Just Us!

Just Us! Coffee Roasters Co-op is a Canadian fair-trade food and beverage brand based in Grand-Pré, Nova Scotia. The cooperative imports and sells coffee, tea, sugar, and chocolate, while also operating cafés, wholesaling to food-service and grocery customers, and selling through its online store. Its stated philosophy places people and the planet before profits, combining commercial activity with a producer-partnership model and cooperative ownership. The business was founded in 1996 by Jeff and Debra Moore, David and Jane Mangle, and Ria Dixon. Its origins followed Jeff Moore’s December 1995 visit to coffee-producing communities in the mountains of Mexico. The name is a wordplay on “justice,” expressing the founders’ connection to the fair-trade movement. The company began as a coffee roastery in New Minas and is described as Canada’s first fair-trade coffee roaster. Its worker-owned structure was influenced by the producer cooperatives from which it sourced coffee and was intended to provide an alternative to charity-based approaches to development. Rather than treating farmers solely as beneficiaries, Just Us! presents them as trading partners whose organizations should have greater influence and control. Coffee remains the company’s central business. It roasts more than 10,000 kilograms annually according to the cited reference material and offers whole-bean, ground, instant, and green coffee, along with brewing equipment and syrups. Over time, the assortment expanded into tea, chocolate, and sugar. Just Us! also established a fair-trade chocolate factory in Grand-Pré, extending the brand beyond roasting into small-scale food manufacturing. The company has cafés in Wolfville and Grand-Pré, Nova Scotia, and wholesales products to cafés, restaurants, and grocery stores across Atlantic Canada. Its products are also distributed through stores specializing in fair-trade goods, including Ten Thousand Villages, and through its own e-commerce operation. A partner program shares resources and experience with local businesses interested in cooperative structures or café development. Cooperative membership is tied to employment and financial participation. A worker must generally have been employed by Just Us! for at least two years and invest C$2,000 to become a member, according to the cited material. The model makes governance, ownership, and workplace participation part of the brand proposition rather than treating ethics as only a marketing message. Just Us! has received public attention for social and environmental positions. During Canada’s 150th-anniversary celebrations, it displayed the message “Canada 150, Mi’kma’ki 13,000,” calling attention to Indigenous history and the continuing struggles of Indigenous peoples. The company has also investigated recycling options for its multilayer plastic-and-aluminium coffee bags, accepting returned bags at its Wolfville and Grand-Pré locations while determining an appropriate processing route. The issue prompted the company’s general manager, Joey Pitoello, to call for stronger government leadership on difficult recycling streams. The cooperative has participated in ethical-trade certification and producer-focused initiatives. It joined the Small Producers Program in 2011 and is certified by Fairtrade Canada. The company is also listed by Fair World Project as a mission-driven brand. The available reference material identifies 2020 sales of C$7.8 million, but no additional financial history or current revenue figures are established here.

Just Us! emerged from the founders’ engagement with fair-trade coffee production in Mexico. After Jeff Moore visited mountainous coffee-growing regions in December 1995, he and Debra Moore, David and Jane Mangle, and Ria Dixon established the business in 1996. The name’s similarity to “justice” reflected the founders’ belief that trade relationships, rather than charitable transfers alone, could improve the position of producers in the Global South. The company initially operated as a coffee roastery in New Minas. It became a notable early participant in Canada’s fair-trade coffee sector and is described in the reference material as the country’s first fair-trade coffee roaster. Its structure was organized as a worker-owned cooperative, partly inspired by the producer cooperatives with which it traded in Mexico. This structure connected the company’s labor model with its sourcing philosophy: workers could participate in ownership and governance, while producers were treated as commercial partners rather than passive recipients of aid. Just Us! later moved its roastery to Grand-Pré, Nova Scotia, and broadened its activities. Coffee remained the core product, but the assortment expanded to tea, sugar, and chocolate. The company also developed a chocolate factory in Grand-Pré, allowing it to add manufacturing capacity beyond coffee roasting. Its product portfolio came to include whole and ground coffee, instant coffee, green beans, tea, chocolate, sugar, syrups, and brewing equipment. The business developed a mixed route-to-market. It operates cafés in Wolfville and Grand-Pré, supplies cafés and restaurants, wholesales to grocery stores and other retailers across Atlantic Canada, and sells online. Its products are also available through fair-trade-oriented retailers such as Ten Thousand Villages. A partner program provides resources and experience to local businesses exploring cooperative ownership or café operations, extending the organization’s cooperative mission beyond its own stores. Membership in the cooperative requires a worker to have been employed for at least two years and to invest C$2,000, according to the cited reference. This requirement makes membership a staged form of participation rather than an automatic consequence of employment. The arrangement is consistent with the organization’s effort to align workplace ownership with its ethical sourcing commitments. The company’s public identity has included social and environmental advocacy. In connection with Canada’s 150th anniversary in 2017, Just Us! displayed “Canada 150, Mi’kma’ki 13,000,” a message intended to draw attention to Indigenous presence, history, and contemporary inequalities during national celebrations. The cooperative has also addressed the difficulty of recycling its coffee packaging. Because its bags use layers of plastic and aluminium, they do not fit easily into conventional recycling systems. Just Us! collected returned bags at its Nova Scotia locations while evaluating an appropriate processing destination, and general manager Joey Pitoello argued that governments should provide more leadership on complex packaging waste. Just Us! has pursued formal recognition for its ethical sourcing. It joined the Small Producers Program in 2011, a producer-owned fair-trade initiative, and holds Fairtrade Canada certification. It is also identified by Fair World Project as a mission-driven brand. These affiliations reinforce the cooperative’s positioning around producer control, fair trade, and sustainability. The available material reports annual coffee roasting above 10,000 kilograms and 2020 sales of C$7.8 million. No reliable source material supplied for this dossier establishes later financial results, ownership changes, leadership succession, or a broader international expansion. The brand remains associated primarily with Nova Scotia, Atlantic Canadian distribution, and fair-trade food and beverage retailing.

