BRAND OF THE WEEK: Kicking Horse Coffee

This ass is well known to many Canadians; he graces the packages of Kicking Horse’s “Deep dark flavour” coffee bean variety. When a local friend, a chinese medicine doctor, demure and gracious, asked if I would like a cup of KickAss coffee I could not help squeal in laughter at this vernacular rolling off her lips. This brand name is counter-intuitive to starchy corporate cultures but is indeed Kicking Horse style.

This little company started in 1996 by two Torontonians, Elana Rosenfeld and Leo Johnson, in the high altitudes of the BC Rocky Mountains (just 90 minutes from Banff, Alberta) is now Canada’s top organic coffee producer. These two former cafe owners happen on a success story with a blend of intuitive playfullness and incisive brand building. Kicking Horse now features 21 different varieties, branded individually; ”454 Horse Power”, “Cliff Hanger Espresso” and “Grizzly Claw” are three of its darker roasts.

Kicking Horse demonstrates its kinder, gentler style too. Kicking Horse’s beans are grown under rainforest canopies; every package is labelled “Shade Grown”, said to protect migrating birds’ habitats. And that’s organic shade grown–no pesticides, herbicides or fertilizers. Their committment to cause stretches far beyond birds to humans in its commitment to Fair Trade. KH promises to pay farmers a fair price for their coffee, “regardless of market forces”. KH is a Certified Licensee of Transfair, a now global organization that guarantees fair trade. This is the antithesis of corporations who seek out profits from low cost labor in the third world.

Now 11 years old (same as our corporation), Kicking Horse formerly relegated to independent stores and foodservice establishments now reaches further with placement in the big chains including Sobey’s, A&P and Provigo. Kick Ass may be one of their most recognized blends but it is truly a core value in Nike “Just Do It” style.