Cafédirect is a UK-based

alternative trading organization An alternative trading organization (ATO) is usually a non-governmental organization (NGO) or mission-driven business aligned with the Fair trade movement, aiming "to contribute to the alleviation of poverty in developing regions of the world by e ...

History

Cafédirect was founded in 1991 by

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Traidcraft Traidcraft is a UK-based Fairtrade organisation, established in 1979. The organisation has two components: a public limited company called Traidcraft plc, which sells fairly traded products in the United Kingdom; and a development charity c ...

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and Twin Trading as a response to the 1989 global collapse in coffee prices. Its aims was to "give coffee bean, cocoa and tea growers a larger slice of the purchase price for the products". Cafédirect secured its first commercial contract for Co-op and Safeway's Scottish stores in 1992. Very early on, the brand was endorsed by Secretary of State for International Development

Clare Short Clare Short (born 15 February 1946) is a British politician who served as Minister of State for Development, Secretary of State for International Development under Prime Minister Tony Blair from 1997 to 2003. Short was the Member of Parliament ...

. CaféDirect was the first coffee brand to carry the

Fairtrade certification A fair trade certification is a product certification within the market-based movement fair trade. The most widely used fair trade certification is FLO International's, the International Fairtrade Certification Mark, used in Europe, Africa, A ...

mark. The company reinvests about 60pc of its profits into grower training and development programmes. In February 2004, the company released more share floats on the stock market in a move to raise $9.1 million. In 2007, the company's market share for hot drinks equated to 34%, 32%, and 14% respectively of the UK's Fairtrade coffee, tea, and drinking chocolate markets. In the overall market, Cafédirect is the fifth largest coffee brand and seventh largest tea brand in the UK. In May 2014, Café Direct purchased Kopi, one of the largest coffee subscription services in the UK. In April 2019, Cafédirect partnered with

Waitrose Waitrose & Partners (formally Waitrose Limited) is a brand of British supermarkets, founded in 1904 as Waite, Rose & Taylor, later shortened to Waitrose. It was acquired in 1937 by employee-owned retailer John Lewis Partnership, which still se ...

to launch a small batch of premium coffee products.

Producer support programmes

Cafédirect has established the Gold Standard, a guarantee to pay above the world market price for coffee, and to support the development of producers. Between 2004 and 2009, Cafédirect paid more than £7.5 million above the market price to growers (including Fairtrade premiums), invested over £3 million in tailor-made programmes to strengthen growers’ businesses, which represents more than 50% of the company's profits and in total, paid more than £10.5 million towards the businesses and communities of their grower partners. In addition to paying a fair price to growers in

developing countries A developing country is a sovereign state with a lesser developed industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to other countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. There is also no clear agreem ...

, the company donates a percentage of its profits to producers for activities such as

market Market is a term used to describe concepts such as: * Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand * Market economy *Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market Geography *Märket, a ...

information and

management Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

training. Its Producer Partnership Programme (PPP) "was set up in 1996 and goes above and beyond Fairtrade criteria". In 2007, the company invested £600,000 in PPP and these investments attracted, without additional cost to the company, matched funds of £700,000, meaning growers benefited from a total investment of £1.3 million.

Awards

*2008–2011: 15 Gold Great Taste Awards from the Guild of Fine Food. *2011: Social Impact award at the 2011 Guardian Sustainable Business Awards for its Producer Partnership Programme (PPP). *2013: 'Best Ethical Brand' in the '' Good Housekeeping'' Food Awards and its Decaf Roast & Ground coffee won a Great Taste Award. Its Foodservice Decaf Espresso blend won a '3 Star' award.http://greattasteawards.co.uk/awards-publication/?product_producer_name=&category=400&rating=0

References

External links

*
The Fair Trade Story
Case Study on Cafédirect's development
The Rise and Stall of a Fair Trade Pioneer: The Cafédirect Story
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cafedirect Alternative trading organizations Tea brands in the United Kingdom Coffee brands Food and drink companies established in 1991 British companies established in 1991 Fair trade brands 1991 establishments in England Coffee companies of the United Kingdom

History

Producer support programmes

Awards

See also

References

External links