A Brisbane Legacy Worth Celebrating 

If you’ve ever grabbed a coffee from one of The Common Good’s social enterprise cafés, you’ve done more than get your caffeine fix. You’ve backed a mission improving lives in our community for 40 years.

This year marks The Prince Charles Hospital Foundation’s 40-year milestone, recognising what’s possible when community support fuels medical research and patient care. Progress like this takes consistency, with people showing up year after year. 

Merlo was proud to attend the milestone launch event and mark the occasion alongside the clinicians, researchers, frontline staff, volunteers, donors and corporate partners behind the mission. Since 2014, Merlo has supported The Cafe for The Common Good by supplying coffee beans across their café sites, plus donations, training, in-kind support, and hands-on involvement. 

What 40 years of impact looks like 

The Common Good is an initiative of The Prince Charles Hospital Foundation, supporting the people who are helping Queenslanders live healthier for longer. For 40 years, the foundation has funded research, vital equipment and patient care initiatives across heart disease, lung disease, mental health, ageing and dementia, and now pediatrics, supporting The Prince Charles and Caboolture Hospitals.

That long-term support has delivered major impact, with close to $80 million invested and nearly 1,000 research grants enabling clinicians and researchers to improve care. What matters most is what it makes possible: better tools for clinicians, new breakthroughs for researchers, and better outcomes for patients and families, including dignity, hope and a healthier future. 

The Merlo impact, measured in cups 

Merlo’s role is practical and powerful. We supply the beans that help The Cafes for the Common Good serve delicious coffee every day, and those coffees in turn help fund life-changing work. 

The Common Good cafés are more than a place to grab a coffee. They’re a daily hub inside the hospital and emergency headquarters they serve, open seven days a week and fueling healthcare workers, patients and visitors, with every purchase helping fund medical research and patient care programs. 

Across five of The Common Good’s social enterprise sites, that impact adds up fast. A grand total of 11.5 tonnes of Merlo coffee was purchased in 2025 which was promptly converted into 148,000 Flat Whites, 139,000 Cappuccinos, 97,000 lattes and 65,000 Iced Coffees! That’s a staggering 449,000 total coffee items served in 2025! That’s not just volume. It’s funding generated through everyday choices, supporting life-changing medical research, patient care initiatives, and vital hospital equipment for Queenslanders. 

Merlo is proud to have played an active role since 2014, contributing more than $2 million in monetary and in-kind support, through hands-on involvement and collaborative promotions, and supplying Merlo beans across all The Café for Common Good sites.

Here’s to 40 years, and what comes next 

Whether you choose to donate, volunteer, visit one of The Cafés for Common Good and buy a Merlo coffee, or simply spread the word, your support can contribute to research that improves and saves lives. 

Here’s to 40 years and to the next chapter.