Kenco
Lacks transparency. Publishes some details, but doesn't show its workers are paid and treated fairly.
Last researched 3 November 2026 · 7 sources
British coffee brand selling instant and ground coffee.
We couldn't confirm where Kenco 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.
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Why it's graded Lacks transparency
- Not met: Meets 1 of 5 Good requirements.
- Holds the grade back: It doesn't show that workers are paid a living wage, and isn't certified as working towards one. On Track needs at least one of these.
- 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 1
- Red flag: No evidence it pays a living wage
Stars it would earn as Good
None yet. Stars only show on Good companies. About stars
Estimates for its products
Our rules applied to one kind of product at a time, using Kenco's evidence and, where it has product lines, that line's countries. They're estimates: we don't know which factory made any single item.
- A product carrying the Fairtrade mark: Good
Holding one? Scan its barcode for an estimate that uses its care label or ingredients.
Where its coffee is grown
We couldn't confirm where Kenco 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 Kenco packs say its coffee is 100% 'responsibly sourced' under owner JDE Peet's Common Grounds programme, JDE's own verification rather than an independent label; the range moved to Rainforest Alliance beans around 2010, but current packs show no certification mark. JDE buys from about 30 origins, including Brazil, Colombia and Honduras, but names no countries or farms for Kenco beyond its Pure Colombian line. Farms linked to JDE's Brazilian suppliers have been found using slave labour; in 2026 JDE began a four-year ILO project on fair recruitment in Brazil. JDE has no time-bound living income target.
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 |
| Australian Modern Slavery Register | Listed | Jacobs Douwe Egberts AU lodges annual modern slavery statements covering its Australian business. 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Fairtrade (incl. FLOCERT and Fairtrade ANZ) | Not listed | Kenco packs carry no Fairtrade or Rainforest Alliance mark; sourcing is through JDE's own Common Grounds programme. 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 Kenco 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). No link to Kenco coffee has been shown. Source
Sources and actions
Sources 7
Show all 7 sources
- Kenco Pure Colombian Instant Coffee 100G (Tesco) · search the archive · Kenco '100% responsibly sourced' under JDE Peet's Common Grounds programme; Colombian beans; no Rainforest Alliance or Fairtrade mark.
- Kenco Rich Instant Coffee (Morrisons) · search the archive · Made by Jacobs Douwe Egberts GB; 'sustainably and responsibly sourced' claim with no certification shown.
- Kenco's continued commitment to ethical sourcing (Attractions Management, 2010) · search the archive · From 2010 Kenco's freeze-dried, Singles and roast and ground ranges used Rainforest Alliance certified beans.
- Kenco Millicano Americano Instant Coffee (Amazon Australia) · search the archive · Kenco coffee sold online to Australian shoppers through Amazon Australia.
- ILO and JDE Peet's launch FAIR COFFEE initiative (Devdiscourse, May 2026) · search the archive · Four-year ILO and JDE Peet's project on fair recruitment and child and forced labour risks in Bahia and Minas Gerais (2026).
Published by Kenco or its owner
- JDE Peet's Modern Slavery Statement 2025 · search the archive · Group modern slavery statement covering JDE Peet's brands including Kenco.
- Jacobs Douwe Egberts AU Modern Slavery Statement 2024 · search the archive · JDE sources coffee from about 30 origins, including Brazil, Colombia and Honduras.
Company details
- Headquarters
- United Kingdom
- Last researched
- 3 November 2026
- Cite this page
- Labour Lens, "Is Kenco ethical? Labour rating", https://www.labourlens.net/brand/kenco, last researched 3 November 2026, accessed [date].
- Method
- Researched with AI assistance against published rules. How we check · What Lacks transparency means
Better-graded beans and roasters
Something missing or wrong?
Grades are opinions based on the evidence listed here. Send us evidence, or a right of reply if you represent Kenco.