Cafédirect facts for kids

Cafédirect is a company based in the United Kingdom. It is known for selling coffee, tea, and hot chocolate. What makes Cafédirect special is that it is a Fairtrade company. This means they work to make sure farmers get a fair price for their products. They also help farmers and their communities.

How Cafédirect Started

Cafédirect began in 1991. It was started by four groups: Oxfam, Traidcraft, Equal Exchange Trading, and Twin Trading. They created Cafédirect because coffee prices around the world had dropped a lot in 1989. Their main goal was to give coffee, cocoa, and tea farmers a bigger share of the money paid for their products.

In 1992, Cafédirect got its first big deal with Co-op and Safeway stores in Scotland. Early on, a government official named Clare Short supported the brand.

Cafédirect was the first coffee brand to get the Fairtrade certification mark. This mark shows that a product meets fair trade standards. The company puts about 60% of its profits back into helping farmers. This money helps with training and development programs.

In 2004, the company sold more shares to the public. This helped them raise about $9.1 million to grow their business.

By 2007, Cafédirect was very popular in the UK. It had a big share of the Fairtrade market for hot drinks. It was the fifth largest coffee brand and seventh largest tea brand overall in the UK.

In 2014, Cafédirect bought Kopi, a large coffee subscription service. In 2019, they worked with Waitrose to sell special premium coffee products.

Helping Farmers and Communities

Cafédirect has a special promise called the Gold Standard. This means they always pay more than the world market price for coffee. They also support farmers as they grow their businesses.

Between 2004 and 2009, Cafédirect paid farmers over £7.5 million more than the market price. This included special Fairtrade payments. They also invested over £3 million directly into programs to make farmers' businesses stronger. This was more than half of the company's profits. In total, they put over £10.5 million towards their farmer partners' businesses and communities.

Besides paying a fair price, Cafédirect gives a part of its profits to farmers. This money helps with things like learning about the market and business management training. Their Producer Partnership Programme (PPP) started in 1996. This program goes even further than the usual Fairtrade rules.

In 2007, the company invested £600,000 in the PPP. Other groups also added £700,000 to this program. This meant farmers received a total of £1.3 million in support.

Awards and Recognition

Cafédirect has won many awards for its products and its work:

• From 2008 to 2011, they won 15 Gold Great Taste Awards from the Guild of Fine Food.
• In 2011, they received the Social Impact award at the Guardian Sustainable Business Awards. This was for their Producer Partnership Programme (PPP).
• In 2013, Good Housekeeping magazine named them the 'Best Ethical Brand' in their Food Awards.
• Their Decaf Roast & Ground coffee also won a Great Taste Award in 2013.
• Their Foodservice Decaf Espresso blend earned a '3 Star' award.

See also

• Equal Exchange
• Lorna Young