¡Café, café, y más café! Today we were lucky enough to visit Doka and Café Britt, which are both coffee plantations but strikingly different. Although they both produce coffee, each company occupies different stages of the supply chain. Doka Coffee is a family run plantation 1300 meters above sea level, and they focus on the initial stages of coffee such as growing, milling, and eventually shipping. The central valley coffee requires a delicate process to compete on quality to their already established clients, and occasionally roasts the beans for their gourmet brand. Café Britt, on the other hand, is a more integrated company focusing not only on coffee, but other goods such as chocolate, cookies, clothing, and other country-specific items. Their business practices include roasting coffee, making chocolate, and selling in retail stores across 11 countries.

Café Britt’s international footprint attracts volumes of tourists, but most Ticos don’t typically drink it. Due to its gourmet status, its coffee price is most likely higher than Costa Ricans are willing to pay, so they opt for cheaper products with a lower quality. In fact, Doka will sell the third grade, or the bad quality crops, to local markets because they do not reach the export standards. Although Ticos don’t usually have a cup of Café Britt in the morning, tourists love to buy their products.

A multitude of efforts attribute to this company’s financial success, but their planning and managing decisions specifically gave rise to the empire they have today. Originally, Café Britt solely produced coffee, but they decided to expand into other markets. Now, they sell chocolates, toys, travel retail, espresso machines, pastries, and more! The company also initiated negotiations and contracts with retailers, such as Legal Seafoods, and hotels, such as Marriott. Contracts with other major companies provides exposure to their market target: tourists. Café Britt, moreover, uniquely budgets for advertising, allocating about $3 million on taste testing. Rather than utilizing traditional marketing materials like billboard signs, they choose to invest in the quality and experience to boost word of mouth and familiarity. When Café Britt is found in 11 countries and hundreds of storefronts, customers cannot avoid a free sample of coffee and chocolate, making them more likely to purchase the good and tell thir friends. They manage to keep the friendliness in a large retailer.

Although Café Britt has effectively grown to a major company, it appears as if they are tapping into too many markets. As its portfolio diversifies, they lose focus and resources in the numerous items located inside a store. For instance, in some retailers they sell hats, masks, clothes, and several country-specific items. When producing so many items that are limited to only one store or area, it becomes more difficult to ensure quality in all goods. They also source one product from several makers. Instead of purchasing coffee beans from a couple coffee growers, they buy from a large amount of small farmers and is subject to change based on the countries’ main exports. This process is also done with chocolate, which creates many different logistics channels and more confusion in the supply chain. ¡Muy complicado!

After today’s visits to Doka and Café Britt, I have a new-found appreciation for the coffee process and can certainly tell the difference between Costa Rican coffee and “Charbucks.”