Caribou Coffee Achieves 100 Percent Milestone

First major U.S. coffeehouse to source 100 percent of its coffee from Rainforest Alliance Certified™ farms

Caribou Coffee Guatemalan coffee farm (Photo: Rainforest Alliance)

MINNEAPOLIS--()--Caribou Coffee today proudly announced that all coffees and espresso are now sourced from Rainforest Alliance Certified™ farms, making it the first major U.S. coffeehouse to reach this sustainable achievement.

Rainforest Alliance Certified™ farms meet the comprehensive standards of the Sustainable Agricultural Network (SAN), which is a coalition of independent, nonprofit conservation groups. The certification is built on three pillars of sustainability – environmental, social and economic.

Caribou Coffee first started working with the Rainforest Alliance in 2003, as the Midwest-based coffee retailer began its highly engaged, field to cup practice. Last April, Caribou Coffee announced an aggressive goal of sourcing 100 percent of the coffee across all their products from Rainforest Alliance Certified™ farms by the end of 2011.

To obtain a thorough understanding of the Rainforest Alliance certification process, Caribou Coffee’s Senior Director of Coffee and Tea, Chad Trewick, travels around the world to source the highest-quality beans from the best growing regions.

While visiting various points of origin, Trewick meets one-on-one with farmers to cultivate a special relationship and build a mutual understanding of the economic and social impacts that come from achieving Rainforest Alliance certification.

“Reaching 100 percent certification is a significant accomplishment for Caribou Coffee,” said Trewick. “I’ve seen how communities thrive from working with the Rainforest Alliance, and I’m proud to say that all of our beans come from sustainable, healthy sources.”

“Caribou Coffee’s achievement sets a shining example, demonstrating that it is entirely possible for companies to meet their sustainability goals,” said Tensie Whelan, president of the Rainforest Alliance. “We are thrilled that our long-standing relationship with Caribou Coffee has helped to improve the livelihoods of coffee farming communities across the globe, while providing consumers with high quality, sustainable coffee.”

All coffee and espresso based beverages sold in-store at Caribou Coffee now carry the Rainforest Alliance Certified™ seal, as well as all coffee items sold online or in commercial retail locations. To find out more on Caribou Coffee and the Rainforest Alliance, visit www.CaribouCoffee.com.

Life is too short for ordinary coffee.

About Caribou Coffee®
Founded in 1992, Caribou Coffee Company is one of the leading branded coffee companies in the United States, with a compelling multichannel approach to their customers. Based on the number of coffeehouses, Caribou Coffee is the second largest company-operated premium coffeehouse operator in the United States. As of July 3, 2011, the Company had 554 coffeehouses, including 147 franchised locations, in 20 states, the District of Columbia and nine international markets. The Company’s coffeehouses aspire to be the community place loved by guests who are provided an extraordinary experience that makes their day better. Caribou Coffee provides the highest quality handcrafted beverages, foods and coffee lifestyle items with a unique blend of expertise, fun and authentic human connection in a comfortable and welcoming coffeehouse environment. In addition, Caribou Coffee’s unique coffees are available within grocery stores, mass merchandisers, club stores, office coffee and foodservice providers, hotels, entertainment venues and e-commerce channels. Caribou Coffee is a proud recipient of the Rainforest Alliance Corporate Green Globe Award and is committed to operating practices that promote sustainability and environmental protection. For more information, visit www.cariboucoffee.com.

Rainforest Alliance
The Rainforest Alliance works with people whose livelihoods depend on the land, helping them transform the way they grow food, harvest wood and host travellers. From large multinational corporations to small, community-based cooperatives, businesses and consumers worldwide are involved in the Rainforest Alliance’s efforts to bring responsibly produced goods and services to a global marketplace where the demand for sustainability is growing steadily. For more information, visit www.rainforest-alliance.org.

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=50119239&lang=en

Contacts

Media Contacts:
Cassie D’Kae, 612-305-6351
On behalf of Caribou Coffee
Email: cassie.dkae@exponentpr.com
or
Dresden Joswig, 646-452-1962
Editorial Coordinator, Rainforest Alliance
Email: djoswig@ra.org

Contacts

Media Contacts:
Cassie D’Kae, 612-305-6351
On behalf of Caribou Coffee
Email: cassie.dkae@exponentpr.com
or
Dresden Joswig, 646-452-1962
Editorial Coordinator, Rainforest Alliance
Email: djoswig@ra.org