Our adventure today consisted of touring the coffee plantation, Cafe Britt. We learned about the coffee growing and making process again and got more information about the coffee industry as a whole. This tour was so much fun as the guides were super animated and made learning really enjoyable. Once the tour was over we got to hear all about Cafe Britt’s marketing strategies and how/where they sell all their different products. The speaker also went into great detail about the other companies underneath the Cafe Britt umbrella.
The group of companies is called “Grupo de Arribada”. We learned that Doka is now owned by Cafe Britt and is apart of this larger groups of companies. They mentioned that Cafe Britt only has a roasting /packaging plant on site and all the other steps of the process are done at Doka. The presentation had a strong focus on the connection to the consumer side of the supply chain. They have opened multiple locations in airports and hospitals that sells different items such as coffee, chocolate and apparel. This is different than what Doka does as they are connected to the producer side of the supply chain and work with the creating and producing before the coffee and chocolate reaches the consumer.
Cafe Britt does a lot when it comes to the logistics of their supply chain process. They have introduced their products into other countries and this means they have to deliver them there. Sending their products to these other countries allows them to expand their market and become more profitable as a company . They do all their packaging on site and have started using e-commerce to sell items on Amazon and enter in to the U.S market. Since they focus on the consumer side of the supply chain they care a lot about the delivery of their products and making sure that they get where they need to be and on time. They have lots of different connections with the companies with in the grupo de Arribada and they use all of them to maximize their profits in unique ways. This is very smart of them as they can do more than just sell from their small plantation and in stores. They also put a lot of money and time into training their employees to have excellent sales and customer service skills. We discovered that our amazing tour guides were actors and all the guides are paid actors. Cafe Britt uses this technique to keep people interested and wanting more. This shows their commitment to bringing people in and showing them the world of Cafe Britt. We got to experience that today!
This approach is very smart and allows a company to grow. It also ensures constant customer engagement because of their locations such as the airport and hospital where people will always be. They also take an approach of reaching for the next thing and this a good mindset for a company to have. Cafe Britt has recognized the growing trend in E-commerce and is getting on board in order to not fall behind and continue to maximize their profits.
I agree with their approach of managing their supply chain and business model. They know how to maximize their profits and are also aware of their impact on the world around them. We learned in the tropical agriculture lecture that climate change is a big issue surrounding the agricultural industry and Cafe Britt is doing their part to mitigate the effects. They use recycled paper and hand made bags and are now working on making the plastic coffee pods biodegradable.
We ended our day with a fun filled dance class, where we learned Salsa, Bachata and merengue. Tomorrow we head off to Monteverde! Hasta Mañana!
