Fonds de solidarité FTQ and Fondaction Invest in Café William

Sherbrooke, February 8, 2024

Café William is delighted to welcome the Fonds de solidarité FTQ and Fondaction as shareholders in order to support its development and increase the associated positive social and environmental impacts. This investment will help strengthen the market position of one of the most important organic and fair-trade coffee roasters, the most retail-sold brand in Québec. Café William will continue to offer high quality coffee, organic and fair-trade certified, at a reasonable price for consumers. The new capital will help strengthen the position of the Sherbrooke-based company, which employs nearly 200 people, as one of Canada's leading fair trade coffee importers, support its domestic expansion and make inroads in the
United States. 

As Québec's best-selling brand of organic fair-trade coffee, Café William intends to continue offering a high-quality product at a price consumers can afford. 

Café William is committed to producing the most sustainable coffee there is. The company recently announced an initiative to import coffee beans by cargo sailboat from Colombia. Other initiatives are in the pipeline, all linked to the company's vision of further reducing its carbon footprint and having a positive impact on the community. 

Many of Café William's brand products are certified organic and fair trade. The company's medium-term objective is to increase similar initiatives and processes, which improve food traceability and encourage the development of cooperatives and networks of local producers. They also ensure better compensation for growers, making the coffee industry not only fairer but more sustainable. 

Quotes

"Our aim is to produce the most sustainable coffee possible. The arrival of these two major Québec partners, who share our values, will help us get there faster. Producing the most sustainable coffee means that our growth will take place with a positive impact on people, both here and in coffee-growing countries, while minimizing our impact on the environment." - Rémi Tremblay, CEO, Café William

"Café William is a model in the sustainable coffee industry and, more broadly, in the agri-food sector. Their willingness to use sustainability strategies while outdoing themselves in their field is remarkable. The Fonds is proud to support this exceptional partner with a $17-million investment, which comes on top of the $1.3 billion invested to date in the agri-food sector." - Dany Pelletier, Executive Vice-President, Private Equity and Impact Investing, Fonds de solidarité FTQ

"The sustainability positioning of Café William, which promotes fair trade and takes concrete action to decarbonize its activities, reflects values to which Fondaction wholeheartedly subscribes. By supporting Café William, first with its plant project, and today with market development in Canada and the United States, we are encouraging a bold player in the quest for a positive transformation of the economy who is making an exemplary contribution to building a sustainable agri-food sector." - Claire Bisson, Deputy Chief Investment Officer, Impact and Sustainable Investments, Fondaction 

About Café William

Founded in Sherbrooke in 1988, Café William is a Québec roaster committed to producing organic fair-trade coffee for the retail market. Their coffees from around the world stand out for their exceptional quality and the company's efforts to make them accessible to the greatest number of consumers by pricing them comparably to conventional coffees. The company is one of the largest importers of Fairtrade certified coffee in Canada, a certification the brand has carried since its inception. Café Williams' roasting plant adheres to the SQF standard, the highest food safety standard in the industry. For more information, visit cafewilliam.com. 

About the Fonds de solidarité FTQ

The Fonds de solidarité FTQ is a source of pride in Québec, fulfilling its mission through a unique business model created 40 years ago. Since then, the Fonds has rallied Québec into action thanks to the retirement savings of 769,459 shareholders. 

With net assets of $18.9 billion as at November 30, 2023, the Fonds supports more than 3,700 companies through venture and development capital investments based on the belief that impact is created as much by financial as social returns. For more information, visit fondsftq.com or our company page on LinkedIn. 

About Fondaction

A trailblazer for over 25 years, Fondaction is the investment fund for those committed to the positive transformation of Quebec to make it a more productive, equitable, inclusive and green economy. As a labour-sponsored fund, Fondaction represents tens of thousands of investors and hundreds of companies committed to the progress of Quebec. As at November 30, 2023, the organization had net assets of $3.5 billion under management, invested in hundreds of companies and in financial markets, prioritizing investments that generate positive economic, social and environmental benefits in addition to financial returns. The company participates in initiatives to maintain and create jobs, eliminate inequality and fight climate change. For more information, visit fondaction.com or its LinkedIn page.

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