Ryan McMillan
Position: Commercial, Operations & Impact Director
I’ve been in the coffee industry for over 10 years now and its true what they say when it comes to our industry…..every day IS a school day.
Having worked for a number of other coffee companies, some large scale roasters, others with great causes supporting producers at origin, Change Please brought across a whole different proposition, and a whole load of new learnings with it.
Two years since joining this amazing organisation, I still feel like we’re only just scratching the surface in what we do, and I very much feel we’re on the precipice of something HUGE.
For those who are finding out about us now, we are social enterprise where 100% of our profits from selling our coffee supports people experiencing homelessness with a living wage job in the coffee industry.
Along with the support of some amazing partners, we’ve seen strong growth and an ever-increasing interest from companies to work with social enterprises like us. Time and time again I hear from corporations no longer wanting to talk the talk, but REALLY wanting to walk the walk. It has been inspirational to see large scale organisations so doggedly determined to make real impact through working with brands like ours, and this has led to some exciting times for Change Please.
Based on the success we’ve had in the UK, as well as the successful launches in France, Australia, Germany, Ireland and more, the next challenge awaits with the long overdue launch of Change Please USA.
We are grateful for the love we get from our drinkers, especially as people are looking to do something as simple as changing their coffee to change someone's life for good!
We are rapidly gearing up for our launch in Fall of 2021, with myself and my family heading over to be based in the US full time in order to tackle the ever-increasing problem of homelessness in the US.
The impact of Covid-19 has made this an even more daunting task than before, but with our supportive partners on board, it is a challenge we are relishing. I’m looking forward to grabbing a coffee with you all soon, as well as supporting as many people as possible to lift themselves out of homelessness.