Cafédirect
| File:Cafedirect.gif | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Beverage |
| Founded | 1991 |
| Headquarters | London, United Kingdom |
Key people | Penny Newman, CEO Krishna Gopala, Chairman |
| Products | Coffee, Tea, Cocoa |
| Revenue |  19.754 million GBP (2005) |
| Website | www.cafedirect.co.uk |
Cafédirect is a British alternative trading organization and currently the largest Fairtrade hot drinks company. Its brands include Cafédirect, Teadirect and Cocodirect. Cafédirect works with over 250,000 coffee, tea, and cocoa growers in 35 registered Fairtrade grower organisations across 11 countries.
Cafédirect was founded in 1991 by Oxfam, Traidcraft, Equal Exchange and Twin Trading as a response to a global collapse in coffee prices. Cafédirect revolutionized the Fairtrade world by launching the movement's very first mainstream coffee brand. It was also the first Fairtrade coffee brand to carry the Fairtrade Mark in the UK and the first Fairtrade product to be sold in supermarkets such as Co-Op UK and Safeway.
Cafédirect established the Gold Standard, a guarantee to pay above the world market price for coffee, and to support the development of producers. In addition to paying a fair price to growers in developing countries, the company donates a percentage of its profits to producers for activities such as market information and management training. In 2005, Cafédirect invested 86% of its operating profit into such training and development programmes.
Cafédirect was in 2005 the UK´s sixth largest coffee brand, boasting over 41 Fairtrade products and an annual revenue of £19.75 million. Market shares in 2005 rose to 8% for Cafédirect Roast & Ground, 4.4% for Cafédirect 5065 and 1.2% for Teadirect.[1]
References
- ^ Cafedirect. (2005). Cafédirect 2005 Annual Report. URL accessed on August 2, 2006.
External links
- Cafédirect
- The Fair Trade Story Case Study on Cafédirect's development