Pact Coffee and Waitrose to Launch New Blend Backing Women in Coffee

Speciality coffee roaster Pact Coffee and major British retailer Waitrose are partnering to launch a new coffee that will fund the expansion of a women-led cooperative in Colombia.

‘Colombia Single Origin’, a single-origin medium roast, will launch exclusively online at Waitrose and in Waitrose stores nationwide on 31 May. It will be available in 200g ground packs (RRP £7.95).

The product is part of Pact Coffee’s ‘Equal Ground Project’, which focuses on building long-term relationships with women-led farms producing specialty-grade coffee to build a more equitable coffee industry.

The coffee will be a rotation of single-estate lots grown by members of the Mirtayu Women’s Group, a cooperative of women producing speciality coffee in Huila, Colombia, first developed by Pact Coffee in collaboration with the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia. Sales of the coffee will directly fund the recruitment of more members to the cooperative.

The first release will come from Deisy Paiva’s La Esmeralda farm. Once her harvest sells out, the coffee will rotate between other women-led farms within the cooperative, while maintaining a consistent flavour profile, with notes of chocolate and orange, thanks to the farms’ close proximity.

Sophie Reid, Pact Coffee’s Chief Commercial Officer, said: “Economic empowerment for women in rural areas is proven to be the quickest and most effective way to promote gender equality in Colombia. By choosing this exceptional coffee, Waitrose customers are contributing to that.

“This isn't charity; it’s a correction of a market failure. These women are some of the most talented growers in Huila, the speciality-coffee capital of Colombia, yet they've historically lacked the platform to reach the UK market. This new coffee changes that.”

Sophie added that by forming long-term, personal relationships with these women, Pact Coffee can guarantee that the premium it pays for this exceptional coffee goes straight into their bank accounts.

“It's through sourcing intentionally from talented women in coffee that we can help to build a more equitable industry,” she continued.

Polly Astbury, buyer for coffee, tea, and hot beverages at Waitrose, commented: “Closing the gender gap is a quality imperative as well as a social goal. By backing women growers, we are bringing more expertise to the table to build a more sustainable coffee industry and push quality further. That’s why we’ve chosen to partner with Pact Coffee on this initiative, sourcing great-tasting coffee intentionally while directly funding a cooperative which backs women in coffee.”

The launch is part of Pact Coffee’s ongoing work to address the gender imbalance within the coffee industry. In Colombia, just 25% of coffee farms are owned by women—part of a wider global pattern where women make up 70% of the workforce but own or run only 20% of farms.

Since 2025, Pact Coffee has pledged to source a minimum 50% of its total coffee from women or gender equity groups. From April 2024 to April 2025, this was 60%.

In March 2026, 100% of Pact Coffee’s core range was grown by women or gender-equity groups across Colombia, Brazil, Honduras and Rwanda.