Marsden-based Dark Woods Coffee has won a coveted award for its business ethics.
The coffee roaster won a Golden Fork at the Great Taste Awards 2024, which celebrates the very best food and drink around.
There were 16 Great Taste Golden Forks presented at this year’s awards, with two new trophies for Sustainability and Better Business joining the line up.
Dark Woods Coffee won the inaugural Better Business accolade for their values-driven approach to business, the environment and community.
Ian Agnew, director of Dark Woods Coffee, said: “We’re absolutely delighted to have won this new Golden Fork award for Better Business.
“We always do our best to consider the impact we have on the environment, our local community and the global coffee-growing community; and to strive to keep making positive changes.
“That’s why this award means so much to us, knowing that it recognises our efforts as a business, not just the quality of the coffee we produce.”
The Great Taste Awards have a robust judging regime where blind taste testing is key.
Last year Dark Woods Coffee won no fewer than 22 accolades in the Great Taste Awards.
They specialise in sourcing and roasting exceptional coffees from around the world. Their coffee is purchased either directly from producers or through longstanding buying arrangements with estates and speciality exporters, and it’s the development of these relationships that drives their purchasing decisions as much as a desire for quality.
The business is deeply entrenched in the local community and sees sustainability as the cornerstone of their operations, giving 2% of their annual turnover to both local community projects, and those in the coffee-growing communities.
Paying additional quality premiums for coffee, funding development projects at origin, operating a community grants scheme and reducing the environmental impact of their operations with the use of electric vehicles and compostable or recyclable packaging are just some of the ways that Dark Woods demonstrates that responsible and ethical practice can be at the heart of a growing and successful business.
