Operating a cooperative as opposed to a traditional company has benefits and drawbacks. In this case the coffee collective operates as a group of coffee farmers supplying coffee to a single producer who sells it under a single brand.  Also the cooperative is owned by the farmers that make it up. This means that the chain of communication from the executives at Café Privilegios to the coffee pickers must go through the farmers since the farmers still technically own and run their own unique businesses. The benefit of this is that the brand is owned collectively by the farmers and they have the opportunity to get into a position within the collective to make strategic business decisions.  They are also are able to work together without having to worry about running a large firm. They are also able to collaborate and share information and business strategies.  One downside to this is that it limits how much each individual producer is able to grow their own business and brand. Another negative is that the people with controlling interests in the cooperative have to keep careful track of where each batch of beans comes from to ensure that they are branded properly, of the proper quality and up to the cooperatives standards.

Café Privilegios goes to great lengths to help out their community and their suppliers.  They make sure that money gets to the farmers that supply them and that the farms, along with their workers, are sufficiently supported. They try and institute as many ecological standards and sustainability initiatives as possible to ensure the quality of their coffee and that the environment is protected. Some of these include the blue flag certification, the rain forest alliance, as well as their own certifications to communicate quality of coffee to consumers. Café Privilegios was also the first coffee manufacturer to become 100% carbon neutral. If Café Privilegios did not operate and help the community the flow of money would be very different.  Farmers would have to either produce their own coffee or each would have to find a producer to sell to.  While there may be overlap here (few producers buying from several different farmers) there is much more hassle and there is no guarantee that the farmers interests will be looked out for. Also all the farmers may not have the same sustainability standards that the cooperative follows. Therefore, in this case the environment and community is better looked out for when the farmers work together as a cooperative.