Once again, I didn’t make it to SXSW. My old roommate lives in Austin now, so next year I may not have a choice not to go. One of the most exciting announcements this year came from Blake Mycoskie, the founder of TOMS Shoes. He shared that he will be expanding on the brand’s one-for-one concept with a venture into the coffee business. TOMS Roasting Co. will include a chain of coffee bars, a wholesale roasting business (available at Whole Foods), and a subscription coffee club online.
For each bag of coffee beans sold a person in the places where TOMS is sourcing beans (Rwanda, Malawai, Guatemala, Honduras or Peru) will get clean water for a week. For every cup sold someone will get water for a day. To make the announcement even more exciting, Mycoskie plans to introduce a new concept every year under the TOMS name based on the “one-for-one” model.
Hear the news here from Mycoskie himself.
