We’re happy and very proud to announce and present the very first product, made to mirror our passionate goal to make the world a welcoming place. We believe that all companies today should have a social cause and responsibility to the world, whatever that may be.
4 EVER PRIDE (get it here) is one in a series of collaborations with different brands, trying to make the world a better place in their own way. We teamed up with Karma Coffee and founder Pontus Rosberg and created this specialty coffee. Pontus, tell us why is it important for you that your coffee has a social good cause to it?
- Why is charity important to me? The world today doesn’t work the way we want it to. Investing in dedicated people that work every day with helping people out of poverty, fighting for equal rights or cleaning our oceans could be the best long term investment ever. We need a balanced, equal and clean future to survive and thrive.
Why did you want to collaborate with us at Gayze? - I know that the tech world has an great impact potential to be used to reach many people all over the world. To create a more welcoming world is more important today than ever and I think Gayze is a perfect example on how to lead the way. I think Karma and Gayze believe in the same things, although we work with different products.
Tell us a bit more about Karma Coffee? - At Karma, we use fine coffee as a tool to create development in Ethiopia, Uganda and the Pacific. Roasting coffee in small unique batches with only organic specialty beans create an experience above the normal cup of joe. Labeling our bags with the development project we support creates a product with greater value and a sweeter after taste. We believe the world needs more good karma and better coffee so this was a perfect match. Thank you! For every kg sold, 2.15 USD, will go to support the Rainbow Riots Foundation that aims to build a safe house for the LGBTQ+ community in Uganda. Still today it is illegal to be gay in Uganda, and the law clearly dictates thatunder the Penal Code, "carnal knowledge against the order of nature"between two males carries a potential penalty of life imprisonment.
We’re very glad that the coffee was launched in one of the most tolerant places on earth. The Castro district in San Francisco! Here’s the story how it came to be, in Creative Director and Co-Founder Stelios Vasilantonakis’s own words.
“So, in October of 2018, Elin and I were sitting down and talking how we wanted to make a product that everyone would buy so a percentage would go to charity. We needed something everyone buys.
I remember Elin had just returned from Kuala Lumpur and was feeling very tired, so I kept making us coffee. That would be perfect! Maybe we ran out of ideas or maybe we wanted to go to bed, but that’s how the idea came to life.
After some quick sketches of how the product could develop we started looking for suppliers. We noticed quickly that there weren’t many companies producing coffee and working for a social good cause - our main drive force.
As time went by we drifted into other projects and left this one behind us. Until one day our mutual friend started to date this wonderful man. And you know what he worked with? Producing coffee with a soul. Karma Coffee. I’ve always believed that things happen for a reason. Some call it luck, others destiny. I just think its as they say. The stars were aligned.”
/ JONATHAN FLYTE, EDITOR
