UTZ Certified

UTZ Certified is a program and a label for sustainable farming. The UTZ Certified label is featured on more than 10,000 different product packages in over 116 countries. As of 2014, UTZ Certified is the largest program for sustainable farming of coffee and cocoa in the world. The UTZ Certified program covers good agricultural practices, farm management, social and living conditions, and the environment.

History

UTZ was launched in 2002 as Utz Kapeh, meaning ‘Good Coffee’ in the Mayan language Quiché. It was founded by Nick Bocklandt, a Belgian-Guatemalan coffee grower, and Ward de Groote, a Dutch coffee roaster, with the goal of implementing sustainability on a large scale in the worldwide market. Solidaridad (www.solidaridadnetwork.org) was another co-initiator of UTZ Certified and assisted UTZ to become a global standard through financial support and field implementation.

On 7 March 2007, the Utz Kapeh Foundation officially changed its name and logo to UTZ Certified.

Products