Equator Coffees & Teas launched an innovative storefront on Facebook, which allows fans to shop for their artisan coffees without leaving the Facebook site (www.facebook.com/EquatorCoffees).
“Social media is rapidly becoming a critically important vehicle for talking with our customers. Now, with our new iFanStore, we’ve opened up an entirely new sales channel for our seasonal, specialty blends,” said Helen Russell, CEO and Co-Founder of Equator (http://www.EquatorCoffees.com).
The iFanStore technology is provided by San Francisco-based startup Milyoni (pronounced “Million Eye”), which develops e-commerce solutions for companies who have sophisticated social marketing and merchandising needs. iFanStores leverage the viral potential of social media, allowing sharing of purchases to a customer’s friends and fans.
“Milyoni leverages the instant, viral and contextual elements of social networks, which will translate not only into sales, but even richer interaction with customers,” said John Corpus, CEO of Milyoni, Inc. (http://www.Milyoni.com).
In 2009, Facebook’s 300+ million active users were on more than 65 million hours, according to the Nielson Company. However, until now, e-commerce solutions pulled fans out of Facebook to complete transactions. The ifanstore allows fans to stay within Facebook during the entire transaction and then to share their activity with friends across a wide range of social networks including Twitter.
San Rafael, CA-based Equator Coffees & Teas (www.EquatorCoffees.com) is a coffee roaster, tea purveyor and coffee farm owner offering distinctive micro-lot coffees and rare teas to fine restaurants, hotels and retailers. Obsessive attention to green coffee sourcing, uncompromising roasting expertise and a 15-year commitment to sustainability create a remarkable experience in every cup. A women-owned green business, Equator works tirelessly to empower every link of the supply chain, from growers and their communities around the globe, to the natural environment, through to coffee-lovers who savor taste and integrity in their Organic, Fair Trade, and Rainforest Alliance Certified coffees. Ahead of the curve on climate change, Equator is proud to be one of the first companies in the nation to utilize the Loring Roaster, which reduces carbon emissions by 80% without compromising artisan quality.
Equator has won numerous awards including the Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Business (2009), National Association of Women Business Owners – Trail Blazer Award, San Francisco’s Top 100 Fastest Growing Woman Owned Businesses (7 years in a row), the Specialty Coffee Association’s annual Roasters Choice Award (2009), and Roast Magazine’s Roaster of the Year (2010). Customers include the French Laundry, Bouchon Restaurants and Bakeries, Citizen Cake, Tavern in Los Angeles, Bay Bread and La Boulange.
Founded in February 2009, Milyoni, Inc. (http://www.Milyoni.com) is pioneering the category of ‘conversational commerce’ – which is contextual, viral and instant. Transforming social networking strategies with ifanstore and ireply2buy cloud technologies, the Milyoni platform can be implemented anywhere customers gather online - Facebook, MySpace or any other online community or blog. iReply2Buy, to launch later this year, will enable impulse purchasing via Twitter.
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