Peace Coffee's mission to help coffee farmers hasn't changed in more than 25 years

Peace Coffee exiting retail shops to focus on wholesale business

How Peace Coffee built brand with a mission-driven model

The company has grown into a national brand

A quarter of a century ago, Peace Coffee was ahead of its time. The Minneapolis-based coffee company has prioritized fair pay for coffee farmers since its founding in 1996 when few national coffee brands were focused on fair agriculture, trade, and farming policies.

“For a long time, Peace Coffee was a bunch of weirdos,” says CEO Lee Wallace, adding that early in her career, she felt like she was one of few mission-driven leaders focused on values before profit. “It’s great to see our ideas become more mainstream.”

Wallace has been Peace Coffee’s CEO since 2006 but didn’t find the company. Mark Ritchie, who later served as Minnesota’s Secretary of State from 2007 to 2015, launched the business through a nonprofit called the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) after visiting coffee farmers in Mexico. Ritchie saw an opportunity to set up a supply chain between Mexico and Minnesota that paid farmers fairly, letting them set the price of coffee themselves.

“Fulfilling our mission isn’t done by simply purchasing coffee that is certified as fair trade; rather, we build direct and long-term relationships with small farmer cooperatives and pay prices that are responsive to their needs. In addition, over time, the strength of our relationships is directly related to our ability to produce a delicious cup of coffee,” said Wallace.

Organic coffee has started booming in the 1980s and 90s. Organic coffee is an important part of their business for their customers and supporting their farmers. Organic coffee is free from pesticides, artificial fertilizers, and genetically modified organisms (GMO) and is rich in antioxidants, such as flavonoids, catechins, and polyphenols. In comparison to the traditionally used coffee, organic coffee is healthier, natural, and is grown with only organic fertilizers, such as chicken manure and coffee pulp.

https://youtu.be/lO55ig2NsDw

Peace Coffee Visual Story

“For us, the number one reason we focus on purchasing organic coffee is due to its positive impact on the environment in producer communities. In addition, coffee grown by small-scale farmers who use regenerative organic agricultural practices is climate-smart. Small-scale farmers work to form a natural balance in their plots to overcome disease and pests, rebuild their soil health, and protect the shade cover and biodiversity on their land. These practices make these farms carbon sinks, further reducing the impact of climate change on all of us.” said Wallace.

In addition, Wallace has served in leadership roles in the Specialty Coffee Association, the Climate Collaborative, and nonprofit Bountifield International. She also has served as adjunct faculty at the University of St. Thomas, where she taught a class on fair trade in the justice and peace studies department.

Here are three of Wallace’s tips for marketing a mission-driven company.

Keep packaging simple.

Peace Coffee’s best marketing investment to date was a 2018 package redesign, according to Wallace. The unclear nature of the company’s prior packaging meant people had to work too hard to figure out what was in the bag, she says. Now it leads with the basics: It’s caffeinated, it tastes good, and it’s fair trade. Other details and initiatives went to the website in case consumers wanted to learn more. Wallace suggests studying the packaging of larger brands in your industry for packaging inspiration. “Don’t be ashamed to go and study the brands that have deeper pockets,” Wallace says.

Make purchases fun for the customer.

When it comes to communicating the mission, Wallace says to keep it light. For example, she could talk to customers about the struggles of coffee farmers and climate change, but that’s not the message that goes to consumers because it’s overwhelming.

“We try to be fun, playful, and accessible, and let people know that they’re doing good things by buying this product,” she says. “We’ll take care of the hard work.”

Focus on a singular mission.

Wallace often sees new mission-driven businesses try to be perfect at everything from day one. “It’s really important to clearly define where and how you want to have an impact and not try to make every aspect of your business model the most impactful,” she says. For her, having a measurable impact that customers and employees can get behind all comes back to one mission: Buying fair trade organic coffee. That single message gives everyone a clear goal to focus on.

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