STRENGTHENING LOCAL EFFORTS
As evidenced by its NESCAFÉ Plan, Nestlé viewed sustainability differently from certifications such as Fairtrade. The company believed that it could better enhance sustainability by working closely with individual farmers, rather than guaranteeing a minimum price for their output. The company’s grassroots interaction with farmers involved supplying seedlings, providing technical assistance, diversifying the coffee farmers’ sources of income through changes in cropping patterns and building schools in coffee- producing communities.
Consumers, however, seemed to prefer Fairtrade-certified coffee, and were willing to pay a premium for it, even in China. An independent survey conducted in Wuhan, one of China’s 10 most populous cities, had shown that, on average, in a coffee shop, consumers were willing to pay 22 per cent more for a cup of Fairtrade coffee, compared with traditional coffee. The willingness to pay a premium for Fairtrade coffee was higher among three segments: female consumers, consumers who made their own coffee and consumers who planned to increase their coffee consumption in the following year.27