Video Production for Cornwall’s biggest Coffee Roasters.
In the run-up to the G7 Summit in Cornwall, we had the pleasure of catching up with Origin Coffee’s, Andy Philip’s (Operations & B Corp champion), and Freda Yuan (Head of Coffee & global coffee influencer) as we explored whether Cornish companies were themselves working to tackle the global issues the G7 was here to discuss. Often Cornwall is thought of a place where great people leave in search of better jobs but there is a real sense that this age-old adage is changing, Cornwall has become a hotbed of innovation and an example that you can indeed have a lifestyle of beach BBQ’s at the weekend but turn up to a serious job on Monday (even if you do turn up in flipflops… Thanks Luke Caddell our host for the day and head of wholesale marketing at Origin, for championing this).
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Origin Coffee has gone from strength to strength over the last 15 years ridding the specialty coffee wave, though Cornish based, this company has been one of the biggest players in driving changes to an international supply chain as indicated by their recent B Corporation status, the world’s most prestigious social and environmental mark. So, what is it that makes Origin so different?
Origin began when its founder, Tom Sobey, was working and travelling in Australia. There, on the other side of the world, something was stirring in the coffee shops. Mainstream coffee suppliers and producers were being challenged by young-blooded individuals that saw coffee, not as a bulk, homogenous commodity to be sourced from anywhere at any cost but instead, they saw coffee like a fine wine with different beans having specific traits, tones and flavours. This was the birth of the speciality coffee movement. TOM saw what was happening on these foreign shores and knew it would be an instant hit back at home. Returning home, Tom set about building his own company that focused on supplying the best possible speciality coffee, in the most environmentally and socially friendly way possible, hence the name Origin – the name reminds everyone who works there every day that this brand is about more than coffee, it’s about believing that no matter who you are you can play a part in making a difference even if it begins with buying a cup of coffee that breaks every measurable standard for doing good starting with the source. So why is this coffee so good?
Coffee is a global commodity, in fact, it’s the second most highly traded commodity on earth after crude oil (Hopefully not for long…) this means it’s not with a set price each day. The cost of coffee goes up and down depending on how the global commodities market is behaving and local buyers will literally look to the global price on a specific day and offer hopeful farmers the price that’s shown. This means there are winners and losers but for the losers, this could mean the loss of their farm and the absorption of their land into giant multinational conglomerates that work best when working at scale without the need of the local family. This price can swing between 40-80 cents per pound. Fairtrade was one of the first organizations to act on this. Anyone who wanted their guilt removing badge would have to pay a fixed rate of 140 cents per pound no matter the market price. Now, this is where Origin’s story comes in. What Tom insisted was that Origin pays a minimum rate of 200 cents per pound, and, that any farmer working with Origin would be visited by the company and known by name.
Origin bypasses the coffee intermediaries and develops strong relationships with local farmers, a relationship that goes as far as paying for new buildings and renovations on their farm. See, this may sound like a company going way past what great looks like but for Origin it makes great business sense as well. By paying above and beyond Origin secures the very best coffee in the world, from the best farms, and by visiting the farm it makes sure the quality of the bean and processing is to the highest standard. Now that’s what we call a triple bottom line, you go Origin.
This simple idea has grown the company from a small garage company to being the proud owner of a brand new roastery complex in Porth Leven, one of UK’s premier surf break. Tom’s process was simple, turn up to local cafes and coffee sellers and ask them whether they would be interested in supporting a local supplier that goes above and beyond to make the product way better… oh, and it doesn’t cost too much more. Anyway, that was 10 years ago and quite obviously the formula works.
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Today Origin is one of Cornwall’s most famous brands and their reach is widespread. London, Manchester, global. The location of being far away from the usual city sprawl is itself a perk of the job. So, what about the famous brain drain of Cornwall, does Origin work with top people? Of course, it does, take Andy and Freda who we met on our day filming. Freda Yuan, Origin’s head of coffee, is considered globally as the number one influencer in Coffee tasting. Andy Philips, one of the founder’s lifelong friends, took up the mantle of operations director early on and has been a tour de force on driving Origin to become one of Coffee’s industry leaders in corporate social responsibility as they became a B Corp.
So how have they managed to do it? Well, Origin doesn’t sell just coffee. It shows a very real way to improve people’s lives through trade, they just happen to sell some of the best coffee in Cornwall. Their new roastery, built around two industry-leading eco roasters, has the feel of a silicon valley start-up with its coffee shop, ‘factory’ and open plan, plant-filled office all in one wood-clad package. They’re not branded as a Cornish company, and why would they need to? They have Cornish blood, international vision and boy do they make a good coffee. What we learned from them is that the more involved you get at every stage of your supply chain, the more value you can add to product, people, and nature without compromising the basic business proposition.