With annual sales of $ 65 million, representation in over 20 countries and a steady growth plan, this “tico” business has showed that the country has all the ingredients for success
It began operations in 1985 in the garage of a house with no more than 5 people. It exported coffee to the Starbucks firm and to different roasters in the United States, just as all producing countries did back in those years. Sales were good, but with small profits due to low prices of the coffee and its activity was not different from or promised to go further than what any producer country could aspire.
Years later, Café Britt became the first gourmet coffee roaster in Costa Rica, becoming a pioneer in opening this ambitious market. In less than 25 years it offers 10,000 products, not just coffee, and 50 shops. In addition, its payroll increased to 850 employees, has 2,000 suppliers, and its annual sales reach $ 65 million, with representation in over 20 countries around the world.
The Britt brand is a symbol that has positioned Costa Rica at international level. Tourists usually bring at least one bag of Britt coffee when they leave the country, or any of their many presentations of combined chocolates. Britt stores diversified to offer souvenirs, books, shirts, caps and even coffee liqueurs, and their Internet customers are growing.
But how has this company managed to be so successful in just a few years? The answer is simple and has to do with the visionary decision of its owner and founder, the American but with "tico" heart, Steve Aronson, who realized they had the necessary knowledge to sell a finished product and could thus improve the perceived gains.
"We had all the ingredients for success: access to perfect coffee from the country's best plantations, the finest mills, the roasters, and the obsession with quality. We combined all our resources and the result was Café Britt", said Mr. Aronson.
Then the name Britt was born, a woman's name, very popular in Scandinavian countries that are major consumers of coffee and some of the most demanding of quality. Moreover, its pronunciation was easy since it doesn´t change in different languages.
"It was like sending a message to the world. This is the coffee for the most demanding customer", said Pablo Vargas, CEO of the company, who has lived through the various stages, from artisanal to the diversification of their activities.
For Vargas, the boom began in 1991 with the purchase of the plant, industrial testing of different products and roasting, and innovative packaging. The Britt brand began to be distributed in the United States, through Sam's Club of the Wallmart group. But once again the Costa Rican businessmen realized that this was not the way to go because although the sales were great, the profits were still little.
From coffee to tourism
Britt went beyond the brand of coffee by identifying a niche that would be the spearhead for its internationalization and complete success. In addition to a new product line, the combined chocolates, which would complement the coffee, the company bet on tourism.
This way the direction of the business strategy changed and it began opening stores in airports and tourist sites such as hotels. Since 2001, Britt exports a new business model, which is accompanied by its star products. In 2004, it opened its first stores in Peru and two years later in Curacao, to reach the Caribbean market. In 2007 opened a representation in Chile and a year later in Miami.
"One business feeds the other because where our gift shops go, chocolate and coffee also go. And in these countries we also distribute our products in various supermarkets", Vargas said.
He added that another innovation is to use raw materials from countries where it has representation. This is the case of Peru, where the coffee is sold and marketed under the Britt brand, but using 100% Peruvian coffee, and is promoted this way in the package. Also, the stores are sustained with crafts, textiles and books of the country where the shop is opened.
"We have systematized the way to reach the country, understand the culture, what it offers to the tourists and develop business concepts allusive to that nation ", added the CEO.
Another of Britt's innovations and which set a guideline in the country, was the coffee tour, the first that showed tourists how they harvest, collect and roast the grain to turn it into the gourmet presentation (see separate Table).
Britt currently exports to over 20 countries its 200 inventory codes of coffee and chocolates, and its expansion plans continue. These include conversations on expanding the representations of its stores in four more airports in the Caribbean, three more in Chile and another two in Peru.
"We have a pretty aggressive plan for growth inside and outside of Costa Rica. I think that for the next 12 months we have planned an investment of about $ 5 million", said the Executive.
They are currently working on another project in Mexico to open a roaster plant and buy Mexican grain since exporting from Costa Rica is not profitable due to the high tariff that was imposed on this product.
Britt buys coffee from producers throughout the country, who are required to provide the highest quality and to whom economic rewards are offered for delivering only ripe grain. Each year about 35,000 quintals are processed to meet the demand.
Just ask for it ...
Another one of the strong facts of this company is its incursion into Internet sales. Over 150,000 people are buying Britt coffee through the www.cafebritt.com site on a regular basis. A bag of coffee is sent to their home via a courier service each month.
"It's a business that works very well and we have more customers every time. Who comes to visit Costa Rica takes the coffee home and when it is gone they just ask for more. But we are also promoting this system a lot and many customers who have not come to visit are asking for it because they want to taste it", said Café Britt´s CEO, Pablo Vargas.
Acknowledgments
• Innovation Award, 2003 - Chamber of Industries of Costa Rica
• One of the 100 most admired companies in LA, 2004 -SUMMA Magazine
• Third more competitive company in Latin America, 2005 - América Economía Magazine
• Excellence Award, 2006 - Chamber of Industries of Costa Rica
• Moodie Report 2007 for its shops at the International Airport Jorge Chávez in Lima, Peru, 2007
Getting to know the grain of gold
Professional actors and actresses have worked on the Café Britt tour since 1991, when they opened the "theater on the plantation", which emerged as a response to the demand from tourists who wanted to know from start to end the whole process of the grain of gold.
The journey begins in a plantation and reaches the process of roasting the coffee in the toaster plant. The tour starts on a coffee plantation in the Central Valley where visitors learn about sustainable farming practices and the vital role played by coffee in the economic evolution of Costa Rica.
In the roaster, Cafe Britt experts show the art of turning the coffee cherry into a grain ready to be grounded, and then takes place a tasting session where you learn about the properties and secrets of coffee.
The tour ends with a visit to the stocked gift and coffee shop, and a delicious typical lunch at Don Prospero's restaurant.
Each year approximately 45,000 tourists take the Britt coffee tour.