‘Passively ethical’ shoppers mean that the future for fairly traded products is positively exciting
Interest in the ‘how’ as well as the ‘where’ of coffee production is growing apace, mirroring overall consumer concerns about fair trade, environmental impact and provenance.
“We feel we’re on the crest of a wave,” says Siobhán Molloy, general sales manager at Cafédirect, which pioneered ethically traded coffee in the UK and now claims brand leadership in Fairtrade coffee, tea and drinking chocolate. “This trend is only beginning. Anyone that is not aware of it is ignoring the obvious.”
Cafédirect was founded by four charities 14 years ago, even before the Fairtrade Foundation set up stall in the UK, and has long had a strong
following among what Molloy terms the “actively ethical”.
But the brand, which is the UK Fairtrade Foundation’s biggest licensee, increasingly positions itself as mainstream, seeing this as the best way to maximise returns for its producer-partners. Its key targets in retail are the ‘passively ethical’ - shoppers who wouldn’t necessarily go out of their
way to buy ethically but will do so if it’s relatively painless. “They want to do their best, but we have to make it easy for them,” says Molloy. “They won’t compromise taste over ethics - and we can’t be too far away on price either.”
Cafédirect aims to be no more than 15% dearer than the top-priced premium mainstream coffee, and offers the same returns to retailers as other brands. It cannot, Malloy admits, afford deep discounting or bogofs, but this hasn’t stifled growth. Last year its roast and ground sales grew 10% in value compared with 7% for the total roast and ground market [TNS 52 w/e June 19, 2005]; instant was up 13% in a total market that rose only 4%, and Teadirect brand sales rose 10% in a market that shrank by 5%.
The ethical market is not just about the strictly defined fair trade concept. Several producers, niche and mainstream, have aligned themselves with the Rainforest Alliance, which promotes sustainable production and certifies a range of worker-protection measures but, unlike
Fairtrade, doesn’t set minimum returns for producers. Ipanema Espresso, for example which is distributed by Kawa Bean,has launched new 125g and 250g packaging for its whole roasted beans, cafetière grind and espresso grind formats.
Kawa Bean joint MD Aatin Anadkat says it’s “fantastic” to see more ethical brands hitting the UK. “You feel better if you know you’re drinking or eating a product produced by ethical means,” he says.
Not everyone shares this enthusiasm for ethical trademarks. “Consumers want to believe they are helping workers in the field,” says Chris Tarling, general manager at Boaters, the independent store and mail order supplier of tea and coffee. “But our perception is that Fairtrade is a brand just like Nescafé. It enables suppliers to obtain a higher margin on the back of consumers’ need to be seen to helping.”
It’s an appraisal that is unlikely to bother Cafédirect’s Molloy. “We’re not a charity,” she says. “We’re the sales and marketing arm for the producers and we’re 100% commercial.”
Morrisons’ trading manager Steve Micklethwaite says that while Fairtrade-only lines tend to fare better than organic-only lines, there is more scope for the two to work together. “There’s an opportunity for manufacturers to combine the two, to tap into the close alignment of the customer profile and bring clarity to the fixture. We’ve done this with our own-label Fairtrade organic tea and coffee.”
Interest in the ‘how’ as well as the ‘where’ of coffee production is growing apace, mirroring overall consumer concerns about fair trade, environmental impact and provenance.
“We feel we’re on the crest of a wave,” says Siobhán Molloy, general sales manager at Cafédirect, which pioneered ethically traded coffee in the UK and now claims brand leadership in Fairtrade coffee, tea and drinking chocolate. “This trend is only beginning. Anyone that is not aware of it is ignoring the obvious.”
Cafédirect was founded by four charities 14 years ago, even before the Fairtrade Foundation set up stall in the UK, and has long had a strong
following among what Molloy terms the “actively ethical”.
But the brand, which is the UK Fairtrade Foundation’s biggest licensee, increasingly positions itself as mainstream, seeing this as the best way to maximise returns for its producer-partners. Its key targets in retail are the ‘passively ethical’ - shoppers who wouldn’t necessarily go out of their
way to buy ethically but will do so if it’s relatively painless. “They want to do their best, but we have to make it easy for them,” says Molloy. “They won’t compromise taste over ethics - and we can’t be too far away on price either.”
Cafédirect aims to be no more than 15% dearer than the top-priced premium mainstream coffee, and offers the same returns to retailers as other brands. It cannot, Malloy admits, afford deep discounting or bogofs, but this hasn’t stifled growth. Last year its roast and ground sales grew 10% in value compared with 7% for the total roast and ground market [TNS 52 w/e June 19, 2005]; instant was up 13% in a total market that rose only 4%, and Teadirect brand sales rose 10% in a market that shrank by 5%.
The ethical market is not just about the strictly defined fair trade concept. Several producers, niche and mainstream, have aligned themselves with the Rainforest Alliance, which promotes sustainable production and certifies a range of worker-protection measures but, unlike
Fairtrade, doesn’t set minimum returns for producers. Ipanema Espresso, for example which is distributed by Kawa Bean,has launched new 125g and 250g packaging for its whole roasted beans, cafetière grind and espresso grind formats.
Kawa Bean joint MD Aatin Anadkat says it’s “fantastic” to see more ethical brands hitting the UK. “You feel better if you know you’re drinking or eating a product produced by ethical means,” he says.
Not everyone shares this enthusiasm for ethical trademarks. “Consumers want to believe they are helping workers in the field,” says Chris Tarling, general manager at Boaters, the independent store and mail order supplier of tea and coffee. “But our perception is that Fairtrade is a brand just like Nescafé. It enables suppliers to obtain a higher margin on the back of consumers’ need to be seen to helping.”
It’s an appraisal that is unlikely to bother Cafédirect’s Molloy. “We’re not a charity,” she says. “We’re the sales and marketing arm for the producers and we’re 100% commercial.”
Morrisons’ trading manager Steve Micklethwaite says that while Fairtrade-only lines tend to fare better than organic-only lines, there is more scope for the two to work together. “There’s an opportunity for manufacturers to combine the two, to tap into the close alignment of the customer profile and bring clarity to the fixture. We’ve done this with our own-label Fairtrade organic tea and coffee.”
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