Matt Hohler, the spokesperson for Levanta Coffee, has announced that the company has officially changed its name to Farmers First Coffee Company as of Friday, September 29th, 2017.
Matt explained that the new name would more clearly convey the key focus of his business: to provide coffee farmers with the income they need to improve their quality of life.
Farmers First Coffee does this by paying 50% more than market price, an amount 4 times higher than traditional “fair” trade.
“Although it was a difficult decision to let go of ‘Levanta,’ we’ve come to realize that we needed to be clearer in conveying our message. In a world where people have so many choices and such little time we felt that we needed our potential customers to understand exactly why we are different–and we have to do that quickly. That begins with our company’s name,” said co-founder Robert Durrette.
Traditionally, small-scale farmers’ incomes have been a mere afterthought to much of the coffee industry even though they produce more than 80% of the world’s coffee.
Farmers First Coffee’s co-founders chose to take a different approach: they first spoke to coffee farmers in Honduras and Peru to identify their needs and then proceeded to launch their business online while living in Lima, Peru.
Their efforts were well-received this past summer: Robert and Matt completed a Kickstarter campaign in which they raised over $52,000 in initial funding. During that presale, more than 600 initial “backers” placed orders, voicing their support that they, too, believe it’s time to put farmers first when choosing a brand of coffee.
Farmers First Coffee’s team will begin fulfilling their Kickstarter orders in November, simultaneously launching their new website and online store. “We’re on track for a mid-November ship date,” says Matt.
If you have any questions or comments you may email the team at team@farmersfirstcoffee.com.
