Being a Caring Company brings little direct financial benefit to Koffie Kàn. However, we are able to maintain our corporate social responsibility and make a profit, thanks to innovation and a high level of cost efficiency, making our coffee blends available at a competitive price.

Besides, for us the most important thing is that we are able to keep our heads comfortably above water in a very competitive market, but without ever having to sacrifice our principles for economic reasons. This is not always easy, though. Coffee consumption in Belgium is slowly decreasing. We are under constant and increasing pressure from the major coffee multi-nationals and from NGO’s such as Oxfam, because these organisations get much more free publicity for their 'fair trade' practices and are portrayed in the press as being more reliable and trustworthy. Moreover, many multinational NGO’s, like Oxfam, work and trade with mostly volunteers, whereas we, as a regular but small company, have to pay staff, co-workers and subcontractors, which implies more distribution costs.

Even so, if we can carry on making a good living even in these circumstances, it must mean that our approach is appealing to the right people. People who not only have a conscience, but also like great coffee!