Fairtrade wind of change

Twenty years ago, drinking coffee in support of the Nicaraguan solidarity movement was a distinctly tongue-curling experience. It may have felt good to help out, but the coffee, to be frank, tasted repulsive. You certainly wouldn't have served it to customers, and very few people, teeth gritted, were drinking it at home.

Such were the reminiscences from Labour MPs Clare Short (Birmingham Ladywood and former International Development Secretary) and Oona King (Labour MP for Bethnall Green and Bow) at an event last month to celebrate the first anniversary of the Abahuzamugambi Bakawa Co-operative in Rwanda selling Fairtrade-accredited coffee to Union Coffee Roasters.

However, that was then. Modern-day Fairtrade coffee, according to Harriet Lamb, executive director of the Fairtrade Foundation, is increasingly associated with good quality. "The fact that Fairtrade roast and ground has 18% of the UK roast and ground retail market, up from 14% in 2002, shows that consumers are savouring the taste," she says. Caf‚direct, the leading Fairtrade coffee brand, is now the sixth-largest brand in the UK.

With this level of interest it would be foolish for food service operators to ignore the option. But Fairtrade now stands at a crossroads. What began as a gesture of goodwill has now been transformed into a commercial enterprise, and the movement is having to deal with the trappings that come with it: consistency, quality, and, however unpalatable it might seem to the Fairtrade philosophy, the business issue of cost.

So can the £34m retail market be converted into food service? Well, in recent years the signs suggest "yes". While overall coffee consumption has remained level in the UK for some years now, the Fairtrade market share is growing. Caf‚direct's out-of-home sales rose by 60% in 2001-02, while total out-of-home Fairtrade coffee consumption rose by 22% in 2003 on the previous year.

Steven Macatonia, director and roastmaster at Union Coffee Roasters, spells out the challenge: "The first place to start must always be to win your customers over with a great cup of coffee. As they taste and enjoy, the ethics should shine through. If the quality isn't there, the switch won't justify it."

And Jane Botros, head of PR at Pret A Manger, which recently introduced Fairtrade coffee as its sole filter coffee, agrees: "We couldn't compromise on this. If it hadn't tasted good enough we wouldn't have switched."

And so it's not just university caterers, with a socially aware client base as their market, who are leading the charge. Quality-led operations like the Sanderson hotel, St Martin's Lane hotel and Ransome's Dock restaurant in London all serve Fairtrade coffee too, and it's hard to imagine they would be doing so if the product wasn't up to scratch.

But what about price? Traditionally, this has been another sticking point, but the Fairtrade Foundation and Caf‚direct stress that the difference, when worked out by cup, is only about 1p extra, while Union Coffee Roasters calculates that their Fairtrade espresso blends come in at only about 1/2p more expensive per cup than comparable non-accredited coffees. "Many of our catering customers choose to absorb this difference in order to sell the coffee at the same price as a non-Fairtrade brand," says Nicola O'Donnell, national accounts manager for Caf‚direct.

However, this difference in cost strikes at the very core of Fairtrade philosophy. "There's a depressing attitude in the trade which refuses even to look at a decrease in their profits," Macatonia says. "But compromises will have to be made somewhere along the line - if we wish to help those at the beginning of the chain, the fair price must be shared among us all."

And the gains to be made are obvious. Fairtrade produce on sale enhances the image and reputation of a company, creates the right impression of ethical standards and makes customers feel they're helping to improve the way trade is conducted around the world. "People go out of their way to tell us they like our priorities, the fact that we buy Fairtrade, local and organic," says Nick Lawler of the Winder Hall hotel at Lorton in the Lake District. "We always buy Cumbrian meat and locally produced vegetables. Fairtrade is way of supporting small producers' products and avoiding buying from multinationals. We don't advertise we do this, but people have made it clear they like it."

The coffee, therefore, can work in tandem with the ethos of your operation - and its style. With many Fairtrade coffees being grown from single-estate co-operatives, it's possible to talk about coffees in terms of taste and origin in the same way as wine. To help push up standards, shop around independent roasters as well as the better-known brands, and of course conduct rigorous tastings. And with so much variety and complexity on offer, you can tailor a coffee to suit your operation's style. Bold and strong for French-style restaurants, say, more spicy blends for Indian restaurants.

