Cafédirect is a UK-based alternative trading organisation.

History

Cafédirect was founded in 1991 by Oxfam, Traidcraft, Equal Exchange Trading 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". Very early on, the brand was endorsed by Secretary of State for International Development Clare Short.

CaféDirect was the first coffee brand to carry the Fairtrade certification mark. The company reinvests about 60pc of its profits into grower training and development programmes.

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, CaféDirect purchased Kopi, one of the largest coffee subscription services in the UK. In April 2019, Cafédirect partnered with Waitrose 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.

  • 2011: Social Impact award at the 2011 Guardian Sustainable Business Awards for its Producer Partnership Programme (PPP).

See also

  • Equal Exchange
  • Lorna Young

References

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  • The Fair Trade Story Case Study on Cafédirect's development
  • The Rise and Stall of a Fair Trade Pioneer: The Cafédirect Story