Towards the bright future of coffee: Paulig is launching new partnership programmes in countries of origin
Paulig has launched new partnership programmes in its coffee sourcing countries. In these programmes, Paulig and the local partner working in the coffee-producing country commit to the long-term development of coffee as a source of livelihood in the area as well as the entire community. Paulig's projects in the countries of origin are joined by partners such as International Coffee Partners, Coffee & Climate, Fairtrade and coffee export companies. In the future, Paulig's Presidentti coffee will only be procured through these partnership programmes.
Paulig has already reached nearly 100,000 coffee farmers through its partnership programmes. Paulig is a founding member of the International Coffee Partners initiative, established in 2001 and covering about 66,000 farmers. Now, the new Paulig partnership programmes launched in cooperation with export companies in Columbia and Nicaragua reach about 1,500 coffee farms. More Paulig partnership programmes are currently being established in Africa and South America. These projects will support tens of thousands of farmers.
"About 70 per cent of the world’s coffee is grown in small farms of under two hectares in size. Therefore, the key factor in the coffee chain is the coffee farmer, a local, small entrepreneur, trying their best to make a living and sustain a business while battling challenges caused by climate change. In order to make sure future generations also get to enjoy the pleasures of coffee, we want to support profitable and sustainable coffee farming," says Elisa Markula, Managing Director of Paulig’s Coffee Division.
Quality and great taste come only from co-operation
András Koroknay-Pál, Senior Sourcing Manager of Paulig coffees, has been involved in establishing the first Paulig partnership programmes, that will contribute to the vitality of the entire community and span several years. Paulig is committed to buying green coffee that meets the company's quality criteria from its own partnership programmes.
"In the cooperation, we start with the key factors, i.e. the profitability of the farm, the quality and taste of the coffee and the continuity of the operations. We discuss things related to accounting or learn to optimise the use of water and fertilizers. All the programmes are tailored in co-operation with the farming community to suit the local needs of the area in question," says Koroknay-Pál.
In addition to entrepreneurship, the aim is to create a framework for local coffee communities and to support the prerequisites of children's schooling and the availability of clean water and environmental protection.
"We are running a number of projects at the same time. In Tanzania, for instance, we have supported 25,000 local smallholder coffee farmers through International Coffee Partners and constructed policies related to entrepreneurship and cooperation that can then be duplicated throughout the country. In Nicaragua, we have worked with the export company Mercon, renovating the school in Nueva Segovia and providing means to obtain clean drinking water. In Columbia, we are cooperating with Volcafe and focusing on teaching the best farming procedures.
Coffee from sustainable sources
Paulig has worked systematically over the long term to ensure sustainability, and has made a sustainable coffee promise: By the end of 2018, all Paulig coffee will come from sources confirmed to be sustainable. Partnership programmes are part of the promise.
"Our promise is that, by the end of 2018, all our coffee will come from certified or otherwise verified sustainable sources. The partnership projects supporting farming communities are one step towards this goal," says Markula.
"Finns consume the largest quantities coffee in the world per person, which means that we have a wonderful opportunity to impact the bright future of coffee through our own choices," Markula says.
In its products, Paulig uses certified coffees, such as Fair Trade, UTZ Certified and Rainforest Alliance, and also Organic Coffee combined with these certificates. In addition, Paulig buys coffee from its countries of origin through carefully selected partnership programmes. Presidentti Special Blend 2018, a new product hitting the shelves next March, will be the first product that is sourced exclusively through these partnership programmes. In 2018, the range of partnership programmes coffees will be expanded to cover the entire Paulig Presidentti product family.
Follow Paulig's work in the countries of origin in social media with the hashtags #paulig, #kahvinjäljillä and #beanthere. Paulig Kulma, the company's coffee house in the heart of Helsinki, organises "In the footsteps of coffee" events to discuss our sustainability work in further detail. For more information on the events, please visit the Paulig Kulma Facebook page.
paulig.com/en/sustainability
#paulig #kahvinjäljillä #beanthere
Further information
Elisa Markula, Managing Director, Coffee Division of Paulig Group, tel. +358 (0)9 319 8686
Pirjo Hästbacka, Communications Manager, Coffee Division of Paulig Group, tel. +358 (0)50 356 8359
About Paulig Group
Paulig is a family-owned, international enterprise in the food industry that is noted for its high-quality brands and services. The company’s key divisions are Coffee, World Foods & Flavouring, Snack Food and Naturally Healthy Food. Our brands are Paulig, Santa Maria, Risenta, Gold&Green and Poco Loco. Paulig has 1,900 employees in 13 countries and its net sales were EUR 917 million in 2016. Read more at www.pauliggroup.com.
Paulig Group’s Coffee division is the market leader in Finland and the Baltic countries, and in Russia it is the second-biggest supplier of roasted coffee. Paulig supplies its products and services to the retail trade, the HoReCa sector and workplaces through the Paulig Professional business unit. In Finland, Paulig's best-known brand products include Juhla Mokka, Presidentti, Paulig Brazil and Paulig Mundo as well as the coffee beverage Paulig Frezza and the drinking chocolate beverage Paulig Tazza. The most popular products on the Russian and Baltic markets are the Presidentti and Paulig Classic coffees and Paulig espresso products. The company's coffee roasteries are located in the Vuosaari district of Helsinki in Finland and in Tver, Russia. The Vuosaari roastery produces some 100 million packets of coffee, or roughly 45 million kilos of coffee, each year. www.paulig.fi
