Building a Fairtrade offer in the off-trade
GLASGOW-BASED beer brewer Brewgooder has rolled out its Fairtrade beer offer into new stores across the country with its Fonio Session IPA.
Aiming to offer consumers a choice in the beer section that directly supports people in the supply-chain of the ingredient, the Brewgooder Fairtrade Fonio Session IPA is now available Co-op, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose stores.
The 4.3% ABV Session IPA marks a continuation of Brewgooder’s collaboration with the Brooklyn Brewery from 2023 which saw the creation of the Fonio grain session IPA between the two firms. Brewgooder has continued this launch with vibrant new packaging across the beer with the message ‘Fairtrade up your beer’.
This comes as Fairtrade research highlighted that 80% of consumers have chosen Fairtrade products over an alternative, showing a clear demand from shoppers to choose more supplier-friendly options from stores.
The brew makes use of the Fonio grain which is native to West Africa and does not require fertilisers in its production and uses much less water to grow than barley, making it a climate-resilient grain that Brewgooder says it ethically sources from smallholder farmers.
As a result, Brewgooder marks Scotland’s first B-Corp certified brewer to use a Fairtrade-certified supply chain.
Alan Mahon, founder at Brewgooder, said: “There’s a huge appetite for Fairtrade products in the UK, and it’s absent in the beer category at present. If people can achieve it through the products they buy, then they will make that choice.
“With the increasing interest in Fonio grain in brewing and beyond, we saw an opportunity to ensure the upside of its increasing popularity would be felt by the farming communities that grow and supply it for many years to come, we decided to go one step further.”
LJ Loftus, deputy director of partnerships at Fairtrade Foundation, said: “Let’s raise a glass to Brewgooder for introducing the world’s first Fairtrade certified fonio grain IPA into the UK market. Every sip will ensure West African farmers are getting a better deal.”
