Mission-driven coffee startup THRIVE Farmers was recently recognized as the second-fastest growing company in Georgia by The Association for Corporate Growth in Atlanta.
The company’s rapid growth is creating jobs and benefitting the economy far beyond its home state: Four years ago, THRIVE Farmers began to transform the coffee industry through an innovative revenue-sharing platform that provides stable, predictable pricing to coffee farmers, eliminating the toxic connection to volatile commodity markets; when farmers have direct access to the marketplace, maintaining ownership until the point of sale, they receive livable, predictable wages — up to 10 times more income than traditional models. As THRIVE succeeds locally, its platform creates economic sustainability in coffee-farming communities abroad through this transparent supply chain.
“Being acknowledged locally for the rapid success THRIVE Farmers has experienced validates our mission in changing the coffee industry,” said THRIVE Farmers Chairman of the Board, Tom Matthesen. “With THRIVE Farmers, consumers have the opportunity to buy directly from the farmer, so consumers not only ‘know who grows’ their coffee, but can create positive impact on families with every cup. This allows the consumer to be more closely tied to the farmer and this business model has spurred our success. Having such community support magnifies the capacity our city has for global influence.”
THRIVE founder and CEO Michael Jones credits its focus on sustainability and social enterprise as keys to the company’s rapid growth.
“Corporate social responsibility cannot be an afterthought; it must be the foundation of our work,” Jones said. “Everything we do as a company is an effort to create better opportunities for our producers, truly transforming a broken industry through economic sustainability.”
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THRIVE Farmers also attributes its rapid growth to its local and national partnerships including Chick-fil-A, also based in Georgia, and Earth Fare stores, with several additional partnerships on the horizon. As the demand for its coffee grows, so do job opportunities in its coffee-growing regions.
“While consumers are moving at an increasing rate to high-quality coffee in the marketplace, we believe THRIVE Farmers has seen such rapid growth because consumers desire transparency. Our company provides the ability to connect with farmers and have a positive impact on their lives. That aligns with the focus of many trends in today’s consuming world. Companies and individuals latch onto these shared values as advocates because they recognize true change,” Jones said. “The more successful the growing, socially conscious entrepreneurial economy in Georgia becomes, the more influence we will have on the global economy for the better.”
Published Jul 13, 2015 4pm EDT / 1pm PDT / 9pm BST / 10pm CEST