Early one morning Hannah Farrugia conceived the idea of creating Australia’s first pro-life coffee company.
“The day before, we had an issue with a purchase of Seven Weeks Coffee, an American pro-life coffee company,” she said.
“Five am next morning, I remember waking up and thinking, ‘Surely we could try and do something like this ourselves,’ and I woke Anthony and told him, and now we’re here.”
The result is Little Bean Coffee, which launched last month with an inaugural blend, Imago Dei (in the image of God), using the nickname Hannah and Anthony have for their two-year-old daughter – “Little Bean.”
“During the early stages of the pregnancy, we used to call her our ‘little bean’,” Hannah said.
“You would see her in the ultrasounds and hear her heartbeat. It was just amazing, the most fitting name we could have given a company which supports the pro-life cause. It just fit perfectly.”
Ten per cent of Little Bean’s profits go to Pregnancy Support Centres across Australia, helping women choose life through practical, real-world support.
Hannah believes the couple’s experiences during the pregnancy became a significant influence in the decision to move forward with Little Bean Coffee.
“We were really young when we fell pregnant, and it wasn’t necessarily a planned decision,” she said.
“Back then we didn’t really have a clear stance on abortion, and because of our circumstances, the people around us treated it as the practical thing to do. Ironically, it didn’t feel like we were really being given a choice.
“I think having faith that the life of our baby mattered more than our circumstances helped us get through those challenges, and it became a big factor in how we wanted to help support other families going through similar situations.”
Anthony says Little Bean is a great representation of how supporting pro-life causes ultimately supports Australian families at large.
“To support pro-life movements isn’t just providing a voice to the unborn, it’s providing a voice to families who have either gone through the pain of an abortion and to those who want to cultivate a love for life in their family,” Anthony said.
“There is a lack of pro-life voices here in Australia and creating a company which could help to fill that gap is a great feeling.”
Starting a small company has been challenging, but Anthony has been gratified by the response.
“We’ve been surprised at the level of support Little Bean has gotten since we started, and apart from me working as a barista, both Hannah and I didn’t really have much experience in the business side of things,” Anthony said.
“Part of the support is because abortion has become so normalised in Australia and the pro-life voice has been diminished. We’re so happy we can contribute to building that up again because we understand that it can be scary to say and support some of these movements publicly.”
There’s lots to do over the next few months.
“We’re going to have some pods of Imago Dei launching soon, along with new blends, decaf, hot chocolate, and merchandise on the way as well,” Anthony said.
“What we’re quite excited about is doing more in person stuff. We already held the stall at the Walk for Life and we’re going to be at the Save Our Girls rally in a couple of weeks, fighting against sex-selective abortions.
“We’re really excited about what the future may hold.”
You can find more information about Little Bean Coffee here
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