In many so-called hip urban centers, coffee shops pop up like nobody's business, so much so that it's often hard to keep track. While any alternative to Starbuck's is typically welcome, Melbourne-based Kinfolk goes a step further than, say, merely serving fair trade or organic shade-grown coffee. All around, Kinfolk is a social business.
Kinfolk, which is run by volunteer staff, redistributes profits to four key development projects. What's more, customers who frequent the cafe have a voice when it comes to cause. "Customers may choose to support the likes of a multifarious capacity-building initiative in Rwanda; an anti-child slavery set-up in Ghana; an education-focused project for young Indigenous Australians or a café that pioneers relationship-building and radical inclusion for Melbourne’s homeless, marginalized and disenchanted," write Kinfolk on their website.
Contact Information
Kinfolk website
Kinfolk on Facebook
Kinfolk on Twitter
Photography by Josie Withers
Profit-Sharing Cafes
Kinfolk is an Australian Social Business with Four Development Projects
Trend Themes
1. Social Business - The trend of social businesses like Kinfolk that aim to redistribute profits to development projects presents disruptive innovation opportunities in various industries.
2. Customer-driven Cause Marketing - The rise of customer-driven cause marketing, where customers have a voice in choosing the social cause to support, presents disruptive innovation opportunities in the marketing and retail industries.
3. Alternative Coffee Shop Models - The emergence of innovative coffee shop models, such as profit-sharing cafes like Kinfolk, presents disruptive innovation opportunities in the food and beverage industry.
Industry Implications
1. Social Entrepreneurship - The concept of social businesses that redistribute profits to development projects presents disruptive innovation opportunities in the social entrepreneurship industry.
2. Marketing - The trend of customer-driven cause marketing presents disruptive innovation opportunities in the marketing industry.
3. Food and Beverage - The emergence of innovative coffee shop models presents disruptive innovation opportunities in the food and beverage industry.