Gevalia
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 3 November 2026 · 7 sources
Swedish coffee brand selling ground coffee, beans and pods.
Gevalia is rated as part of a company that scored 8/100 in the 2026 KnowTheChain benchmark, and we couldn't confirm where it gets most of its coffee.
Also worth knowing
Most coffee is grown in countries such as Brazil and Vietnam, where pay is usually below a living wage.
Better-graded beans and roasters
Graded higher than Gevalia, selling the same kinds of things.
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Why it's graded Lacks transparency
- Not met: Meets 1 of 5 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It has 2 red flags: no evidence of a living wage and a failing or very low rating (KnowTheChain 8/100 in 2026, for the company it's rated with). Two or more red flags means a poor grade.
- It isn't Harm on record, because there's no serious confirmed problem on its record.
- Lacks transparency is still a poor grade: in supply chains like this, workers who can't be seen to be treated fairly are usually underpaid or unprotected.
Good requirements 1 of 5
- Not met: Pays a living wage, or holds a strong fair-pay certificationLiving wage: no evidence
- Not met: Respects worker rightsJudged on where coffee is usually grown: worker rights are poorly protected in Brazil, Vietnam and Colombia.
- Not met: Supply chain independently audited or certified, or at least 80% made in countries with strong labour standards
- Met: No confirmed child or forced labour findings or linksUnconfirmed reports of forced and child labour are listed below. They don't affect the grade.
- Not met: Names the factories or farms that make its products, or is fully certified by a scheme that holds and audits that list
Red flags 2
- Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wage
- Red flag: Failing or very low score on an independent rating: KnowTheChain 8/100 (2026, the company it's rated with)
Stars it would earn as Good
None yet. Stars only show on Good companies. About stars
Where its coffee is grown
We couldn't confirm where Gevalia gets most of its coffee, so this shows where coffee is usually grown.
| Country | Share | Worker rights | Legal minimum wage | Forced labour risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | 35% | Systematic violations | Below a living wage | Moderate |
| Vietnam | 20% | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| Colombia | 10% | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| Indonesia | 7% | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| Ethiopia | 7% | Systematic violations | Far below a living wage | Moderate |
| Honduras | 6% | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| Peru | 5% | Systematic violations | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
| Uganda | 5% | Systematic violations | Far below a living wage | Moderate |
| Guatemala | 5% | No guarantee of rights | Well below a living wage | Moderate |
Evidence
What we found
- Risk across the industry, not a finding about this company: coffee is on the US Department of Labor child or forced labour list for over a dozen countries, and farm-gate prices often fall below a living income.
- Modern slavery statement
Research notes Outside North America Gevalia is covered by JDE Peet's Common Grounds programme, JDE's own verification rather than an independent label; JDE says 88.8% of its green coffee met it in 2025. Some Gevalia lines carry the Rainforest Alliance seal, but not the whole range. JDE buys from about 30 origins, including Brazil, Colombia and Honduras, but names no countries or farms for Gevalia. Keurig Dr Pepper plans to split off its coffee business, including JDE Peet's, but had not done so by November 2026. North American licensee Kraft Heinz scored 8/100 on KnowTheChain in 2026 and publishes no coffee origins or supplier list.
What independent sources say
| Source | Result | Details |
|---|---|---|
| UK Modern Slavery Statement Registry | Listed | Owner JDE Peet's lodges a group modern slavery statement for 2025 (approved May 2026), naming child labour risks on coffee farms in Honduras and Uganda. View |
| Corporate Human Rights Benchmark (World Benchmarking Alliance) | Listed | Owner JDE Peet's scored 63/100 in the World Benchmarking Alliance 2026 Social Benchmark, as listed by Ethical Consumer Australia. View |
| KnowTheChain | Problem found | Kraft Heinz, which makes Gevalia in North America, scored 8/100 and ranked 27th of 45 in the 2026 KnowTheChain food and beverage benchmark, down 4 points from 2023. View |
| Business & Human Rights Resource Centre | Problem found | BHRRC records JDE's response to the 2024 Bitter Brew report on slave labour in Brazil's coffee supply chain. View |
| Fairtrade (incl. FLOCERT and Fairtrade ANZ) | Not listed | Gevalia is not Fairtrade certified; Rainforest Alliance lists Gevalia coffee, but only some lines, such as Monsoon Storm and Mocca beans, carry the seal. View |
| US Department of Labor goods lists | Listed | Coffee from Brazil is listed for child and forced labour, and coffee from Colombia, Honduras and several other origins for child labour. View |
Unconfirmed reports
Credible reports that haven't been confirmed by a regulator, completed investigation or the company. They're shown for your information and don't affect the grade.
- Brazilian inspectors rescued 87 workers from slave-like conditions in 2018 on farms supplying the Cooxupé cooperative, a coffee supplier to owner JDE (Conectas, 2024); no link to Gevalia coffee has been shown, and a 2018 OECD complaint closed in 2025 unresolved. Source
- Four Cooxupé member farms were added to Brazil's slave labour 'Dirty List' in 2025 over 36 workers, including a 16-year-old; JDE was named as a buyer of an affiliated exporter, and the buyers named said they had not sourced from those farms (Repórter Brasil via BHRRC, 2025). Source
Sources and actions
Sources 7
Show all 7 sources
- Rainforest Alliance: Gevalia · search the archive · Gevalia coffee listed as certified, sold in Denmark, Sweden and the US; does not say the whole range is certified.
- KnowTheChain 2026 Food & Beverage Scorecard: Kraft Heinz · search the archive · Kraft Heinz scored 8/100, ranked 27 of 45 (2026); no supplier list or sourcing countries; coffee a high-risk commodity.
- Jacobs Douwe Egberts Australia (Ethical Consumer Australia) · search the archive · Owner JDE Peet's owned by Keurig Dr Pepper (2026); WBA Social Benchmark 63/100 (2026).
- Gevalia Kaffe Mellanrost 450g (Ocado) · search the archive · Core Mellanrost blend lists no certification; only the Monsoon Storm blend uses Rainforest Alliance farms.
- Gevalia House Blend Ground Coffee (desertcart Australia) · search the archive · Gevalia coffee offered online with delivery to Australia.
- OECD Watch: Conectas & ADERE-MG v. Jacobs Douwe Egberts · search the archive · Complaint over 2018 slave labour rescues at Cooxupé supplier farms; closed 2025 unresolved.
Published by Gevalia or its owner
- JDE Peet's responsible sourcing · search the archive · 88.8% of green coffee responsibly sourced in 2025; no living income metric.
Company details
- Owned by
- JDE Peet's (owned by Keurig Dr Pepper since April 2026); licensed to Kraft Heinz in North America
- Headquarters
- Sweden
- Last researched
- 3 November 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Gevalia ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/gevalia, last researched 3 November 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means
Something missing or wrong?
Grades are opinions based on the evidence listed here. Send us evidence, or a right of reply if you represent Gevalia.