Mondelez International Helps Coffee Farmers in Vietnam to Become More Successful Entrepreneurs

09 Jul 2013 --- Mondelez International, the world's second largest coffee company with iconic brands such as Jacobs, Carte Noire and Kenco, unveiled its first-ever training facility for coffee farmers to promote sustainability and entrepreneurship in Vietnam.

The farmer training center is an important first step in the company's "Coffee Made Happy" sustainability program, a commitment to invest at least $200 million to empower one million coffee farming entrepreneurs by 2020.

Working with the 4C Association and supplier ACOM, the program will train 1,500 farmers in agricultural practices to help boost their coffee crop yields and increase the quality of their beans. Together, the investments should help farmers supply about 7,000 metric tons of coffee that meets the 4C standard.  The program should, in turn, improve the livelihoods of about 5,000 families in farmers' coffee growing communities.

"Coffee Made Happy is focused on helping farmers to become more successful entrepreneurs by working with partners to improve coffee production and business skills," said Hubert Weber, President, Global Coffee at Mondelez International. "Farmers are learning how to manage their businesses more effectively through simple tools like profit-and-loss log books, and they're using new skills to grow more coffee with fewer resources, leading to more productive and profitable farms."

"The program is a key part of Mondelez International's overall commitment to sustainable agricultural commodities," added Weber. "Connecting Coffee Made Happy with our iconic brands creates a story that we can share with consumers about how we support entrepreneurs and nurture thriving communities in a quest to guarantee a supply of high-quality coffee for our delicious products."

Mondelez International is one of the largest buyers of coffee in Vietnam, so the company's scale can make a big impact.  The Vietnam investment supports Mondelez International's goal to sustainably source 100 percent of its coffee in Western Europe by 2015.  The company is more than two-thirds of the way toward that goal.  Including the Central and Eastern European markets that became part of Mondelez Europe's scope at the beginning of 2013, more than half of all coffee beans in the region are sustainably sourced.

Over the next two years, the company plans to invest more than $1 million in Vietnam and Indonesia to support Coffee Made Happy programs, in cooperation with the IDH Sustainable Coffee Program (http://www.idhsustainabletrade.com/coffee) to scale up sustainable coffee in both countries.