Sunflower Farmers Market Launches In-store Coffee Video

Sunflower Farmers Market has launched an in-store and online coffee video that walks customers through the process - and the quality difference - behind their private label roast.

The Sunflower coffee video debuted at the Roseville, CA Sunflower Farmers Market grand opening in May. It is also available online at www.sunflowermarkets.com and will be in additional select Sunflower stores later this month.

Customers at most Sunflower Farmers Markets can already "sip and shop" by heading to the Sunflower coffee sampling station, where they can sample from two fresh brews every day. With the new informative video, narrated by Sunflower's Coffee Director Mark Brown, customers can learn the details behind the process that yields high-quality coffee beans in more than 35 flavors, including organic and Fair Trade varieties, to Sunflower aisles.

The five-minute video illustrates Sunflower's meticulous process for providing a top-quality product, while also highlighting the company's dedication to globally responsible business practices with their coffee farmers. Customers will see how the market selects their coffee beans and roasts them. Additionally, they'll learn how Sunflower directly supports the farming communities that provide their coffee beans.

"More and more, customers want to know where their favorite products are coming from before they reach the store shelves," said Chris Sherrell, President and CEO of Sunflower Farmers Market. "We want our customers to know where their groceries originate, what's involved in bringing quality, affordable products like our coffee to the shelves, and how we're committed to giving back to the communities we work with and serve. This transparency benefits everyone - the customer, the farmers and the local and global communities working together to bring quality products to each Sunflower store."

The Sunflower coffee video features images from Brown's recent trip to El Salvador, one of the many farming regions around the world where Sunflower's coffee beans are grown. At farms like J. Hills Farm in El Salvador, Sunflower's extensive and scrupulous coffee process begins. Only beans offering exquisite flavor are selected and shipped to the roasting facility in Phoenix, Arizona. From there, another thorough process roasts the beans before shipping to stores.

Sourcing quality coffee beans wasn't the only reason Sunflower recently visited J. Hill Farms. In addition to bringing business to the farm, Brown and the Sunflower team were there to lend their support to the community.

As Brown relates in the video, Sunflower is establishing a program to directly support the schools in this coffee farming community. The program will give a percentage of coffee sales back to two local schools, the J. Hill Farms School and an additional school in nearby Santa Ana. Both schools are currently in need of some very basic supplies, and Sunflower is committed to helping provide those resources so that every child can have a successful educational experience.

"This community investment program is an extension of Sunflower's already-established practice of working with farms that support local education," explains Brown in the video. "Sunflower Farmers Market is dedicated to giving back to the communities that help bring their customers the high-quality, value-priced products they've come to depend on."