SAN DIEGO, CA, US – Youngevity International, Inc. announced on May 13 that its wholly owned subsidiary, CLR Roasters, has acquired a coffee plantation and a processing facility in Nicaragua.
Youngevity Internationala global direct marketer of nutritional and lifestyle products and also a vertically-integrated producer of gourmet coffees for the commercial, retail and direct sales channels.
CLR Roasters has completed its plan to be completely vertical and now should be able to control the coffee production process from harvest to cup to achieve its goal of ensuring consistent supply and the highest-quality coffee possible.
The company has a second planation under contract that will double the size of CLR’s holdings and anticipates closing in the near future.
The plantations are situated in an ideal coffee-growing region located near Matagalpa, Nicaragua, which is historically known for the production of high-quality coffee.
Each plantation is approximately 450-acres and produces 100 percent Arabica coffee beans that are shade grown, Rainforest Alliance Certified, and Fair Trade Certified. Youngevity Be the Change Foundation has committed to opening a school and a day care facility in support of its 160 families and seasonal workers that live and work on the plantation.
During the harvest it is expected that up to 800 workers will be working on the plantation.
In October of 2013 CLR Roasters announced a sourcing and supply agreement with the Siles Plantation Family Group.
The company has expanded its relationship with Siles Plantation Family Group whereby CLR intends to utilize their expertise in the day to day operations of the plantations and the processing plant.
“This is a great achievement and collaboration for the Siles Plantation Family Group and our partners Youngevity, their Foundation, and CLR Roasters. We are excited to be a part of this amazing project, and we are committed to accomplishing great things here in Nicaragua and around the world,” stated Marisol Siles, President of Siles Plantation Family Group.
“We are very proud to acquire this Rainforest Alliance Certified farm, which we expect will allow us to grow our coffee business and take our Company to new heights,” said Ernesto Aguila, President of CLR Roasters.
“We are confident that this investment should strengthen our capacity to better control quality, improve yields, reduce costs and establish CLR Roasters as a premiere source for exceptional high-quality coffee.”
Financing for the project was provided by the company’s cash reserves along with common stock in an amount up to 1,000,000 shares from the personal holdings of Steve Wallach, Youngevity’s Chief Executive Officer.
Dave Briskie, Youngevity’s CFO and President of Commercial Development said, “We are enthusiastic about acquiring the coffee plantations that should allow us to control the entire coffee process from field to cup.
Our processing facility has the capacity to allow us to handle over 30 million pounds of green coffee and we expect to use this capacity to launch a green coffee sales and distribution platform within CLR Roasters.
Through our Youngevity Be the Change Foundation we will work with the coffee farmers and their families to improve their livelihoods and the health and well-being of their community.”
Source: press release
