The memories and friendships I’ve made here are ones I’ll never forget and I can’t believe we leave tomorrow. This trip was one of the best experiences I’ve had from going on site visits for banana/pineapple/coffee plantations to playing soccer together and finally to working on our final project together. I have learned so much about the culture of Costa Rica and the efforts they take in order to keep their country sustainable.

Farms

Farms are where the process of harvesting starts for each company. However, for the bigger brand names, the design and launch part is not as important to them because their name is already out there. For smaller brands, they focus on how they market their tours of the plantation because it can alter the success of their different crops. Their success is determined upon their sustainability, productivity, and community efforts of committing to quality.

Processing Mills & Exporters

Through the tours of each plantation, people are able to see the behind the scenes of how each company works. This gives each place the perfect way to brand themselves and show how much thought and effort goes into the processing. People who see that companies are focused on the quality of their product are more inclined to want to buy the product.

Roasters/Cafe/Stores

This is the most important step in the process of design and launch because it captures the customer’s attention and whether they want to purchase the product or not. Each company needs to be strategic when marketing their product because their placement is important to their sales and financial success. Café Britt is a perfect example of this because they utilize the most of their space in tourist shops and promote different products for people to purchase. Branding and advertising is important to appeal to wider audiences.

Customer

The customer is the center of marketing. They are the most important people when companies are marketing a product because ultimately the customer is the one that purchases the product. They should strive towards sustainability and making community important. Customers now are starting to purchase based on the quality of a product and the values.