For more than 10 years International Coffee Partners – a non-profit organisation founded by five European family-owned coffee roasters - has been a driver for sustainable change in the coffee sector. Now Franck, Croatia´s biggest family-owned coffee roaster joins the initiative. On Oct. 1st and 2nd, Franck hosted the ICP Steering Committee for the first time.
We are very pleased that we are selected to host the meeting of the International Coffee Partners, which brings together leading European coffee roasters and traders. Membership in this initiative gives us the possibility to actively participate in the implementation of innovative development projects and thereby empowering smallholder farmer communities and sustainability of the global coffee market, says Ivan Artukovic, Board Member of Franck.
- We are happy that the International Coffee Partners continue to attract responsible coffee roasters and I´m sure Franck will contribute making our work even more effective and successful, says Michael Opitz, representing the International Coffee Partners.
Franck is one of the most successful Croatian producers and exporters of food products with a leading position in the categories of coffee, tea and snacks. The family-owned company not only joined the International Coffee Partners, but also the Coffee & Climate program, as it appreciates the strong concept and centralized approach of this cross-sector initiative.
Sustainable practices to improve live hoods
ICP was founded in 2001 by five European family-owned coffee roasters: Gustav Paulig Ltd. of Finland, Löfbergs Lila AB of Sweden, Luigi Lavazza S.p.A. of Italy, Neumann Gruppe GmbH of Germany and Tchibo GmbH of Germany, joined by Joh. Johannson Kaffe AS of Norway in 2011.
The initiative’s aim is to make smallholder coffee farmers competitive on the basis of sustainable practices in order to improve their livelihoods. This vision goes beyond the implementation of individual development projects; the International Coffee Partners want to contribute to the sustainable transformation of the coffee sector at large. Innovative regional programs in Central America, Uganda and Tanzania as well as Brazil demonstrate the significant benefits for farmer families and the entire supply chain, generate relevant experiences on developing farmer operations and provide valuable guidance for stakeholders and the coffee policy framework.