'In It Together' with Alpro

As the coffee sector continues to come to terms with the severe business impact of closures due to Covid-19, more companies are working on initiatives to provide support for businesses who may struggle to get back up and running.

Alpro is creating a fund to offer immediate financial aid to independent coffee shops who are facing severe hardship. Supported by UK Coffee Week, the brand is also calling on businesses throughout the industry to pledge their support.

Spearheaded by the plant-based leader with an initial £200,000 injection, the ‘In It Together’ Fund will aim to alleviate some of the financial pressures that coffee shops may be facing, by making grants available to business owners.

“Local coffee shops are the heart and soul of so many high streets, but the reality is that without additional support during the current UK lockdown, many of these smaller outlets could face closure,” says David Jiscoot, Marketing Director at Alpro UK & Ireland. “That’s why we want to do all that we can to help businesses to navigate this crisis, but we can’t do it on our own,” adds Jiscoot. “We need all sectors of the coffee industry to band together to make sure we can help as many businesses as possible, so I’d like to invite everyone to get involved and pledge their support.”

Jeffrey Young, Founder of UK Coffee Week, says, “This fund is offering a lifeline to our independent coffee shops, which is why we’re throwing our support behind this initiative and calling on the coffee community to do the same. No donation is too small – please give what you can so we can all help our independents to get through this.”

The ‘In It Together’ Fund will provide immediate financial aid to help business owners to manage cash flow, rental payments and staff costs.

As part of an additional £125,000 investment – taking Alpro’s total contribution to £325,000 – the brand has set live a free stock initiative to help businesses when they reopen, and is also engaging in a social media campaign with baristas to keep the coffee conversation going during lockdown.

To make a donation to the ‘In It Together’ Fund, please email [email protected].

To apply for support, please visit in-together.org. For any questions about the initiative, please contact [email protected].

We will report on further developments with the initiative as they happen.

Terms and conditions

• Coffee shops must have five stores or less, and be based in the UK in order to be eligible for financial aid.
• The funding available per independent business is £2,500.
• A maximum of one grant is available per business.
• Applications for financial aid will be responded to on a first-come, first-served basis.
• Further terms and conditions apply. Visit in-together.org for full details.
• To apply for Alpro’s free stock initiative, businesses can visit alpro.com/uk/barista/free-stock-initiative/. Product will be delivered in partnership with wholesalers once businesses reopen.