Reducing the drug trade, one cocktail at a time...

Founded in 2011, Cattleya CIC is a not for profit, student run social enterprise company, that provides bespoke alcohol-free cocktails, freshly prepared using exotic fruits from Colombia. Our award winning company offers a professional service to businesses and the community in a formal and informal setting. As the first successful CIC (Community Interest Company) within a school in the UK, we pride ourselves in the service that we provide and the entrepreneurship we teach within a school environment.

Cattleya tender for and provide non-alcoholic beverages at a variety of occasions, including community and charity events, corporate networking meetings and internal educational events. Previous events attended include the Royal Television Society Awards, The Birmingham Made Me Design Expo at The Mailbox, Quality Solicitors Worcestershire Showcase at Stanbrook Abbey and Crowe Clark Whitehall Annual Charity Event.

Our mission is to help increase the UK demand for Colombian Andean fruits, raising the profile of the exotic fruit sector, which has huge potential to replace illicit crops as an alternative, sustainable rural economy. Additionally, Cattleya supports key cross-curricular activities, including business economics, financial capability and control, website design/marketing, events and hospitality management and business planning, focused on the promotion of local economic needs.

Our fruit purees are supplied by “Fruito del Espiritu”, a UK company which imports directly from Colombia. Rutie Ballestas promotes Colombia’s wealth of bio-diversity and sources a variety of Andean fruits from associations of small holder fruit-farmers overcoming conflict and poverty.

Our objectives are:

- To provide business and enterprise skills for students in an educational environment, encouraging social entrepreneurship.

- To provide non-alcoholic, fruit based beverages at corporate and leisure events. An alternative to traditional, alcoholic welcome drinks and cocktails.

- To continue to develop links with Colombia, through Fruito del Espiritu to support the farmers, their families and the fruit factories in Colombia.

- To donate to “The Dining Room”, providing children at risk with healthy, nutritious meals.

Our team consists of a variety of managers (aged 13 to 19) specialised in various vocational areas. Many of them undertaking external business mentor training in their field, with training for finance, I.T. and Marketing already in place. The directors continue to recruit industry experts to mentor and support all of the management team within the company. The overall responsibility of the running of Cattleya remains with the three current Directors/Founders, who have a wealth of experience within education and industry.