Connected Across Borders: How KWS Strengthens Global Exchange with Mystery Coffee

“​At KWS, we wanted to create a simple way for colleagues around the world to connect across teams, functions, and countries. Mystery Coffee opens the door to informal conversations, fresh perspectives, and valuable connections across locations and teams.”

Gina Wied, Head of Corporate Communications, KWS

Challenge: Building personal connections in a global organization

With around 5,000 employees in more than 70 countries, KWS is a truly international organization.

But in large and fast-growing companies, day-to-day relationships often develop primarily within existing teams and networks. As a result, connections beyond a person’s own team or location do not always happen naturally.

KWS therefore sought an easy way to encourage informal interactions across organizational and geographic boundaries.

The goal was to create a low-threshold opportunity for employees to connect with colleagues they likely would not have met in the course of their everyday work.

The Solution: Global networking with Mystery Coffee

KWS has been using Mystery Coffee since January 2024.

The concept is intentionally simple: Employees opt into the program and are regularly matched with a colleague for an informal one-on-one conversation.

The focus is on creating informal exchanges and new personal connections across the global KWS organization.

KWS deliberately keeps the matching criteria simple. Factors such as a shared language and each participant’s preferred matching frequency are taken into account. Employees can choose whether they would like to participate in a Mystery Coffee every two, four, six, or eight weeks.

The participants’ motivation also shows just how important networking is: Around 400 of the 448 active participants cite networking as one of their main reasons for taking part. Many are also interested in learning more about other departments, roles, and areas of responsibility within KWS.

English is a common language across the program: 97% of participants have selected It as one of their matching languages. This gives Mystery Coffee a strong foundation for connecting colleagues across countries and locations.

The Impact: 8,500 matches and connections that otherwise might never have happened

Today, 448 employees actively participate in Mystery Coffee. Since the program launched in January 2024, it has already generated more than 8,500 matches.

Participants say that Mystery Coffee gives them insight into different departments, countries, and areas of the business while helping them meet colleagues they likely would never have encountered in their day-to-day work.

“KWS has around 5,000 employees worldwide, and even though I’m well connected by now, I still don’t know most of my colleagues personally. Through Mystery Coffee, I regularly meet people I probably never would have gotten to know through my work at KWS.

During one of my Mystery Coffees, my match and I happened to discover that we both enjoy bouldering. So when I traveled to Einbeck for work the next time, we met up to go bouldering together in the evening. Without that Mystery Coffee, I probably never would have found out that we shared the same hobby.”

Sang-Kyun Park, Expert Employer Branding and Talent Attraction, KWS

The program has also received consistently positive feedback internally. Employees especially appreciate the opportunity to gain insight into other departments and countries and to experience KWS’s international culture from a different perspective.

The primary value lies in cultural exchange and the personal connections that emerge from it. Generating specific business opportunities or projects is not the main objective.

Mystery Coffee has also created new opportunities for internal communications. Through the program, Gina Wied regularly discovers new stories and potential interview partners for employee communications.

In this way, Mystery Coffee helps create connections and insights at KWS that might otherwise never have emerged through everyday work.

About KWS

KWS is one of the world’s leading plant breeding companies. Founded in 1856 and headquartered in Einbeck, Germany, KWS today employs more than 5,000 people and operates in more than 70 countries.

The company focuses on plant breeding as well as the production and distribution of seed for crops including sugar beet, corn, cereals, vegetables, rapeseed, and sunflower. Through research and innovative breeding methods, KWS develops high-performing varieties designed to support sustainable and productive agriculture.

Learn more about KWS.