At seven weeks gestation, an unborn child is about the size of a coffee bean, so when Anton Krecic decided to create a coffee company based on pro-life and Godly values, he named his business Seven Weeks Coffee.
“It really started out as a heart to share and grow the pro-life message and to have an impact in the fight for life,” Krecic said. “I saw a need, and I thought this could be a really cool thing if we were able to share the pro-life message and also have an impact in supporting pregnancy care centers.”
Krecic runs the business with the help of his wife and a friend.
[Click here to subscribe to Pregnancy Help News!]
Purpose-driven business
Ten percent of each bag sold, roughly $1.69, goes to pro-life pregnancy centers. Ten centers received financial assistance from Seven Weeks Coffee since the business began in November 2021, Krecic said, including one in Virginia that opened a second location. Another center received help to obtain an ultrasound for its mobile unit.
“Our purpose is to really try to find those centers with needs and meet them,” he said.
Based in Virginia near the Washington, D.C. area, Seven Weeks Coffee made an appearance in January at the National March for Life and the Pro-Life Summit, sharing not only hot coffee with attendees on those cold days, but also affirming pro-life organizations and events.
“I've been able to share this coffee and mission,” Krecic said. “It is a social cause and a values-based business. We're using something that people love to drink anyway, and we're providing a superior product and get to work with one of the best roasters in the nation that has some of the best coffees to offer, so not only do our customers get a really great product, but they're also having very huge impact (for life).”
Tweet This: A heart to share and grow the pro-life message has become and initiative to support pregnancy help centers through coffee sales.
In addition to attending events, Seven Weeks Coffee is an e-commerce business. People order online and the product is shipped directly.
Krecic uses Genesis Coffee Lab, a direct trade importing and roasting company in Alaska, to roast and ship the Ethiopian coffee his company sells. Therefore, both Genesis and Seven Weeks directly and positively impact coffee farmers in Ethiopia, known as the birthplace of coffee.
“Having a great mission is very important, but having a great product is equally as important,” Krecic said. “We want people to buy our coffee because they love the cause. but we want them to come back and buy it again because they really love the coffee.”
“Pro-abundant life”
When people buy Seven Weeks Coffee, they not only help pregnancy resource centers, but also coffee farmers, Krecic said.
“We provide a coffee product that not only has an amazing impact supporting pregnancy care centers, but also has an amazing impact in uplifting farmers and the people who are processing the coffee back in Ethiopia,” he said. “Most coffees are untraceable, meaning you're not able to tell who farmed it or how much they got paid. There's a lot of undercut wages, even child labor involved, with some coffee suppliers. The direct trade relationship means we know exactly who is producing the coffee, exactly what they're getting paid, and they're actually getting paid twice as much as the fair-trade minimum. This is a totally new way to support farmers and impact them, providing legitimate wages for the farmers.”
He added, “This is a pro-life coffee, pro-abundant life, from the farmers who grew the coffee in Ethiopia to the pregnancy care centers we’re able to support that provide free services.”
Krecic considers assisting pregnancy resource centers a partnership. A tab on the company’s website guides center staff interested in the program.
“We just ask centers to just fill out their information, and then we set up a phone call with them to hear their needs and just kind of get to learn about what they're doing and what their needs are,” Krecic said. “We want to get to know them and understand what their needs are and that they would be willing to share this mission with their audience as well. It's kind of like a mutual partnership where they help share (about the coffee) and we can raise more money for them through our sales.”
Ten percent of every sale “is a really significant portion of our profits,” he added.
“This is a very transparent way to show exactly how much money we're giving away, simply moving the decimal place one spot over,” Krecic said.
Thus far, Seven Weeks Coffee has given $3,500 to pregnancy resource centers around the country. Krecic hopes to see that amount, and the number of centers helped, grow.
“We've had an amazing impact already,” he said. “I mean, $3,500 donated is so much more than we thought we'd ever do when we first started, but God has been blessing (our efforts), and it's been amazing to support these centers and really help them out.”
Church and individual coffee with purpose
He believes churches can join in the endeavor, and he hopes to grow his business through churches and thereby increase church support of pregnancy centers.
“I think churches can play a huge role in advancement of the mission,” Krecic said. “A lot of churches have coffee shops already or they're already serving coffee. We’d love to make an impact or make inroads and supply their coffee, to really transform their coffee shops into a pro-life ministry. We think this can have a huge impact on sharing the mission of what we're doing and also serve as a way to provide more funding for pregnancy care centers.”
Individuals and families who drink coffee can also make a significant impact on the pro-life movement just doing something they enjoy: drink coffee.
“We're not asking for donations,” Krecic said. “We’re simply saying ‘If you drink coffee and will consider purchasing your coffee through us, you can have a tangible impact in supporting pregnancy care centers across the country as you drink your normal cup of coffee amid your normal morning routine.’”
He said he likes to challenge people he meets with a question.
“’Will you allow your coffee to serve a greater purpose? Just commit to drinking coffee through us. Lives will be saved, and that's the most amazing thing we can ever do – support these pregnancy care centers. They save lives every day,” Krecic said.