The Fairtrade Foundation works to improve the lives of poor and marginalised farmers in 59 developing countries by promoting fairer forms of trade.
Impetus support:
Impetus investment period: 2007 - 2012
Total funding: £500,000
Value of expertise provided to date: £233,000
Background to the investment:
With the immensely successful Fairtrade movement gaining momentum in the UK and the increasing need in the developing world to address conventional trade failure, the Foundation came to Impetus for support. We hoped that by bringing in additional business expertise we could help the Foundation to clarify its vision for growth and distil it into an actionable strategy.
Focus of Impetus expertise to date:
Key achievements:
- Partnership with Cadbury, to achieve Fairtrade certification for Cadbury Dairy Milk, the nation's highest-selling chocolate bar
- Partnership with Starbucks™, with aim of all Starbucks Espresso to be Fairtrade certified
- Fairtrade Executive Director Harriet Lamb won the Credit Suisse Outstanding Woman in Business Award.
Find out more about Fairtrade Foundation and how it has helped
South African Josephine Witbooi better her life.
Fairtrade photos on this website are courtesy of Simon Rawles, Annette Kay and Fairtrade Foundation.
Performance:
Average annual growth in income: 42%
Average annual growth in no. of people helped: 23%
| Year prior to Impetus investment 2006 |
Latest year end 2008 |
|
| Income (in millions) | £3.56 | £7.22 |
| No. of Fairtrade certified producers supplying the UK
market |
307 | 463 |
All figures as of Fairtrade's 2008 year end.
The relationship has helped us raise our game. As a result, our strategy is bolder and our stakeholders are extremely excited about where this process is taking us.
Harriet Lamb
Executive Director, Fairtrade Foundation