IMPACT No. 01 - Popular coffee from Brazil

We paid the coffee farmer 15% more for this coffee

...in comparison, Fairtrade-certified coffee typically has a premium of less than 10% for the farmer. And the certification is not free either.

Research shows time and again that certifications such as Fairtrade and Rainforest Alliance have no demonstrable positive effect on the living conditions of coffee farmers. (Cordes and Sagan, 2021)

Western coffee companies are making huge profits while coffee farmers around the world live in poverty. This is wrong, and we need to change that.

That's why we pay more for the coffee beans we import.

44% of coffee farmers worldwide still live in poverty. At least 5.5 million coffee farmers live below the international poverty line of $3.20 a day. Studies show that one-third of coffee farmers earn less than $100 annually from coffee production (Enveritas, 2018; Sachs et al., 2019).

When we pay farmers more, we give them the opportunity to invest in themselves and their businesses. This leads to further growth and the opportunity to invest in more sustainable farming practices such as reducing water use and reforestation projects.

The calculation:

We paid the farmer: $6.50/kg

The market price at the time of the contract was: 5.63 $/kg (ICO Brazilian Naturals)

This means we have paid the farmer 15% more than the market price.

Documentation

See the complete overview of the payments we have made for our coffee beans in our annual transparency report: CleverCoffee: Transparency Report

Sources

"Responsible Coffee Sourcing: Towards a Living Income for Producers" (Cordes and Sagan, 2021)

"Why do coffee farmers stay poor? : Breaking vicious circles with direct payments from profit sharing" (Ruben, 2023)

"Six Transformations to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)" (Sachs et al., 2019)

CleverCoffee is a B Corp

The coffee you buy at CleverCoffee leaves a well-documented, positive imprint on the world.

When CleverCoffee became B Corp certified in 2021, it was with a score of 88.2.

In 2025 - four years later - we have almost doubled our score to 154.6 points.

This means that CleverCoffee has the highest score among all coffee companies in the EU - and the second highest score for all companies in the Nordic region.

In our opinion, B Corp certification is the world's most stringent independent certification, guaranteeing that you buy your coffee from a responsible company.

As a customer at CleverCoffee, you contribute to ensuring that coffee farmers can live a life above the poverty line and that they can afford to develop their farms so that they have a long-term source of income.

In addition to contributing positively to the living conditions of coffee farmers, CleverCoffee's B Corp certification is your assurance that we are always transparent and have a drastically reduced climate impact.

What was our score?

With our 2025 recertification we received the following score:

• Governance 19.5
• Workers 25.5
• Community 32.5
• Environment 73.4
• Customers 3.6

Total: 154.6

Documentation

Read more about B Corp

BCorporation.net: CleverCoffee

Direct Trade – No Middleman

We know our coffee farmers personally because we trade directly with them. This gives us a highly transparent value chain without unnecessary intermediaries.

It provides you with added assurance and brings you closer to the farm.

Direct trade means, among other things:

• More transparency
• More traceability
• Better payment to the coffee farmer

The vast majority of our coffee is purchased directly from the farmers. In 2024, 98% of our coffee was sourced through direct trade.

By cutting out the middleman, we know exactly where the money goes, ensuring that as much as possible ends up with the farmer — who has been underpaid for more than 40 years.

Direct trade allows us to better ensure quality and accountability at the source. At the same time, farmers gain access to valuable insights about the European market, new EU regulations, and more, through our partnership.

With direct trade, we achieve a much higher degree of transparency and traceability — something that’s crucial when it comes to documenting farming methods, working conditions, and whether a particular coffee has contributed to deforestation.

A short and transparent supply chain

We always work with as short and transparent a supply chain as possible. 98% of our coffee is purchased directly from the coffee farm, without using a middleman.

The vast majority of our roasted coffee is also purchased directly from us - with the exception of a few retailers, such as coffee shops and specialty stores. You cannot buy our coffee in any large chains or on online marketplaces.

This means that there are fewer parties who have to "have a piece of the pie" and we ensure better payment for the coffee farms, which have been underpaid and living in poverty for decades.

The supply chain for this coffee looks like this:

• The coffee is grown in Brazil in the Campo Das Vertentes area.
• The coffee cherries have been processed at the coffee cooperative Sancoffee's own washing station.
• The green coffee beans are imported directly to CleverCoffee by ship to the Port of Aarhus.
• The coffee is roasted and packaged at CleverCoffee in our own roastery outside Aarhus.