The Mental Health Association
Design Inclusivity Award Finalist
Coffee Foundation is a deeply personal and transformative initiative aimed at breaking the silence around mental health issues through the universal ritual of coffee. The campaign tackles the sensitive most taboo topic of mental health, providing a brand platform for open dialogue, awareness, and inclusivity in Switzerland and beyond.
Rooted in the lived real life experiences founder, Damien O’Brien, who has personally faced the challenges of mental illness and the grief of losing family members to suicide and addiction, Coffee Foundation is imbued with authenticity, empathy, and inclusivity as people with mental health disorders are the most marginalised in society.
Our mission is to fight shame, prejudice, isolation, stigma, and judgment; these powerful words create the first significant barrier to talk about mental health by fostering feelings of worthlessness and loneliness, discouraging individuals from seeking help, and perpetuating a culture of silence and misunderstanding.
Creating Safe Spaces:
Our approach centers on using coffee—a global symbol of warmth and connection—as a medium to initiate important conversations about mental health or life’s ups and downs. We encourage individuals to “Take Five” for meaningful interactions, transforming everyday coffee moments into opportunities to connect and check on your village the people around you.
Innovative Branding and Messaging:
With slogans like “Call Us Crazy,” we are reappropriating and redefining stigmatizing language to foster resilience and courage. Our packaging, designed to resemble medication, symbolizes that mental illnesses are manageable conditions deserving of the same attention as physical health issues. The vibrant pop design seeks to demystify and lighten the weight of these discussions, making them more accessible and less daunting.
Community and Support:
We are committed to fostering a community where vulnerability is embraced and mental health is prioritized equally to physical health. Our aim is to create inclusive environments, both in coffee pop up shops and via coffeefoundation.com, that empower individuals to seek help without fear of judgment or marginalization.
We know we are all stronger together. Meaningful connections, conversations, and camaraderie are at the heart of our work. We create a culture that encourages people to talk—openly and without judgment. We break down the barriers to open, honest, and meaningful conversations. Coffee Foundation promotes conversation skills and confidence to reach out, speak up, and connect so that individuals feel safe and supported when life throws challenges their way.
Our Impact:
By harnessing the global presence of coffee, Coffee Foundation is setting a new standard for mental health advocacy within the specialty coffee industry, using design and community engagement to challenge taboos and save lives. Our mission is to make “crazy” a positive, unifying force, transforming societal perceptions and helping to forge a world where mental health is openly discussed and supported. Coffee Foundation proceeds support suicide crisis helplines and youth organizations on the frontline as Switzerland’s first social cause coffee enterprise and mental health awareness branded campaign.
Our dream is a world where mental health is treated with the same care and compassion as physical health. And we will fight for it one cup of coffee at a time.
Fight with us or just Call Us Crazy.
Official Website | Instagram | Vote Now
Design Inclusivity Award Finalists
Café Retiro
Element Coffee Roasters
Ergo-ware
Happy Cup Coffee
The Mental Health Association
View all categories
Vote now
Register your interest in the 2025 Sprudge Design Awards