Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
The Big Issue Oasis Collector's edition is coming - sign up so you don't miss out!
SIGN UP
Housing

This charity is selling ‘invisible coffee’ to help tackle homelessness

From invisible drinks to faux baristas, The Invisible Coffee Company has come up with a unique way to fight homelessness.

Simon Idio (pictured) talks with customers about what its like to feel invisible when you're homeless at the launch of The Invisible Coffee Company. Image: Single Homeless Project

A coffee company with a twist has launched this week to raise money to help tackle homelessness.

The Invisible Coffee Company aims to draw attention to the homeless community who “often feel invisible” by encouraging customers to donate £3 to £5 as though they were buying a real coffee, without receiving the product in return.

Set up with faux baristas and an ‘invisible menu’, the coffee company was launched as a collaboration between charity Single Homeless Project and advertising agency CPB London.

Their intention is to encourage those who don’t hesitate to spend money on coffee every day to consider spending that cash on a donation. All of the money made as a result goes towards the Single Homeless Project, which helps single Londoners by preventing homelessness and providing support and accommodation.

“Being invisible could be an amazing superpower. But feeling invisible is something very different and for Londoners living on our city’s streets, it’s a daily, grim reality,” said Liz Rutherfoord, CEO at Single Homeless Project.

“By buying a cup of invisible coffee, people can help a Londoner to leave homelessness behind, to be seen and to be heard and find a place to call home. Together, let’s end homelessness in our city.”

Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty

A report conducted by Single Homeless Project found a person is forced into homelessness every 11 minutes in London.

“When you’ve got no home, no money, no-one asks your name or how you’re doing, it’s easy to see how you could feel invisible. As though you don’t matter,” said Helen James, managing director of CPB London. 

“When you buy a cup of Invisible Coffee this week from us, you’ll be helping homeless Londoners get back on their feet. Oh, and while the coffee won’t warm you up, it will warm your heart.”

Image: The Invisible Coffee Company

As well as having an online store, The Invisible Coffee Company also raises funds from a TukTuk located outside London’s King’s Cross station. Despite offering ‘invisible coffee’, the stand is decked out like a traditional coffee shop, with branded barista T-shirts, cups and sandwich boards.

It follows a similar model introduced by Change Please, which trains people experiencing homelessness as baristas and pays them a living wage. It was set up following investment from Big Issue Invest, and now has its coffee stocked in Sainsbury’s.

CPB London began working with Single Homeless Project at the end of 2021, and decided that as well as making a standard corporate donation, they wanted to use some of their creative smarts to devise an awareness-raising campaign with a twist.

Visit the store here.

Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty

SIGN THE PETITION

Will you sign Big Issue's petition to ask Keir Starmer to pass a Poverty Zero law? It's time to hold government to account on poverty once and for all.

Recommended for you

View all
Renter fury as no-fault eviction ban likely delayed until 2026: 'Let down yet again'
renters protest in London with protesters holding placards
Renting

Renter fury as no-fault eviction ban likely delayed until 2026: 'Let down yet again'

Public transport not keeping up with surge in new homes, analysis finds: 'We must plan more intelligently'
a bus
Public transport

Public transport not keeping up with surge in new homes, analysis finds: 'We must plan more intelligently'

Government pledge to help care leavers into social housing 'will literally save lives'
care leavers hand in petition at Downing Street
Social housing

Government pledge to help care leavers into social housing 'will literally save lives'

Social services threatened to take refugee's newborn baby away in row over horror hostel
A stock image of a baby's foot
Asylum accommodation

Social services threatened to take refugee's newborn baby away in row over horror hostel

Most Popular

Read All
Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits
Renters: A mortgage lender's window advertising buy-to-let products
1.

Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal
Pound coins on a piece of paper with disability living allowancve
2.

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over
next dwp cost of living payment 2023
3.

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know
4.

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know

Support our vendors with a subscription

For each subscription to the magazine, we’ll provide a vendor with a reusable water bottle, making it easier for them to access cold water on hot days.