IRVINE, Calif. — All eyes are on next week’s Specialty Coffee Expo, which will take place at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston April 25-27. After 30 years, this will be the last show with that name before the debut of World of Coffee San Diego on April 10-12, 2026.
The transition of the Specialty Coffee Association’s (SCA) flagship North American event to the World of Coffee brand is “a natural next step in elevating North America’s role within the global coffee industry,” according to the SCA. The Specialty Coffee Expo has a 30-year legacy of international expansion, and its growth in total attendance recently led to it being recognized as one of Trade Show Executive’s Fastest 50 shows of 2024.
The newly rebranded show will join the World of Coffee series — which hosts events in Central America, the Middle East, Europe and Asia — and, since its inception in Europe in 2010, has set new records as the largest and most influential coffee trade show. The World of Coffee shows bring together thousands of professionals from across the specialty coffee supply and value chain.
Related. TSE Reveals More 2025 Fastest 50 Education Summit Speakers
The final Specialty Coffee Expo, happening next week in Houston, is already sold out, with 649 exhibitors expected to attend, along with more than 17,000 attendees from 85 countries. Educational programming will cover the latest in sustainability, business innovation, scientific advancements and specialty coffee trends.
SCA CEO Yannis Apostolopoulos has taken a number of important steps in his role, including changing the association’s membership model, which increased both reach and engagement, and has worked to grow awareness of specialty coffee in the consumer market. A 2016 merger of the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) and the Specialty Coffee Association of Europe (SCAE) helped to grow the association’s global reach.
Apostolopoulos has discussed plans to develop more education programs designed for coffee lovers, as he told U3 Coffee in a recent interview. “We’re going to be bringing training to the consumer, because the more informed the consumer and the more trained they are, that will give us the opportunity to create more value from the consumer side, which is key for our industry,” he said.
Want more content like this? Subscribe to Trade Show Executive’s weekly newsletter for the hottest news, case studies and thought leadership in the industry.
