The Issue: A Cotton On Group Publication | Page 18

COFFEE
WITH SOUL
Cre at ing Hop e, One Cup At A T ime

Cotton On Group’s in-house cafe, The Common,
buzzes every morning thanks to one unique product.
Whilst coffee itself is nothing new, it’s the Group’s
own Mannya Trading Co. coffee that is offering up
an innovative approach to the everyday cup of joe.

Nathan Johnston, founder of speciality coffee
wholesaler Coffee Cartel Roasters, has partnered
with the initiative to help deliver the highest standard
product. A true artisan, Nathan oversees the roasts,
to coax the full flavour potential out of the beans.

While other fashion retailers have dabbled in the
coffee space, the Cotton On Group is the first to
wholly embrace not just the speciality coffee trend,
but the ethos behind the movement. Its coffee project
has been developed to provide savvy coffee lovers
with a premium range that is not only high quality but
also sustainably produced.

Johnston says Uganda is emerging as a leading region
in speciality coffee production.

Born out of the Cotton On Foundation’s sustainability
projects in Uganda, Mannya Trading Co. is a small but
growing specialty coffee company. 100 per cent of
the proceeds from every sale is reinvested in further
coffee projects in Uganda, focusing on education,
equipment and facilities for farmers.
“The initiative is about creating opportunity through
education and training and providing a strategy
for Ugandan coffee farmers to become financially
independent. A sustainable income for them has
direct benefits not only for their own families but the
wider communities too,” says Mannya Trading Co.
Manager Ross Burrage.
Burrage says the initiative has a strong emphasis on
delivering a premium product, a result of the oldest
and most traditional methods being used throughout
the entire growing and harvesting process.
“Everything is done by hand with the beans hand­
picked by the farmers, dried and roasted by the finest
craftsmen and women. It means each cup has a huge
amount of time and care put into it and this shows in
the flavour of the end product.”
In just over a year of operation, Mannya Trading Co.
has generated sales of over 5,500kg of beans in an
increasingly competitive Australian coffee market.

18

T HE IS SUE C O T T ON ON GR OUP

“Over the years, I’ve seen so much progression in
growing and producing specialty coffee in Uganda
– they’re becoming one of the most advanced and
transparent countries on the planet.”
Dylan Callanan works as the Cotton On Group’s Coffee
Specialist, splitting his week between managing
coffee accounts for Mannya Trading Co. and working
as Head Barista in The Common. It’s in his role as a
Barista that he has seen firsthand the cut through
the coffee has been able to generate in the Group’s
head office cafe. Since switching to Mannya Trading
Co. Arabica coffee, weekly sales have increased by
over 38 per cent, now pumping out up to 2000 coffees
a week.
Callanan is as passionate about the Mannya Trading
Co. as he is coffee.
“No-one else is doing this – putting 100 per cent of
profits back into the local coffee community. It’s about

5,500
kilograms of coffee sales
in first year

long term improvement of the farmer’s product and
their livelihoods and that’s an exciting thing to be part
of,” he explains.
Following a trial of selling beans through Cotton
On stores last year, the focus has now shifted to a
wholesale trade model. Mannya Trading Co. is working
with local Geelong organisations seeking to elevate
their corporate social responsibility and engage
their own teams. Barwon Health, the region’s largest
health service provider, was the first to partner with
the initiative and now serves Mannya Trading Co.
coffee throughout their service network.
With the current ranges of coffee being single origin
(all sourced from the same coffee growing region),
each presents exciting flavour profiles but retains the
typically African earthy characteristics.
The next few months will see the team launch a
Mannya Trading Co. blend, in addition to the six new
single origins which have recently been released.
“We are also in the process of developing several
blends using a combination of the Ugandan micro
stations to add depth and width to our taste profiles,”
Burrage says.
The Group’s Cotton On BODY brand and the Cotton On
Foundation are also working on new Mannya Robusta
coffee scrubs, due to launch in early 2016.
As part of Mannya Trading Co.’s mission to continue
nurturing its partnership with coffee farmers, Burrage
and Callanan will soon head over to Uganda to offer
on the ground support and work with the farmers on
improving the quality of the crops and roasts even
further.
It’s all part of building a legacy that inspires
sustainable futures in Southern Uganda, one cup at
a time.