throughout the region."