When it comes to food, provenance matters. Whether it’s choosing local produce at the supermarket or buying fair trade coffee, people increasingly care about where the food they buy comes from. New online store CoffeeCSA is taking this idea a step further. It has created a webshop that lets people buy directly from coffee farmers. People can view a farmer’s profile and see what proportion of their harvest is still available to buy. Then they can choose what volume of coffee to buy. We think this is a great example of how a retail brand can create a strong relationship between consumer and producer: the farmer gets a fair deal, while the consumer gets a better understanding of provenance. It’s certainly food for thought.