NEWS RELEASE
August 15, 2007
Cornerstone Provides Services to Mexican Coffee Cooperative
Cornerstone, a Baltimore-based marketing communications firm, recently provided pro bono positioning, branding and design services to Café Justo, a coffee cooperative based in Chiapas, Mexico. Cornerstone consulted with the organization to position the four-year old cooperative for future growth into more competitive markets, such as grocery stores. The agency provided branding services, including renaming the cooperative, and created a new logo and tagline for the organization. New copy for packaging and marketing materials was also created to more effectively communicate the organization's position in the Fair Trade products category.
"When I first learned of Café Justo, I was immediately impressed by their significant efforts to grow and prosper as a community and realized Cornerstone could support their efforts by applying our strong corporate identity expertise on their behalf," said Greg DesRoches, Cornerstone's founder and president. "Their previous marketing materials and packaging were not effectively communicating their message. With professional creative assistance, more people would receive and understand that their coffee is not only good, but part of a solution to economic disparity along the U.S. and Mexican border."
The logo was designed to reflect the high quality of the product – pure organic Arabica beans that are shade tree-grown, resulting in the best-tasting and environmentally beneficial coffees. The new tagline The Difference is in the Roasting communicates Café Justo's unique practice of roasting, grinding and bagging their own beans – part of the process that generates the most profit. Most Fair Trade coffee is sold as raw beans to international roasters, resulting in limited control of the product and lower profits for the grower.
Cornerstone became involved with Café Justo after the agency's vice president, Anne Lewis, visited the Agua Prieta roasting facility during a tour with the Presbyterian Church USA, which helped fund the cooperative's first roaster. Cornerstone's prior experience with nongovernmental organizations, including Enterprise Works Worldwide, enabled the agency to identify Café Justo's marketing needs and provide appropriate strategic solutions.
About Café Justo
Café Justo was founded by a group of Mexican coffee growers as a way to establish a sustainable local business providing economic and labor benefits to the community – while also addressing a root cause of labor migration from Mexico to the U.S. Café Justo, which has grown to 140 employees, grows, harvests, roasts and grinds its coffee in Mexico. Once the coffee is bagged, it is transported over the U.S. border to Douglas, Az., where it is sold and distributed throughout the U.S. by churches and religious organizations. Café Justo currently operates two roasting facilities and is planning to expand by adding two more.
Cornerstone is a full-service communications firm located in downtown Baltimore. Cornerstone provides comprehensive communications services, including advertising, corporate communications, external and internal brand development, public relations and strategic communications, to a variety of clients throughout the mid-Atlantic region. Cornerstone's client roster includes businesses, non-profits and governmental organizations in the financial services, healthcare, residential development, hospitality, recruitment and technology industries.