,» explained Alejandra Londono, international vice president of Procafecol, which owns Juan Valdez.
However, with the arrival of Starbucks and Nespresso, the Colombian company «will see a loss of market share, which was going to happen sooner or later,» said Eduardo Sarmiento, director of the Center for Economic Studies at Colombia’s Julio Garavito School of Engineering in Bogota.
Although Juan Valdez profits have totaled $20 million since the company opened its first store in 2002, the Colombian company doesn’t earn its greatest profits from selling the prepared beverage.
The main activity is «the production of beans», and the revenues «that come from selling coffee… directly to the public are very weak,» Sarmiento said.
While exports last year surpassed 10 million bags of coffee, according to the national federation of producers, the sale for domestic consumption only amounted to about 1.5 million bags.
Source: ctvnews.ca/business/coffee-wars-starbucks-nespresso-battling-to-fill-colombia-s-cups-1.1914537
