Today we’d like to introduce you to Kenneth Lander.
Hi Kenneth, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I was a lawyer for 14 years before moving my entire family to a coffee farm in Costa Rica. Shortly after making this leap, we faced economic hardships and tasted the injustices that farmers around the world face in the current value chain of coffee.
I knew I had to do something. In 2010, I founded the San Rafael Sustainable Coffee Initiative with other farmers in my coffee-growing community. The SRSCI became the initial local platform and test case that eventually led to Thrive Farmers, which escalated this vision to impact coffee farmers around the world. Thrive Farmers was initially born to connect coffee directly to the consumer. We embarked on this journey towards a more sustainable business for farmers in Monteverde, Costa Rica, where we first formed and implemented our farmer-direct revenue-sharing model. By bringing farmers to market as our partners, not just our suppliers, we were able to create more sustainable income and opportunities for them, which meant they could create more sustainable businesses and futures for themselves and their families.
Today, we continue to work tirelessly towards our vision of bringing sustainable success to farmers across multiple categories around the world. In addition to expanding our coffee partnerships throughout Latin America and Africa, we are redefining the supply chain in the global tea industry, working with a network of tea farmers in China, Africa, India and the U.S. to produce the finest quality loose-leaf teas.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
With every business, it hasn’t always been a smooth road, but I’m thankful for every bump along the way. Thrive Farmers has the overall mission of redefining the supply chain industry, and this is no small feat to undertake. We frequently fight an uphill battle as the outsider in our industry. Sticking to our company values and mission has been crucial to our success thus far, and even when faced with opposition, we continue to operate out of our mission statement, “To create a thriving world for God’s glory.”
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Thrive Farmers?
Thrive Farmers is a farmers-first organization with sights set on redefining the supply chain as a whole. By bringing farmers to market as our partners, not just our suppliers, we are able to create more sustainable income and opportunities for them, as compared to the next best option in the marketplace. This gives them the resources to create businesses and futures for themselves and their families. Our prioritization of opportunities for the wonderful people creating our products is one of our greatest joys and something we are immensely proud of.
I currently serve as the co-founder and Chief Sustainability Officer. These roles allow me to find, advocate and project the voice of the farmers we have the pleasure of working with in order to tell the world that a new day has come in the world of coffee. I have always had a passion for advocating for those who don’t always have a voice, and I’m thankful that Thrive is where my passions and responsibilities can intersect.
Thrive currently offers farmer-direct coffees, teas and ready-to-drink beverages, all available on our website at thrivefarmers.com. When consumers purchase one of our high-quality products, they are directly supporting the farmers who grow those products. It’s a new way of doing business for good, and we are thankful for multiple partners, such as Delta Air Lines, Chick-fil-A and Gordon Foods, and consumers who have joined us on this journey.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
Creating Thrive Farmers was a huge risk for my family and me. Shortly after moving to a coffee farm in Costa Rica to start a career as a coffee farmer, I lost everything except for my farm. I went from being a lawyer to deciding whether I should spend that week’s earnings on shampoo or groceries for my family. I experienced the harsh reality that farmers do not even make enough to cover their grocery bills, and I soon partnered with local coffee farmer Alejandro Garcia and entrepreneur (and current CEO of Thrive) Michael Jones to start Thrive Farmers. What started out of pure survival soon became a new paradigm in the coffee industry. The unique business model could have failed, leaving my family and me in an even harder situation, but thankfully that isn’t the story I’m telling today. Taking a risk by moving to Costa Rica and starting a new company were two giant risks, but even through the tough days, I view risks as opportunities to bring impact to others around you. And that’s exactly what we’ve done through Thrive Farmers.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://thrivefarmers.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/thrivefarmers
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/THRIVEFarmers
Image Credits
Personal: Kenneth Lander Additional Photo: Thrive Farmers
