June 20, 2017

Coffee lovers will now have more reasons to drink 7-Eleven City Blends coffee, as our favorite kapitbahay launches  ‘A Cup of Thankful’, where a portion from every purchase of a 12 oz.  City Blends cup will be given to Filipino coffee farmers in the hopes of revitalizing the coffee industry in the country.

‘A Cup of Thankful’ invites everyone to experience a new way to drink City Blends coffee with a special interactive 12oz coffee cup design, where customers can simply write what they are thankful for on the cup.  

Through these difficult times, City Blends encourages everyone to take a moment to be grateful for the good things in life, especially for the farmers that make their coffee a daily dose of positivity.

7-Eleven local licensee Philippine Seven Corporation (PSC) revealed the need to bring awareness about what is happening to the local coffee industry. Previously, the Philippines was part of the top coffee exporters of the world, but over the years, the industry experienced a decline causing the country to import coffee instead.

Every year, Filipinos consume 65,000 metric tons of coffee but only 30,000 metric tons are supplied locally – and demand is still projected to rise. Currently, only 200,000 Filipinos are in the local coffee industry where problems like low buying price, outdated production practices, unproductive coffee trees, diversification into other crops, and a lack of post-harvest production and processing facilities continue to hinder profitability.

All these pressing concerns urged PSC to take action and help local farmers through 7-Eleven City Blends. For every 12 oz. cup, 50 centavos will be donated to the local farmers through PSC’s partnership with the Foundation for Sustainable Coffee Excellence (FSCE).

Cultivating coffee beans is becoming increasingly difficult because of several problems that farmers face according to Cristy Salbino Carame, a local coffee grower. The changing climate brings unpredictable weather, prolonged dry periods, and sometimes intense downpours which are all detrimental to the growth of coffee. Aside from this, the farmers also lack machineries that hasten production and are facing difficulties in getting water for their farms. With this campaign, PSC and FSCE aim to directly address some of these problems, and the farmers are seeing hope for the growth of local coffee.  

“This campaign is a channel of God’s Blessing to us, farmers because we will be able to live as healthy, safe and productive people. We are grateful for FSCE for providing educational assistance and livelihood programs. We cannot do this alone and we need all the help we can get,” Carame added.

The foundation, which was organized last year, was led by Henry & Sons, an established coffee company, to give aid to the coffee farmers in La Trinidad, Benguet and lead them to a flourishing business in the coffee industry.

“The foundation could really use the help of sponsors like 7-Eleven because the farmers will be able to receive post-harvest facilities to help them speed up production. They just need the right encouragement to lead them towards the revival of our local coffee farming,” Michael Harris Lim, Henry & Sons President and FSCE Director said.

“We aim to make a difference in the lives of our farmers and the communities they live in. We are very eager to work with our stakeholders so we can elevate the coffee industry and the lives of the Filipino farmers,” Jose Victor Paterno, President and CEO of PSC said.  

Buy ‘A Cup of Thankful’ by City Blends in selected 7-Eleven stores and write what you’re grateful for today! And why not include our dear coffee farmers as well!

MEDIA CONTACT: Renzie Babasa Account Manager, Grupo Agatep 0917.528.3274 Clarence.Babasa@grupoagatep.com

Grace Antonio Media Relations Supervisor, Grupo Agatep 0917.852.3705 Grace.Antonio@grupoagatep.com