TOMS Is On A Mission To Brew Something Greater: TOMS Roasting Co. Launches As The Next One For One® Product

LOS ANGELES, March 12, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- TOMS proudly announces the launch of TOMS Roasting Co. (http://www.TOMS.com/coffee), as the next product in the evolution of TOMS' One for One movement. Further supporting its mission to use business to improve lives, TOMS Roasting Co. will turn an ordinary daily ritual into an extraordinary daily giving opportunity. For every bag of coffee purchased, TOMS will provide one week of water to a person in need. One for One. The highly anticipated announcement was made yesterday by TOMS' Founder and Chief Shoe Giver, Blake Mycoskie, who revealed TOMS Roasting Co. to an eager and captive audience at South by Southwest Interactive in Austin, Tex.

"In the last seven years, we've seen the incredible impact our customers can have on communities around the world. We've learned a lot through our Shoe and Sight Giving about what truly transforms communities in need – and it was important that the next One for One support economic opportunity," said Mycoskie. "Through my travels, I found that some of the greatest coffee comes from developing countries. I learned that the largest ingredient in coffee is water, and that in many of the countries producing coffee, there are huge populations of people without access to safe water.  That was the 'aha moment' for me, and TOMS Roasting Co. was born – Coffee for you, Water for all."

Under the guidance of TOMS' Master Roaster Angel Orozco, TOMS Roasting Co. will offer six premium coffee varieties with beans sourced through direct trade efforts in Rwanda, Honduras, Peru, Guatemala and Malawi – countries where the TOMS' community can have a life-changing impact by providing water to communities in need. TOMS Roasting Co. coffee will be sold at Whole Foods Market^® nationwide, on TOMS.com and at TOMS Cafes for a suggested retail price of $12.99 for 12oz. whole bean or ground bags.

"As advocates for the One for One movement championed by TOMS, we look forward to offering TOMS coffee to our customers," said John Mackey, co-founder and co-CEO of Whole Foods Market. "As a conscious business, TOMS is transforming an act as simple as buying a pound of coffee into a way for shoppers to make a meaningful impact in communities around the world."

Today, 1.8 billion people do not have access to safe drinking water and 2.5 billion are without adequate sanitation facilities*. To address this need, TOMS Roasting Co. and its inaugural Water Giving Partner Water For People are working together to help provide water to the countries from which TOMS coffee beans are currently sourced.

"The support TOMS provides Water For People is going beyond providing safe water, it's also helping our endeavors to provide long-term water solutions for generations to come," said Ned Breslin, CEO of Water For People.

TOMS' One for One will not stop with TOMS Roasting Co. Mycoskie also announced at South by Southwest the promise of a new One for One product every year for the foreseeable future. Since its launch in 2006, TOMS and its Giving Partners have given 10 million pairs of new shoes to children in need and have helped restore sight to more than 200,000 people around the world, further fueling the company's desire to continue its social innovation and grow the One for One movement.

Mycoskie added, "My vision for TOMS and what our impact can be around the world is to allow customers to give back through all kinds of products. It was really important to me that the third One for One product be something that was very disruptive and would cause people to think about TOMS in that way. This is just the beginning for us, and we look forward to continuing this movement and helping those in need every day."​

*Sources: globalhealth.unc.edu/2012/04/unc-study-billions-still-drinking-unsafe-water/ and waterforpeople.org

ABOUT TOMS
In 2006, American traveler Blake Mycoskie befriended children in a village in Argentina and found they had no shoes to protect their feet. Wanting to help, he created TOMS, a company that would match every pair of shoes purchased with a pair of new shoes given to a child in need. One for One^.®

Realizing that One for One could serve other global needs, Blake launched TOMS Eyewear in 2011 to help restore sight to people in need with every purchase of TOMS Sunglasses and Optical frames. In 2014, TOMS Roasting Co. launched with the mission to provide clean water to communities in need with the purchase of premium coffee.

TOMS is in business to help improve lives. We identify a global need and create products to help address them. This simple idea is what makes us more than a company – we're a movement that's continually evolving.

Learn more about TOMS and One for One movement at http://www.TOMS.com. Join us on Facebook and Twitter.

ABOUT WATER FOR PEOPLE
Water For People is an international development organization dedicated to providing access to improved water and sanitation systems and services in developing countries. By working with local governments, the private sector, and local non-profit partners, Water For People ensures that everyone in a specific region has these basic needs met forever. This innovative approach reaches every family, every school, and every clinic, catalyzing transformative change for better health and economic development. Learn more at http://www.waterforpeople.org. Join us on Facebook (facebook.com/waterforpeople) and Twitter (twitter.com/waterforpeople).

ABOUT WHOLE FOODS MARKETS
Founded in 1980 in Austin, Texas, Whole Foods Market (wholefoodsmarket.com, NASDAQ: WFM), is the leading natural and organic food retailer. As America's first national certified organic grocer, Whole Foods Market was named "America's Healthiest Grocery Store" by Health magazine. The company's motto, "Whole Foods, Whole People, Whole Planet"™ captures its mission to ensure customer satisfaction and health, Team Member excellence and happiness, enhanced shareholder value, community support and environmental improvement. Thanks to the company's more than 69,000 Team Members, Whole Foods Market has been ranked as one of the "100 Best Companies to Work For" in America by FORTUNE magazine for 15 consecutive years. In fiscal year 2011, the company had sales of more than $10 billion and currently has more than 325 stores in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.

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SOURCE TOMS