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All's fair in love and coffee. At least, it's starting to look that way in supermarkets. Increasingly, retailers are carrying Fair Trade-certified products, chiefly coffee. Many of these retailers said these variations bring in greater sales than their traditional consumer packaged goods counterparts.
Stormans, a two-unit operator in Olympia, Wash., has been selling Fair Trade coffee provided by Equal Exchange, a Canton, Mass.-based worker-owned cooperative, since 1994. "It is by far the No. 1 selling coffee in our store," Kevin Storman, co-owner, told SN.
A dire social situation fuels the Fair Trade practice -- namely that of the Latin American coffee farmers who, until the advent of this practice, were barely receiving enough money for the crops to support their families. Fair Trade certification ensures that these farmers will be paid, at minimum, $1.26 per pound for their coffee beans. Undoubtedly, it is this grassroots component that lends appeal and has helped sell product. However, sources told SN the quality of the products and their reasonable cost also contribute to the label's success.
"To some degree, it's able to speak to both segments of the consumer market: people who are looking toward a value and a quality coffee, as well as those people that value what it stands for and what it's about and what it's doing for our world," said Storman.
He devotes a four-foot fixture to Fair Trade coffee. Although Storman said consumers in his region are pretty aware of the Fair Trade label and what it symbolizes, he displays informational pamphlets from Equal Exchange near the merchandise.
Awareness levels may vary throughout the country, but even the larger, national grocery chains are reporting success with Fair Trade products.
According to Elizabeth Bertani, spokeswoman for Larry's Markets, Seattle, "We carry several lines of coffee which are Fairly Traded, and plan to expand the program in the future." Recent reports indicate that Ahold USA, Chantilly, Va., is poised to launch Cafe JaVaNa, a line of private-label, Fair Trade coffee beans in a large cross section of its stores, including Giant Food, Landover, Md. Like other Ahold banners, Giant will offer five varieties of...