‘A bunch of weirdos’

INC. THIS MORNING ‘A bunch of weirdos’ Good morning, I’m Sophie Downes, an assistant editor at Inc. and your new Inc. This Morning newsletter writer. Thanks for welcoming me to your inbox!  Fair trade coffee wasn’t really a thing when Minneapolis-based Peace Coffee opened its doors in 1996 with the mission of prioritizing fair pay for farmers. "For a long time, Peace Coffee was a bunch of weirdos," says Lee Wallace, the company’s CEO since 2006.  Not anymore. Under Wallace’s leadership, Peace Coffee became a national brand, a certified B-Corp, and one of the most prominent proponents of the fair-trade model, having purchased more than 10 million pounds of coffee from small-scale farmer cooperatives in more than 12 countries.  Last year, Peace generated more than $10 million in annual sales. Read our story to learn Wallace’s simple formula for growing the idealistic coffee business into a thriving company, without compromising its mission. JOIN US: Sometimes family recipes or beauty regimens passed down from generation to generation need an upgrade. Join Inc. for a conversation with entrepreneurs who saw a direct need in the marketplace and are using their cultural backgrounds as inspiration to make change and create brands people love. Wednesday, July 21, 2021, 3:00 pm Eastern Time Reserve your free spot. HERE'S WHAT ELSE I'M READING TODAY: Three Netflix executives were reportedly fired after privately criticizing their bosses on Slack. The company’s co-CEO said that’s not quite what happened. --Inc. Officially, the pandemic-driven recession in the U.S. lasted only two months, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research. --The Wall Street Journal According to a new survey, longtime employees are ready to go back to the office. Newer workers? Not so much. --Inc. Ben & Jerry’s announced it will stop selling its ice cream in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. --AP Two formative decisions helped this founder keep her company afloat when it lost 80 percent of its revenue. --Inc. ONE MORE THING: It turns out that Pepper, SoftBank’s humanoid robot that was introduced to considerable fanfare in 2014, is not very good at its jobs. --Inc. --Sophie Downes Assistant editor, Inc. How are we doing? Send me ideas and feedback at sdownes@inc.com, and follow me on Twitter at @sophiewdownes. Join the visionaries who choose Inc. as their trusted source for the most accurate reporting on business. Join Inc. Unlimited today. Click here to forward to a friend. This email was sent by: Mansueto Ventures 7 World Trade Center, 29th Floor New York, NY, 10007, Unsubscribe • Update Profile • View in Browser • Privacy Policy