FedUp Foods - Social Impact Program

Origins:

What if we could shift our food system from being a major contributor to climate change to one that helps us become more climate resilient? We see two ways to answer that: in the fields, by sourcing ingredients grown in ways that rebuild soil and resilience, and at scale, where FedUp Foods, the largest private label manufacturer of functional fermented beverages in North America, can make those same practices more viable industry-wide. We believe the health of the soil shapes the health of the farmers who work it, the quality of life in their communities, and ultimately the quality of what ends up in the bottle. That's why we prioritize organic, Fair Trade, and Regenerative Organic Certified ingredients, because of what they mean for the farmers who grow ingredients like our tea, coffee, and sugar: fair wages, safe working conditions, and more. We turn that same lens on our own operations. In 2025, we began formally tracking our own Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, establishing the baseline we need to reach net zero. Alongside that work, we're already offsetting our footprint through verified carbon credits and reforestation, and channeling certification premiums directly into farmer- and worker-led community development. Growth and responsibility, for us, are the same goal.

Contribution:

When a farmer sells us Fair Trade Certified or Regenerative Organic Certified ingredients, they earn a premium on top of the regular price. It's money set aside to strengthen the community around that farm, and farmers and workers decide how to spend it. Sometimes that's a clean water system, a school, a health clinic, or safety equipment for harvest season. At our tea partner Teatulia's cooperative in Bangladesh, for example, it's helped fund a literacy program, among other projects benefiting the farmers and community members. As we sourced more certified ingredients in 2025, the premiums flowing back to these communities grew too: $91,283 through Fair Trade and $142,718 through the Regenerative Organic Alliance. It's the same idea we started with: the fields and the shelf are connected, and sourcing responsibly makes both a little more resilient.

Objectives:

Our program rests on three commitments: First, we use our scale to create more availability of sustainable offerings: as the largest private label manufacturer of functional fermented beverages in North America, we help make Organic, Regenerative Organic Certified® and Fair Trade practices more viable industry-wide, not just within our own supply chain. In 2025, we sourced Regenerative Organic Certified coffee beans from Heirloom Coffee Roasters, to launch the first-ever private label ROC cold brew coffee. Second, we hold ourselves accountable for our own environmental footprint, onboarding Workiva last year to formally track Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, building toward net zero. Third, we invest directly in the farming communities behind our ingredients, contributing to certification premiums that fund community development projects that farmers and workers direct themselves. Together, these commitments set a standard in the industry, driving meaningful change and creating a better world for future generations.

Impact:

In 2025, our production grew more than 40%, and our commitment to responsible sourcing grew right alongside it: organic ingredient inputs rose 38%, Fair Trade Certified inputs rose 27%, and regeneratively grown inputs rose 49% compared to the year before. That same year, we became the first private label manufacturer to launch a Regenerative Organic Certified® cold brew coffee, recognized with a Store Brands Game Changer in Innovation award. Growing bigger and sourcing better moved together. That growth showed up directly in the communities we source from: $91,283 in Fair Trade Community Development Funds and $142,718 in Regenerative Organic Alliance social programming, money farmers and workers put toward clean water, healthcare, schools, and emergency relief. We measured our own footprint with the same rigor. We onboarded Workiva to formally track Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, landing on a baseline of 2,370 metric tons of CO2e, the number we'll work to bring down. In the meantime, we neutralized 389 metric tons of CO2e through verified Terrapass offsets, and since 2022, our partnership with One Tree Planted has funded 32,500 trees. We believe this program works because we've built accountability into how we operate, not treated it as separate from growth.

Quote:

“As our business grows, our responsibility to the systems we depend on grows with it. We invest in a supply chain that is focused on being stewards to the planet and use our business as a conduit for positive social impact. We aim to prove that private label manufacturing can scale sustainably. True value comes from making high-integrity, planet-positive beverages accessible to everyday consumers while lifting up the communities and ecosystems that sustain us all.”

- David Gray, Chief Executive Officer of FedUp Foods.

Support Statement:

"Real change doesn't happen alone. It happens when farmers, roasters, and partners commit to a higher standard together. That's why our partnership with FedUp Foods is so meaningful. We're proving that regenerative coffee can move beyond specialty shelves and become the new standard for the industry."

- Hovik Azadkhanian, Co-Founder & CEO of Heirloom Coffee Roasters.