STiR coffee and tea magazine

58 STiR coffee and tea / Issue 1, 2018 (February / March) How Procafecol spends its revenue: - Purchase guarantee. Producers receive pay- ment for all hand-washed arabica that meets FNC certification standards. They are not required to sell to Procafecol, but the entity pays 20% above market rate. - Scientific research via Cenicafé, the world's top coffee research center for improving coffee quality and production methods. - On-site technical assistance: About 1,000 coffee specialists and technicians regularly visit, train, and update Colombian growers on the latest agricultural technologies. - Quality control: To protect its hard-earned repu- tation, Colombia has established minimum quality standards for the marketplace. Growers must meet these standards to be labeled Colombian coffee. - Promo and advertising: creating a clear, global brand identity for Colombian coffee. Panama, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Mexico, United States, Aruba, Spain, Japan, and Malaysia. In the short term, expansion will continue to concentrate on Colombia (15 more owned-stores are planned for Bogotá, Medellin, Cali, Montería, Pereira, and Villavicencio). In 2014, 45% of Juan Valdez Cafés were lo- cated in shopping malls, 23% were street cafés, 19% were located in airports, and the rest in de- partment stores, large supermarkets, corporate cafeterias, and universities. Procafecol's new approach to an increasingly crowded field is to emphasize and promote single origin coffees. Chief marketing officer Alejandra Londoño explains the mission of the Juan Valdez Cafés as more than just a profit-making enterprise that shares its margins directly with growers. There is the notion of connoisseurship "on the model of wine" explained Londoño, "Coffee is crafted, and each cup differs depending on the bean variety, the region, the soil, the climate, they all have an impact on flavor, nose, front of mouth, back of mouth, aftertaste, etc." As the world economy improved, and with the cease-fire and subsequent peace agreement with most but not all other rebel groups, Juan Valdez Cafés started to do better at home, breaking even for the first time in 2012 and showing double-dig- it growth every year since (23% in 2014, 27% in 2015, 18% in 2016 dipping to still-positive +13% growth for 2017). Stability has attracted foreign visitors and investors, businesses like Ikea and H&M – and competitors like Dunkin' Donuts and, in 2014, the behemoth Starbuck's. Perhaps surprisingly, both Procafecol presi- dent Mendez and Londoño were upbeat about the Starbucks incursion. "Consumers will go into a Starbucks because it's new, but our model is much closer to Colombian preferences," Mendez affirmed. "Every effort that other premium café chains have made has helped us." And it is true that specialty coffee consumption in Colombia has sky- rocketed, (up 33% between 2009 and 2014) because of FNC's relentless work, and, Mendez is quick to acknowledge, because of the appeal of the social environment of premium chains. Yet, it is hard to reconcile the notion of premium and connoisseurship with venues that have consistently scored low with consumers on comfort, ambiance, and service. In about a dozen online amateur video blogs that asked customers in Juan Valdez, Starbucks, Tostao, and OMA shops to rate and compare them on quality, price, environment, and service, similar pat- terns emerged from Bogotà to Lima. Juan Valdez was consistently seen as overpriced, even compared with the more expensive but much larger Star- bucks cup. Several customers noted a lack of comfort, with one speculating that it was meant to discourage lingering. Even the choice of sweeteners was questioned: Starbucks offers four types, including panella, Colombia's other go-to artisanal agricultural product, while Juan Valdez did not, (it has since been added). And almost to a person, the clients gave Tostao Pan y Café higher value-for-money ratings. With of 76% of Juan Valdez cafés located in Colombia at a moment of uneven economic growth, higher sales tax and with 89% of people saying they feel financially stressed, the high road is bound to be a steep journey. Procafecol is aware of the challenge and is gearing up to meet it, modern- izing the café's image with make-overs at 30 stores this year, stressing hospi- tality and providing "incentives" to staff for better service. New menu items include a wider variety of snacks both sweet and savory, including special items from the respected "Andrés Carné de Res" (beef turnovers), bottled teas, and new flavors to attract young consumers, including coffee with rum and fresh fruit cocktails. "We're not going to lower our prices," Londoño states. "We will offer a very good value proposition," with breakfast and lunch promotions, and showcasing three of Colombia's 91 registered single origins every three months. Tastings have begun in the flagship café in Bogotà and will expand. Londoño emphasizes, "Starbucks is about the experience. We're about the coffees. Through the Juan Valdez Cafés, people will be able to learn about the tradition, the culture, the extreme diligence, and skill of the 563,000 cof- fee-growing families in Colombia." As Londoño points out, the emphasis will be on distinct single origin brews, on "telling the growers' stories," and she further stresses that "it's not Colombian coffee, it's Colombian coffees." Will this be enough? Can Procafecol's didactic approach take hold before US-inspired consumerism barrels in full-throttle? Will "It's about the coffees" win out over "It's about the consumer?" Time will tell. FNC tradition and technology photo courtesy FNC

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