Juan Valdez is off to Costa Rica

One of the biggest South American coffee chains has set its sights on Costa Rica announcing that up to five branded shops will be unveiled in Costa Rica this year at a cost expected to be in the region of $2m.

Juan Valdez was founded in 2002, though in theory it can trace its history right back to the creation of the Juan Valdez character by the National Federation of Coffee Growers.

The first franchised store actually opened its doors last month; however the official opening ceremony took place a couple of days ago near San Jose’s metropolitan La Sabana Park.

“It is a big challenge for us to enter highly demanding markets,” said Hernan Mendez, the President of Procafecol, the company that is overseeing Juan Valdez’s Costa Rican expansion.

“It also represents an important step for [the] brand,” he continued.

Juan Valdez has been on an expansion role over the past decade or so. The company has around 320 stores in locations in Colombia and other South American countries, as well as further afield sites such as Kuwait, Malaysia and South Korea.

So what brought them to Costa Rica?

“We decided to launch operations in Costa Rica because of the country’s sophisticated coffee market and high flow of foreign visitors,” noted an unnamed director.

“We are convinced that Juan Valdez brings a novel proposal [to the region]: not only is its coffee globally recognized…but its inclusive business model is unique in the world.”

Interestingly, this isn’t the first link between the chain, character and country. Just before the turn of the millennium Costa Rica’s ambassador to the United States, Jaime Daremblum, famously stated that Juan Valdez drinks Costa Rican coffee. Unsurprisingly it became something of a cult saying which eventually led to a confusing a cross-continent lawsuit.