MIAMI, FL, Dec. 05, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CLR Roasters, a wholly owned subsidiary of Youngevity International, Inc. (NASDAQ: YGYI) and makers of Café La Rica Espresso, "The Official Cafecito of the Miami Marlins," today announced that its Siles Plantation Family Group has received certification by C.A.F.E. Practices, a private Standard established by the Starbucks Coffee Company. C.A.F.E. Practices, which stands for Coffee and Farmer Equity, ensures that Starbucks is sourcing sustainably grown and processed coffee by evaluating the economic, social and environmental aspects of coffee production. Starbucks partners with SCS Global Services to ensure the quality and integrity of the third –party verification process. CERES, or Certification of Environmental Standards GmbH, an approved verifier of C.A.F.E. Practices, serves as the third party verifier for the certification.
“We are so proud of Marisol Siles and her team at the Siles Family Plantation in achieving an overall score of 95% from Starbucks C.A.F.E. Practices, led by scores of 100% and 97% in Economic Accountability and Social Responsibility respectively” said Dave Briskie, President and CFO of Youngevity. “The validity of this certification runs through June 30, 2021. We are optimistic that establishing this very prestigious certification, which is a required first step in forming a supplier relationship with Starbucks, may lead to an expanded sourcing relationship with Starbucks in the future.”
In order to receive this certification there are many defined criteria that must be met and adhered to. Some have zero tolerance including: payment of minimum wages, no child labor, and traceability of the coffee back to the farmer. Other criteria include social responsibility and environmental leadership regarding both farming and processing. These standards were developed to benefit the lives of coffee producers many who are small scale farmers, provide positive environmental impact and stimulate economic development within the industry.
“We are proud to be certified by Starbucks C.A.F.E. Practices as we feel it represents an ethical way of producing and processing coffees, while simultaneously supporting the farming community and being environmentally conscious to insure the longevity and sustainability of the industry.” Stated Marisol Siles, who is the most Senior Executive of the Siles Family Plantation Group.
About CLR Roasters
Youngevity's coffee manufacturing division, CLR Roasters, was established in 2001 and is a wholly-owned subsidiary. CLR Roasters is a full-sized coffee roaster that produces gourmet coffees under its own boutique brands -- Café La Rica®, Josie's Java House®, and Javalution®; manufactures a variety of private labels for major national chains; and for the direct selling channel under Youngevity International. The company remains one of the largest suppliers in North America to the cruise line industry. CLR was the first entrant into the fortified coffee niche with its Youngevity JavaFit® brand. In May 2014, CLR acquired a coffee plantation and processing facility in Nicaragua, allowing the entity to control coffee production and quality -- from field to cup.
About Youngevity International, Inc.
Youngevity International, Inc. ( NASDAQ : YGYI ), is a leading omni-direct lifestyle company -- offering a hybrid of the direct selling business model, that also offers e-commerce and the power of social selling. Assembling a virtual Main Street of products and services under one corporate entity, Youngevity offers products from the six top selling retail categories: health/nutrition, home/family, food/beverage (including coffee), spa/beauty, apparel/jewelry, as well as innovative services. The Company was formed in the course of the summer 2011 merger of Youngevity Essential Life Sciences with Javalution® Coffee Company (now part of the company's food and beverage division). The resulting company became Youngevity International, Inc. in July 2013. For investor information, please visit YGYI.com. Be sure to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
Safe Harbor Statement
This release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995on our current expectations and projections about future events. In some cases forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "may," "should," "potential," "continue," "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "encouraged" and similar expressions. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release include statements regarding the certification leading to an expanded sourcing relationship with Starbucks in the future potential. These forward-looking statements are based on management's expectations and assumptions as of the date of this press release and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations and assumptions from those set forth or implied by any forward-looking statements. Important factors that could that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, among others, our ability to continue to comply with the certification requirements or to further our relationship with Starbucks, and the other factors discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016 and our subsequent filings with the SEC, including subsequent periodic reports on Forms 10-Q and 8-K. The information in this release is provided only as of the date of this release, and we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this release based on new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law.