Utz utz: what's behind the name?

Updated June 26, 2019

UTZ and the Rainforest Alliance merged in early 2018. Until the new certification program is published in 2020, both programs will continue to run in parallel. Today we focus on the origin of the UTZ program. We to get many questions about our name – in meetings with potential partners, but also at the birthday party on Saturday evening. We are used to hearing everything from "How do you pronounce it: Uts? U. T. Z.? Uuuts? ”Up to“ UTZ? Is it an abbreviation? What does it stand for? Where does it come from? ”You may have asked yourself that. Today we want to clear up this mess for you and reveal the real story behind our name.

Where everything began

The history of the UTZ name started in the same place as our destination. Our program was born as "UTZ kapeh" (pronounced: o͞otz kahpāy), which means "good coffee" in Quiché’s Guatemalan Mayan language. And UTZ history also begins in Guatemala. It is the place where Nick Bocklandt, a Belgian Guatemalan coffee grower, and Ward de Groote, a Dutch coffee roaster, got together after seeing with their own eyes the limitations of the coffee market and the consumer certification currently available.

Fill a gap

In the 1990s, Ward de Groote struggled with the fact that only a small percentage of the total coffee he bought was available certified. He wanted all of his coffee blends to be produced sustainably so that he knew exactly where the beans in his coffee blends came from and where they were grown. Therefore, he was looking for an alternative to the few sustainable coffee programs that existed at the time. It was important to him that market dynamics determine the price of coffee beans and not a fixed minimum price or a fixed additional premium. He also wanted to be able to buy his beans from large and small coffee farms.

Finca El Volcan

At the same time, Nick Bocklandt ran the Finca El Volcan coffee plantation in the middle of

guatemalan rainforest. There he not only took good care of his coffee harvest, but also of his workers and the environment. He wanted a program that recognized his responsible farming practices around the world.

When two people meet …

On his trip to Belgium and the Netherlands, Nick Bocklandt started looking for coffee roasters that matched his goals. He was determined to sell directly to roasters so that he could get a good price and know where his beans got. And then Nick Ward met de Groote and invited him to stay on his coffee plantation in Guatemala for a week so the roaster could see how his coffee is grown.

Ward de Grootte & Nick Bocklandt (2015)

This trip had opened Ward’s eyes. He was impressed by Nick’s attention to his workers, their training, and the environment. He decided to take the opportunity to buy directly from Nick’s farm. The UTZ program was born.

In 2002, Nick Bocklandt and Ward de Groote officially founded UTZ Kapeh to bring sustainable coffee certification to the global market and spread the effects of sustainable farming practices around the world.

Broadened horizons

UTZ Kapeh proved successful and developed from the "corporate initiative" to an independent and stable standard for sustainable coffee production. Within five years of its inception, the UTZ program had managed to expand its offerings to include certified cocoa and tea. In 2007 the name UTZ Kapeh was changed to UTZ Certified to reflect the larger scope.

In 2016, our sphere of activity expanded further and we are now working with various interest groups to tackle complex problems such as child labor, living wages and climate change. Hence our name has changed again to our business better reflect. Simply shortened to “UTZ”, the new name gives us flexibility to extend our reach in different directions. This gives us the opportunity to have a greater impact on sustainable production around the world.

The UTZ program is currently the world’s largest certification program for coffee and cocoa. In 2017 we celebrated our 15th anniversary and in January 2018 we partnered with the Rainforest Alliance. Be there when our journey continues and see where our name and the goals behind it will take us next. Here you can read everything about the new certification program in 2020.

Are you curious how your company can benefit from working with the UTZ program? Do you want to know more about how we can help you make your business thrive? Just send us an email. Below you can watch our animated video about the UTZ story (in English) look at.

Utz utz: what’s behind the name?

Where everything began

Fill a gap

When two people meet …

Broadened horizons

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