The coffee franchise is on a mission to be 100% Farm-Direct by 2028. As it celebrates the halfway point, the team reflects on progress thus far and goals for the next four years.
BIGGBY COFFEE, the high-energy coffee franchise with over 400 stores nationwide, continues its commitment to being 100% Farm-Direct by 2028. Through a boots-on-the-ground initiative via One BIGG Island in Space (OBIIS) led by BIGGBY COFFEE Co-Founder and Co-CEO Bob Fish and his wife, Michelle, the brand is working to bring a name, face and place to every cup of coffee it serves and supporting a more humane, sustainable version of coffee farming.
As they work toward revolutionizing the industry, Bob and Michelle have set incremental goals. They reached their first — achieving 50% Farm-Direct sourcing for all coffee bought throughout the BIGGBY COFFEE system — this month.
“The way coffee is bought and sold today perpetuates poverty and climate change all over the world, and we are unwinding that, first, for BIGGBY COFFEE,” Bob said. “And once we achieve our goal of 100% Farm-Direct within our system, we will move on to changing the industry.”
In line with this milestone, BIGGBY COFFEE is also launching a new Farm-Direct blend with its partner, La Fortaleza, that will be available by the cup at local BIGGBY® COFFEE coffeehouses as well as for purchase by the bag.
Through its partnerships with La Fortaleza, El Recreo, and Finca Terrerito, BIGGBY COFFEE buys approximately 1.3 million pounds of coffee directly from the farmers each year. The next step is for the system to be purchasing 100% of its coffee Farm-Direct by 2028.
“The vast majority of American consumers have no idea where coffee comes from. But more importantly, they have no idea who grows it,” Michelle said. “Because they have no idea, the industry itself continues to commoditize and marginalize these people, and — for many of them — keep them trapped in the cycle of generational poverty, contributing to environmental degradation and accelerating climate change. We believe that, if consumers have a sense of who these people are, that’s enough to change their buying behavior.”
The Fishes dedicate the majority of their time to traveling around the world, meeting, visiting with and exploring potential partnerships with coffee farmers who are already doing the right thing for their people and the planet.
Miriam Morales, president of El Recreo, a family farm that was started five decades ago, explains that the partnership with BIGGBY COFFEE has been monumental, not only for the business, but for the impact it has been able to make on the larger community. With the resources they’ve had, the team at El Recreo has put in a school for workers’ kids, a kitchen to prepare communal meals, a chapel, a store, a school for adults, on-site housing and a small clinic.
“With these resources, our staff can dream for their own lives. For example, this is the third year in a row that we’ve been able to give out bonuses,” said Hector Morales, president of El Recreo. “That is another impact of the relationship with Bob and Michelle. The ability to do things like that creates a moment of pride and fulfillment for us, and we’re only able to do these things because of the stability we feel as a result of the Farm-Direct partnership.”
This is just one of countless examples illustrating the wide-reaching impact these Farm-Direct partnerships have.
“We’re at the halfway mark, but there’s a lot more to go,” Bob said. “We were a sponsor of the Producer Roaster Forum in Central America this year, and we received over 30 points of interest. We have two Farm-Direct possibilities in Burundi and Mozambique, and we will be going to Southeast Asia in the first quarter of 2025.”
In addition to an ongoing search for additional Farm-Direct partners for BIGGBY COFFEE, Bob and Michelle have leaned into the storytelling aspect of their work with OBIIS. Later this year, a series of short videos, called Field Notes, will launch on YouTube to tell the stories of producers and their teams.
Through all their work with OBIIS, Bob and Michelle and BIGGBY COFFEE continue to place the people and stories at the forefront, leveraging the power of a growing franchise system to help people build lives they love.
BIGGBY COFFEE, based in East Lansing, Mich., was started with a single store on March 15, 1995. One year later, and on the cusp of opening a second location, Bob Fish and Michael McFall, on a handshake and $4,000, decided to franchise the concept. The brand’s cultural values of Make Friends, Have Fun, B Yourself and Share Great Coffee help coffee lovers and the coffee-curious alike benefit from a less pretentious and fun approach to the standard gourmet cafe paradigm. Besides connoisseur-worthy drinks with names like Teddy Bear and Caramel Marvel, BIGGBY COFFEE baristas provide a unique experience focused on brightening their customers’ day and supporting them in building a life they love. The “Big ‘B’” on the orange background caught on, and today BIGGBY COFFEE has 400+ cafes across many states, including Virginia, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Idaho, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Tennessee and Florida.
