Boss is full of beans over coffee company
Fairtrade coffee has become big business nowadays with everyone clambering to drink up and cash in. But one of its pioneers has no complaints about ethics becoming trendy.
Eighteen years ago Brian Chapman, now aged 59, gave up a career in advertising to follow his passion and set up a small coffee company called Percol.
Now, from his Battersea office in Plantation Wharf, he supplies almost every major supermarket and sells five million packs of coffee a year.
Shunning his background to build a brand using basically no advertising which explains why so few people will know the name Mr Chapman remains driven by one thing, his love of coffee.
He said: "Fairtrade has become very fashionable now but its all about getting a premium for the grower.
"We believe without these farmers we are supporting, we'll lose these coffees. We treat coffee like wine, we talk about adventure.
"We're very passionate about what we do and concentrate on the origin of coffees because there's a vast array of flavours out there.
"You can liken it to wine as it takes a taste from the environment it's produced in, the soil, the micro-climate. Most people think coffee is coffee, but every coffee is totally different."
Between supporting growers and being one of the first national companies to buy organic coffee, the result is clear to see, or at least taste. Percol's coffees have won 18 awards in the last three years.
"We're very passionate about what we do and concentrate on the origin of coffees because there's a vast array of flavours out there."
Brian Chapman |
Mr Chapman added: "A lot of people haven't heard of us because we spend very little on advertising. But we put it all into the product instead. "We were the first of the national brands to do organic, not because its a great marketing idea, but because that's how we started."
But he believes supporting the growers through Fairtrade is not enough.
That is why Percol guarantees a certain amount of its sales go to Coffee Kids a charity which helps South American children go to school rather than work in the fields plus offers healthcare education and helps mothers set up their own businesses.
So far the company has raised almost £200,000 for the charity, explaining why it has just won a national award for ethics in business for the fourth year running.
Mr Chapman said: "We're very proud of that, especially when competing against some very big companies.
"About 125million people depend on coffee and most live below the breadline, so it's very important, every dollar goes a long way.
"We're one of the pioneers of Fairtrade. I started the charity because its great when they have coffee, but when they don't, that's when the problems start." www.wandsworthguardian.co.uk
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