Direct sourcing with Fairtrade coffee also satisfies another major issue in modern catering: traceability. With various health scares related to food that have damaged confidence in produce over the past 15 years, Fairtrade coffee can take traceability a stage further, as Macatonia explains. "Ask your roaster whose coffee is in the blend they've produced, and then ask for the story behind these farms and their people. Let customers identify strongly with their purchase."

It remains to be seen whether Fairtrade can solve the world's coffee crisis of overproduction and plummeting prices. But many argue that the potential is there to at least drive sales in what has become a flat total coffee market. In Scandinavia, for instance, an average of 10kg of coffee is consumed per head every year, according to Union Coffee Roasters, and much of it is premium. In the UK, by comparison, consumption is only 2kg.

"Total coffee consumption won't grow while quality levels remain low and people continue to spend their weekly budget on a single shot of low-grade espresso in a caf‚ latte," says Macatonia, "because what most people drink at home is of a lower quality and remains dominated by instant."

By paying a premium price the Fairtrade lobby believe they can nurture top-end produce and stir a stagnant coffee market through renewed interest in coffee of quality and character.

Fairtrade: How it all started The movement was born out of a group of charities and development agencies (such as Oxfam, Traidcraft, and Christian Aid), which aimed to cut out the middlemen in the shape of dealers and commodities markets and buy direct from the growers.

In 1994 the Fairtrade Foundation was established - it celebrated its 10th anniversary during the recent Fairtrade Fortnight - and provided a certified accreditation procedure, the Fairtrade mark.

Through this accreditation, the marginal cost difference that may be passed on to the operator means the grower is receiving almost double what they might earn from international market prices.

The Fairtrade minimum paid to registered co-operatives for arabica beans, for instance, is 126 cents a pound, compared with an average 2003 price of 65 cents quoted on the New York CSE market. That's an export price; individual farmers who can sell only to local traders might get as little as 10 cents in Cameroon.

Promotion Pointers Apart from the story behind the coffee, operators can promote the Fairtrade brand through good point-of-sale material. The Fairtrade logo is eye-catching and has strong recognition among consumers. Another initiative has seen Caf‚direct launch coffee pods into the market.

The only real disadvantage that has bothered operators in the past is that of machine tie-ins and service deals. The major coffee companies often provide machines with the purchase of coffee, with free service arrangements thrown in.

In terms of vending, however, Fairtrade companies are already well serviced, with Caf‚direct and many other Fairtrade companies able to supply both large and small machines. As the market grows, many are also looking at service agreements with other models of coffee machines. Check with the suppliers.

The Fairtrade Foundation plans an autumn push for the food service sector, especially workplace promotions.

Bigging up the brands
With so much emphasis on origin and flavour, it's easy to dress up your Fairtrade coffee in the most sophisticated of language. Remember, it's all about the taste. The fact that you could be helping to improve the lives of a quarter of a million coffee farmers around the world should be a bonus. Here's what a couple of producers say about some of their products.

Union Coffee Roasters - Rwanda Maraba Bourbon "Gourmet quality beans, harvested from the rarer coffee tree variety, the arabica bourbon. Outstandingly sweet and zesty with sparkling citrus flavours and a rich full body that combine with deep chocolate notes for an intriguing finish."

Caf‚direct - Espresso Beans "Sixty per cent arabica and 40% robusta blend, intensely roasted to deliver a classic bittersweet espresso with tremendous body, a clean fruity edge and a smooth toffee-dense aroma."

Union Coffee Roasters - Natural Spirit Organic Blend "Created from Central and South American beans, this organic blend is full-bodied and yields a delicious, caramel-sweet and intense shot of espresso. Perfect for cappucino-style drinks, but can be prepared in filter or cafetiŠre for a sweet and smooth cup."

Contacts
Caf‚direct 020 7490 9520
Fairtrade Foundation 020 7405 5942
Union Coffee Roasters 020 7474 8990