Today is Social Enterprise Day, an opportunity to shout about the greatness of all of us social enterprises!
For those not yet in the know, a social enterprise is defined as “a business with specific social objectives that...seeks to maximize profits while maximizing benefits to society and the environment at the same time”.
In other words, it’s a much better way to do business!
Social enterprises are set up by people that want to make a positive impact in the world and, in honour of today, we have teamed up with two fantastic, female-led social enterprises for a giveaway worth going for!
Humanitea and Little Coffee Company founders, Tina and Lauren, shared some of their social enterprise stimulus with us whilst sipping on a cup of their brilliant beverages.
Liberation Foods (LF): How did Humanitea (HT) and Little Coffee Company (LCC) come about?
LCC: I didnt mean to have a business. I wanted to help women in my community. I was fortunate enough to come to the UK and see products on shelf and for me a huge piece of who we are, what we stand for and our community was missing. So I wanted a brand that could stand on the shelf in the best stores but also has a grassroots mission.
HT: I started the company 3 years ago with the aim to create an iced tea drink that was low in sugar, low calories and additives. I started selling in a farmers market, making everything by hand so it was very different and a great opportunity to do market research to decide which flavours to go with for mass production. We currently have matcha and earl grey and in '23 we want to launch a turmeric flavour.
LF: As today is Social Enterprise Day let’s talk about exactly what that means for your businesses.
LCC: It's quite simple. I am motivated by people, passion, culture, and, community.
HT: We are set up as a social enterprise with a focus on mental health and well-being. We found out that 1 in 6 people in the UK suffer from mental health issues due to stresses from work so we encourage self-care and tea breaks. Our moto is Me Time Tea Time Any Time.
We currently support Go Inspire, a female-led non-profit organisation in Wimbledon who also focus on mental health by creating a support movement for women.
“I believe in questioning everything”
- Lauren, Little Coffee Company
LF: COP 27 finishes tomorrow, talk to us about social enterprises and the fight against climate change?
LCC: I come from an island where we feel the impact of climate change. We live it. Our hurricanes are stronger, our coastlines are eroded, and, looking at climate finance is a real key in helping smaller countries cope with the big impact of climate change.
I believe in questioning everything. Why does something need to be produced in a particular way? Is there a better way to ship or send something. I also believe in collaboration and community the more we work together and share our tips and ideas, but also in terms of exporting & importing - sharing container loads via sea helps reduce CO2 emissions.
We are also looking at the waste we produce and how we can work better with our partners to upcycle and recycle.
HT: We use ethically sourced ingredients and eco-friendly packaging. Our drinks have earl grey from Fairtrade organic farms in Rwanda, matcha from organic farms in Japan, oat milk and bottled into cans, which are both low emmissions.
Challenger brands actually have a lot of impact. There’s a lot of potential as you are able to be super agile and move quicker because you have less stakeholders. Also, consumers are looking for more sustainable products so there is a combination of driving forces as to why social enterprises have the possibility to be super powerful!
“Challenger brands actually have a lot of impact.”
- Tina, Humanitea
LF: As always we want to spread the social enterprise joy, can you tell us about another social enterprise you love?
LCC: I love Upcircle not just because they use coffee but they live and breathe sustainability and they came from humble beginnings with an idea and made it happen.
HT: Harry Specter comes from a real grassroots cause and makes delicious chocolates!
(Visit our Instagram page to be in for a chance of winning a social enterprise bundle worth over £60. Competition closes 25th November)
