Corporate Social Responsibility Case Study

Case Title:

Cafédirect (B): “Fair” Success

Abstract:
In 2004, the leading players in the U.K. hot beverages market, Nestlé Corporation and Kraft Foods announced their plans to launch ethical brands. Despite their traditional cynical attitude towards Fairtrade, they had decided to enter the ethical market taking into account the success achieved by Fairtrade products and companies such as Cafédirect. Cafédirect was the fastest growing coffee and tea brand in the U.K. hot beverages market, which had been stagnant since the beginning of the second millennium. While this move by Nestlé and Kraft was an acknowledgement of the success achieved by Cafédirect and its Fairtrade business model, analysts wondered how the company would fare in the face of stiff competition from the well established mainstream players in the market.

Pedagogical Objectives:

• To discuss the Fair Trade movement in UK
• Cafédirect’s move into fair trade sourcing and how it increased its sale
• To discuss about other companies emulating Cafedirect and would they be equally successful.

Keywords : Corporate Social Responsibility Case Study UK Hot beverages market, Tea and Coffee market in the UK, Cafedirect, Fairtrade business model, Corporate Social Responsibility, Ethical Trading, Penny Newman, Nestle, Kraft, Ethical markets, Ethical consumerism, Fairtrade Organisation