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This year, to celebrate Mother’s Day, we asked mothers that pioneered impactful enterprises and are part of our Ethical Lifestyle Hub Directory, what is driving them to lead a business with purpose. Those we highlight are mothers of strength, compassion, and resilience - working toward betting the world around them as well as being a mother. This blog highlights Jessica Deverill founder or co-founder of Caffeina & Co.
Caffeina & Co was established through the Melbourne lockdowns to provide opportunities for the community to re-connect through strong social relationships and of course great coffee. We pride ourselves on using ethically sourced coffee, using sustainable packaging and collaborating with other small local businesses where we can. We are all about connecting communities through good coffee.
As someone who lost their father at a young age due to a workplace accident, I was drawn to Occupational Health and Safety as a career. For over 10 years I had worked as a Health & Safety Officer working across Australia and New Zealand. While very rewarding having a hand in making sure everyone's mummy or daddy made it home every night, it was also highly stressful, involved many long hours working alone in an office and a lot of missed family time. As a social person who, as my friends would say, can talk underwater; I felt like I was dying inside and my mental health took a bit of a beating from the lack of interaction and connection with people. Then lockdown hit and I watched, not only my mental health deteriorate more, but that of my loved ones and friends. The good thing that did come out of the lockdowns was they gave me a chance to step back, rethink and highlight what I wanted out of life and what was important to me. It highlighted how I yearned to slow down and enjoy the little things, I also wanted to spend more time with my kids, family and friends. That's how Caffeina & Co started.
As humans, we are wired to connect and feel part of a community. The lack of this connection through my career and then lockdown, I knew I wanted to create a vessel where I could not only fulfil my need to connect but that of my kids, family, friends and of the community and what better way than through COFFEE. Being a mum to 3 boys their future is always front of mind. That's why I wanted Caffeina & Co to be a company that left our world as beautiful as it is by considering our environmental footprint in everything we do. That's why we choose only to use ethically sourced coffee, use sustainable packaging, and collaborate with other like-minded small businesses. I love seeing and experiencing the impact Caffeina & Co has already had after only operating for just over a year. I love the fact that people invite me in to celebrate their special occasion, I love the friendships I have already made with our regular customers, I love that I can involve my boys in all areas of the business so that they are left with the knowledge that by simply being kind and listening to someone, you create a space where they can feel acknowledged and valued. This one act can improve someone's day, week or even year. That to me is the biggest gift I can teach my boys and that is the gold that comes out of running a business that has a connection as its highest value.