Coffee Wars, Costa Rica vs. Colombia, Heat Up—Again
by Rod Hughes
(News Freshly Brewed from Local Media)
Juan Valdez must feel like a U.S. soldier transferred to a Middle Eastern country.
The advertising symbol for the Colombian Coffee Growers’ Federation is the subject of a copyright law suit filed last year against the Costa Rican firm Cafe Britt over Britt’s alleged use of the Valdez image with the slogan, “Juan Valdez drinks Costa Rican coffee.” Now Valdez has gone on the offensive with the entry of Colombian coffee into the Costa Rican market, the daily Al DÃa reported today.
Of course the head of the Colombian Procafecol, Ricardo Obregon, insists that this is simply a marketing move that has nothing to do with the Federation’s suit against Britt. Costa Rica is a heavy coffee consumer and Obregon says he is targeting other countries in the region as well.
“We don’t intend to say we’re better or worse than Costa Rican coffee but we want to enter into a refined culture accustomed to drinking the fine coffee they have there and offer ourselves as an additional option,” Obregon told the Associated Press diplomatically.
Cafe Britt is a luxury coffee with overseas sales as well as a strong following inside Costa Rica. And it is not the only gourmet coffee brand in the country with sales abroad; Sun Burst Coffee also offers direct sales to the U.S. with a variety of roasts and flavored coffees.
“Costa Rica now makes 5% of its coffee production gourmet types.” says Obregon, “while we have only 2% in that category. Selling there seems a logical move.”
It is not known what brand of coffee Valdez’s burro, also a part of the ubiquitous advertising image, drinks.