Growers First Coffee

Stephan J. Erkelens – Chief Executive Officer--With 70+ year family history in growing and trading coffee and 20+ years of experience in the industry, Stephan has worked in all phases of the business, from production and processing to export, import and trading. 

David Day – Master Roaster & Market Development--More than 20 years ago, Dave Day witnessed first hand the economic and social injustices that fell upon small coffee growers in Mexico.  Dave, owner of a specialty coffee roasting company at the time, discovered that while coffee represent the largest cash crop and agricultural revenue stream in the world, small indigenous growers received a disproportional low percentage of that revenue. Dave serves as the guiding visionary for the organization and leverages his considerable coffee industry expertise and network on behalf of the poor rural farmer. 

Russ Evans - Operations and Finance - With more than 15 years of startup operations and finance experience, Russ brings a strong record of achievement in building value and strong corporate cultures. Well versed in dealing with the complexities of fast-growing organizations.  Russ received his BS in business from Liberty University and his MBA from the University of Denver.

Glenn Parrish – Business & Partnership Development--Glenn brings more than 20 years of leadership experience working with businesses and philanthropy to make a lasting impact through innovative and economically sustainable approaches. 

Jeff Smith - Channel Development Manager - Jeff is a regular speaker at universities and colleges throughout the country. He joined Growers First to build out the college engagement program, establishing the brand at Stanford, NYU, the University of Michigan, and other top-tier schools.

Joseph Weber - Graphic Design and Web Development - Joseph is a media handyman, with experience in graphic design, web design, frontend web development, photography, and video editing. He has a passion for promoting a better understanding of the world and has been involved with remote coffee farmers in Honduras and Mexico in some capacity for the past four years.

Thomas Berryman --Tom has extensive experience in bringing venture capital funded  companies from initial startup through product development, commercialization, revenue growth and exit. 

David Vanderveen --A managing partner and co-founder of XS Worldwide, LLC. an energy drink brand that has lead the development of great tasting flavors of sugar free energy drinks and unique online distribution for beverages.  David is a recognized innovator in the energy drink marketplace and has a history of success developing emerging brands and ideas. 

Daniel Stepper -- A world class consumer product and entertainment executive with 16 years of experience working with blue-chip organizations including THE COCA-COLA COMPANY, ADIDAS, DISNEY, and ANHEUSER BUSCH. Danny has consistently been successful in identifying and capturing new business, developing and managing global senior retail relationships, penetrating new territories and managing large teams. 

Greg Olafson -- Greg is the managing director of Blue Sand Holdings which provides capital and business expertise for private companies and real estate ventures.  

Build brand value and revenue by selling roasted coffee to the LOHAS market-through strategic natural foods stores-Starting with B and C level stores and moving on to A level ones. We are currently in 21 stores in the Southern California area and are adding new accounts weekly. Growers First Coffee is very well recieved--selling through at roughly 1-2 case weekly per store (12 bags per case) and receiving reorders.

License Growers First branded coffee to roasters who desire to sell this differentiated product through their channels. (We are currently working with Crimson Cup Coffee out of Ohio in such an arrangement. They have 400 coffee houses to whom they sell their coffee. They wanted a product that would go beyond Fair Trade to real farmer impact.)

Consult with coffee roasters who desire to make a life transforming impact on the growers with whom they directly trade. We are currently working to develop a program with Counter Culture Coffee out of Boston about bringing the Growers First approach to the farmers with whom they trade. They are frustrated that their philanthropic efforts have yielded mixed results. We have the agronomic and development expertise they need.

Build brand authority by shaping the conversation about delivering on the promise of transformation for the poor farmers forward through 

• Our current grassroots initiatives with colleges and universities such as George Washington University, NYU, Stanford, USC and others who are researching our model, building partnerships with us to bring the coffee to their campuses, traveling to origin, writing, blogging and posting about Growers First.
• Promoting the Growers First story through social innovation channels (We have supplied coffee to cutting edge social innovation conferences such as PopTech, we have spoken at TEDx in La Jolla and have been published in the Stanford Social Innovation Review.)
• Presenting our program to the the National Coffee Association. (Starbucks, Dunkin' Donuts, Green Mountain etc., we have the invite,) and the Specialty Coffee Association of America. 

Traceable transformation. True traceability to the life transforming impact that the purchase of this coffee has on remote, small-plot farmers.

Growers First seeks to capture a key segment within the $40 billion specialty & sustainable or certified coffee market segments - a stable, growing and high gross-margin business - by targeting “Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability” (LOHAS) consumers. This market segment is composed of a relatively upscale and well-educated population that demands products of “equal quality that are also virtuous.” Worldwatch Institute reported that the LOHAS market segment in the year 2006 was estimated at $300 billion, approximately 30% of the U.S. consumer market.

Our model is market-driven, and doesn't rely on subsidizing coffee prices as is the case with Fair Trade, but rather working with our farmers individually to increase the value of their product. Whereas farmers usually have to rely on middlemen to transport their coffee, losing 30-50% of the value of their crop, we give them access to the market that delivers 100% of the market price for highest premium green coffee to the farmer herself. Fewer middlemen mean she has the greatest control possible of her own industry. Thus, Growers First delivers on the promise of great coffee with a great story. A farm to table consumer and industry connection for coffee. 

This relationship between farmer to consumer is emphasized by the QR codes on our bags that track the coffee's origin in that bag, show the farmer who grew it, share his or her story, and allow the consumer to actually see the change in his or her life. This is a dynamic database-driven process, made robust by the 60+ data points we track on our farmers that allow us to pinpoint economic changes that happen in their lives over the course of working with us.

Growers First's farmer development model is something the coffee industry needs. And, our team is well connected and has deep experience within the coffee industry, beverage marketing, and philanthropic and social impact ventures.