WEB ARTICLE: New Initiative From The Beanery Highlights Local Farmers and Fair Trade Practices

New Initiative From The Beanery Highlights Global Farmers and Fair Trade Practices

alt: Coffee beans drying in a greenhouse.

A new, interactive feature from the Arkansas-based coffee chain, The Beanery, is putting the spotlight on Fair Trade farming practices.

Known for its coffee blends and beverages inspired by the Mid-South, The Beanery’s new coffee bean tracking feature–The Bean Tracker–allows customers to identify the origin of their coffee beans and learn about the farmer who harvested them. 

The Beanery is proud to partner with small, rural coffee farms around the world, helping to strengthen local economies and support sustainable farming practices. Coffee plants thrive in consistent temperatures between 64º and 70º Fahrenheit, typically found in tropical regions near the equator (Scott, 2015). To ensure the best quality coffee and ethical sourcing, The Beanery’s Roots and Responsibility team actively seeks out new farms that meet the company's high standards for flavor, quality, and harvesting practices. By partnering with these farms, The Beanery not only guarantees a strong and reliable supply chain but also helps improve living conditions for farmers and their communities.

"While our branding and recipes are inspired by the Mid-South, we owe our scale to our global partners," The Beanery President and CEO April Adams said. "We're proud to support Fair Trade Certified farms and make a positive impact in the communities we work with. Their stories inspire us, which is why our new tracking feature is so important. You'll not only know where your beans come from but also the people behind them."

The Bean Tracker relies on data from quarterly reports to determine the locations of coffee bean shipments and identify which farms are supplying each store. The Bean Tracker provides the name and location of each farm, along with a link to a Q&A interview with the farm owner.

Carmen Torres is the owner of Blue Valley Farms in Cuba. Her farm consistently ships 500 pounds of coffee beans per month to The Beanery’s various store locations around Arkansas and western Tennessee. 

"We started working with The Beanery in 2020, but we've been growing coffee for much longer,” Torres said. “What began as a small family farm on just a few acres has grown into a large operation with hundreds of employees. By sharing our story, I hope to encourage other farmers to try growing coffee and help their communities grow as well."

The Beanery’s new coffee bean tracking feature comes in response to an internal investigation that uncovered unethical sourcing practices within the company. In a statement, Adams committed to renewing the company’s dedication to fair-trade practices and ensuring complete transparency in the process.

“We are committed to full transparency in how we ethically source The Beanery’s coffee beans,” said Adams. “We believe these actions will help restore trust and assure our customers of our dedication to ethical practices.”