Hi there, so glad you found us…! Allow us to introduce ourselves…
North Star is a coffee company and family united by a love for great coffee and a desire to protect all it supports. We were founded in 2013 with the aim of proving that a quality and impact-led approach creates viable business models across our supply chain to ultimately build an industry that works for everyone. This is our guiding star and our basis for decision making around further growth, helping to build impact into all that we do.
Our Story
Our love for coffee began at source, wandering the coffee trees of Nyeri in Kenya, talking shop over hot tea and donuts…
In pursuit of research to support our final year dissertation, we spent a few months amongst smallholder coffee farming communities in rural Kenya to ask them about their experiences of Fairtrade. This opportunity changed our lives. It showed us how deeply emotive coffee is but also how deep seated issues in this global supply chain have placed a serious question mark over the industry’s future.
Fast forward to 2013, we took the plunge on a 5kg second hand roaster working out of a small industrial unit in Meanwood, Leeds. 12 years on and with a wholesale customer base of over 120 national partnerships, two of our own coffee shops and a team of 30 across our business we are so proud to have built a brand and business that brings joy to so many.
B Corp, what is it?
In 2022, North Star (roastery + coffee shops) became a certified B Corp. In simple terms, we are assessed for the overall ethics and sustainability of our business across 5 areas:
1. How the business is governed (how decisions are made/core mission/values etc)
2. Employee experiences
3. Environmental practices
4. How customers are treated
5. How supply partnerships are formed and nurtured.
In short, we really care about our people and the impact that we make. As a Certified B Corporation and a leader of this emerging economy, we believe:
That we must be the change we seek in the world. That all business ought to be conducted as if people and place mattered. That, through our products, practices, and profits, we should aspire to do no harm and benefit all. To do so requires that we act with the understanding that we are each dependent upon another and thus responsible for each other and future generations.
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