(Me, a chosen volunteer, showing how to professionally smell coffee with Maria)

Coffee continues to amaze me. What a craft and system that goes behind such a fascinating yet essential product. Now, Café Britt was a different approach to the tour of their premises, but were also a different business model. While Doka were producers and roasters, Café Britt were only roasters, which meant that the tour we took was abbreviated from yesterday’s. Additionally, we were presented with information from the head of Café Britt which mainly focused on the marketing and business model of the company.

Café Britt, to me, is a heavily customer oriented corporation, which could possibly be the reason for why Ticos are not attracted to purchasing and consuming it themselves. Ticos seem used to their lower quality coffee with minimal glitz and glam, which seems to be the opposite of what Café Britt puts forth.

From the presentation we got to see, I interpreted their work as something that strived on attracting people to their brand. Not only did their presenter say that but the presentation’s title slide read, “coffee, chocolate and retail experiences” which to me meant that they are proud of their products but prioritize a purchase from a customer. The presentation went over mainly how they are making money rather than what coffee they’re making or how their chocolate products are concocted. This was interesting to me because it seemed so different from Doka and their message.

As for a comparison to my team’s topic, planning within supply chains, I think Café Britt puts a lot of thought into their planning. I asked about their upcoming second location and how they are planning to have that operating as soon as possible, while having the experience similar or better than the current location. The answer I received was that they are working on the second location diligently but also only moving entirely forward and closing the first location when there are absolutely no kinks in the new location.

I think this answer was common sense but also something that some people may overlook. Now, of course you would want your new products moving forward efficiently, but some companies may put all faith in their up and coming and completely forget their tried and true behind them. So while this was an approach I agreed with, if I would change anything I would most likely attempt to be more personable, rather than strictly business. Now, I know this is not how business works in the real world, but I think that human connection is important and beneficial to business.