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Issue link: http://freshcup.epubxp.com/i/131835
space. Rosenfeld says she wanted to create an awe-inspiring shop, and though the café is not unusually large at 1,300 square feet, being housed in a 60,000-square-foot space adds some oomph. "We wanted to make our café a 'wow' experience when people walked in the door," she says. "You're in the middle of this small town and it's a completely different setting than you would expect." Patrons enter into a spacious café with circular tables— each a different color of the rainbow and branded with logos from Kicking Horse's various blends. Customers walking up to the bar are faced with a 20-foot-high, backlit image of roasted coffee. "This is our primary contact with the consumer," Rosenfeld says, "so we wanted to make it special." The coffeehouse received national recognition last year when the Canadian Fairtrade Awards named Kicking Horse the Best Independent Café—another positive development from Kicking Horse's 16-year relationship with Fairtrade Canada. The fair-trade system in America has seen some fracturing in recent years that has resulted in two major U.S. fair-trade organizations and some parties wondering if the fair-trade message has been diluted. In Canada, Rosenfeld says, the fair-trade voice is still a unified, meaningful one—and she theorizes that one of the reasons is cultural differences. "We probably have a lot more faith in the system than Americans do," she says. "I've talked to many American roasters over the last number of years that don't like the idea of licensing and being told what to do. I joke around that because Canada is a bit more of a socialist country in comparison to the U.S., we have an easier time with people telling us what to do." However, she's quick to add that Kicking Horse doesn't base its marketing program entirely around certification labels. "We know we can't depend on that for our identity," she says. "We have to depend on our brand and our quality." Rosenfeld says Kicking Horse pays close attention to quality "from green bean to the grocery store shelf." Before the coffee reaches those shelves, it's branded with accessible names. Some monikers, like Bugaboo and Three Sisters, continue the theme of honoring the surrounding scenery. "We wanted to make our branding fun and accessible to people," she says. "We didn't want to be coffee snobs." However, Rosenfeld says that those who want details can find them at Kicking Horse's Web site. "We get into what region it's from, how it's roasted and all that great information." Those seeking deeper information can also ask for it in person at Kicking Horse's café, the coffee-centric space in small-town Canada that in many ways symbolizes the company's slow-butsteady growth. "It was really just step by step to get where we are now," Rosenfeld says. "We're 17 years old, almost young adults. We're continuing to grow, and who knows what we're going to look like in another 17 years." Fresh Cup Magazine • freshcup.com 63