1. 2020Reported sales reach C$7.8 million

   Reference material reports C$7.8 million in sales for the year.

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2. 2017Publishes Canada 150 and Mi’kma’ki 13,000 message

   The cooperative uses a public sign and social media to foreground Indigenous history and continuing struggles during Canada’s sesquicentennial celebrations.

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3. 2011Joins the Small Producers Program

   Just Us! becomes the first member of the Small Producers Program, an initiative owned by small producers.

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4. 1996Just Us! is founded

   Jeff and Debra Moore, David and Jane Mangle, and Ria Dixon establish the cooperative and begin operating a coffee roastery in New Minas, Nova Scotia.

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5. 1995Founders connect with Mexican coffee producers

   Jeff Moore’s December visit to mountainous coffee-producing areas of Mexico helped inspire the formation of a fair-trade coffee business.

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A worker-owned Canadian fair-trade food and beverage cooperative emphasizing producer partnerships, ethical sourcing, environmental responsibility, and community-oriented commerce. Its stated motto is “People and the Planet before Profits.”

• Fair-trade roasted coffeeCoffee1996

  The company’s principal product line includes whole-bean and ground coffees roasted by Just Us! in Nova Scotia. The line is built around fair-trade sourcing from producer organizations and is sold through the company’s cafés, online store, wholesale channels, and specialist fair-trade retailers.

• Instant and green coffeeCoffee

  In addition to roasted coffee, Just Us! offers instant coffee and green coffee beans. These products extend the brand’s coffee range beyond its core roasted formats and serve different preparation and purchasing needs.

• TeaTea

  Tea is part of the cooperative’s expanded fair-trade beverage assortment. It complements coffee in the cafés and retail business and is sourced within the brand’s broader ethical-trade framework.

• ChocolateChocolate

  Just Us! expanded into chocolate and operates a fair-trade chocolate factory in Grand-Pré. The line broadens the company from beverage roasting into confectionery and small-scale food production.

• Sugar, syrups, and brewing equipmentFood-service and beverage accessories

  The assortment includes sugar, coffee syrups, and equipment for preparing coffee. These complementary products support both household customers and the company’s café and wholesale activities.

• 2017Canada 150, Mi’kma’ki 13,000

  Canada · Nova Scotia

  Just Us! displayed a message contrasting Canada’s 150th anniversary with the much longer history of Mi’kma’ki. The campaign used the company’s roadside sign and social-media presence to encourage reflection on Indigenous history and the treatment of Indigenous peoples during national celebrations.

  Outcome. The message attracted international attention and reinforced the cooperative’s public positioning around social justice and community accountability.

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• 1996Adopts a worker-owned cooperative modelStrategy

  The founders sought an organizational model consistent with the producer cooperatives in Mexico from which the company sourced coffee.

  What changed. Just Us! was established as a worker-owned cooperative rather than a conventional investor-owned company.

  Aftermath. The cooperative structure became a central part of the brand’s identity and required qualifying employees to make a financial investment to become members.

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• Expands from coffee into fair-trade chocolate productionStrategy

  The business sought to broaden its fair-trade offering beyond coffee while retaining local production in Nova Scotia.

  What changed. Just Us! added chocolate to its product range and established a chocolate factory in Grand-Pré.

  Aftermath. The move diversified the cooperative’s product portfolio and manufacturing activities.

  Source
• Investigates recycling for multilayer coffee bagsStrategy

  The company’s coffee bags combine plastic and aluminium layers that are difficult to process through conventional recycling systems.

  What changed. Just Us! began accepting used bags at its Wolfville and Grand-Pré locations while storing them until a suitable recycling destination could be confirmed.

  Aftermath. The initiative highlighted packaging constraints and led the company’s general manager to call for stronger government involvement in complex recycling.

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• 2020Just Us! reports C$7.8 million in 2020 sales

  Reference material reports sales of C$7.8 million for 2020. The figure is included only with its stated year and should not be treated as a current valuation or revenue estimate.

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• 2017Just Us! highlights Indigenous history during Canada 150 celebrations

  The cooperative used a roadside sign and social-media message referring to Canada 150 and Mi’kma’ki 13,000 to challenge celebratory narratives that omitted Indigenous history and ongoing struggles.

  CampaignOther
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• Just Us! develops a coffee-bag recycling initiative

  The company began collecting used coffee bags at its Wolfville and Grand-Pré locations while seeking a suitable recycling solution for packaging made from multiple plastic and aluminium layers.

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1. Just Us!