[text from L'Officiel article]
Jamaican entrepreneur Lauren Le Franc is one of the hottest names in Hollywood after her business The Little Coffee Company became a hotspot for celebrities.
The stunning businesswoman is recognized as one of the top 10 women in Caribbean suitability, and soon launching her line in the Middle East. As you know, Dubai has become the new Beverly Hills of the Middle East, with celebrities like Beyonce considering purchasing property in the country.
Le Franc is currently featured on the cover of L’OfficielArabia, opening up to the magazine about her success and becoming one of the biggest names in the industry. To start, Lauren was asked about the concept of ‘The Little Coffee Company‘ and the answer is amazing, saying it was a “complete accident.”
“When I was younger, I always had happy memories with my family in the Jamaica Blue Mountains so that is where I started. Helping different farming communities across the mountains and learning more about our coffee but what I didn’t realise at the time was that experience was life-changing for me,” she said.
Adding, “I started saving money and buying coffee at double the price and selling it to our airport making sure every farmer’s name was on the packaging. The word started to spread more farmers wanted to work with me I had so much coffee I went on Alibaba and had my first buyer from Hong Kong they all wanted Jamaican Coffee “the champagne of coffee.”
At this point, she realized she had a real business.
Le Franc partnered with a charity called Solar Aid, giving back to communities in Africa. She discussed the situation, and how the charity helps the region.
“Solar Aid is our charity partner they do fantastic work across many countries in Africa. They provide solar lamps to women and their families. This is life-changing because it not only helps to protect women who travel home late at night but it also provides extra reading time for their children. Access to light is something that we take for granted but in many communities, they use kerosene lamps, especially in remote farming communities. Inhaling the fumes is also toxic and bad for health and the lamps can easily be knocked over and cause fires,” she explained.
As for the move to the Middle East, Lauren is becoming a huge name in Dubai.
“The Middle East has a huge coffee culture. I had many buyers from the Middle East who couldn’t get enough of our coffees. Our Jamaican coffee was constantly selling out because it was hard to get the quality that we had,” she described.
She described being happy to connect with other “women-owned businesses in the Middle East” and plans on expanding right away. In fact, she has never even stepped foot in the UAE but is excited for the next step in her life and the “right step” for the company.
Time to get your buzz on with The Little Coffee Company!