With eight years in the market, the company founded by Félix Rodríguez seeks to position the specialty coffee culture in Peru and promote local varieties in the competitive US market.
Don Artidoro was a natural leader: he gathered his countrymen and organized them to grow coffee on a large scale. When the harvest season arrived, he looked for the best markets to make profits and thus position himself in the long term, among the communities of Rodríguez de Mendoza, a province of the Peruvian department of Amazonas, located in the high jungle of the Andean country.
His grandson Félix would never get to know him, but this story would inspire him to take up the family's coffee legacy and turn it into a business with international projection. “That's how the project was born, but we wanted to do it no longer by selling green coffee, but by roasting the beans and giving them added value. With this we consolidate a final market to be able to also have an equal impact on the countryside, but in greater volume,” declared Félix Rodríguez, CEO of Artidoro Rodríguez Café , for AméricaEconomía . The brand has been dedicated to the marketing of Peruvian specialty coffee for eight years, both inside and outside the country's borders.
In general terms, Peru is in an advantageous position as it is one of the 10 largest global producers of Arabica coffee: it represents 4% of world production, with a total of 3.6 million 60 kg bags (216,000 tons) during the 2022-2023 campaign, according to data collected by Artidoro Rodríguez. Likewise, grain cultivation provides employment to more than 236,000 producers, who work on some 660,000 hectares.
The current situation is also favorable: the Ministry of Agrarian Development and Irrigation of Peru (Midagri) indicates that coffee exports exceeded US$ 132 million between January and February 2024. This represents an increase of 66% compared to the same period of the year. last year. Among the main trading partners are countries such as the United States and Canada, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands. It should be noted that this export boom is not only due to the efforts of local coffee growers.
“Since last year, we had an increase in exports of raw materials from Peru, since there were delays in the harvests in Brazil. It must be taken into account that this country generates the largest amount of coffee commodities in the world. So, its production was delayed, what buyers did was turn their gaze to Bolivia, Ecuador and of course, Peru,” explains Rodríguez.
THE PERUVIAN ADVANTAGE
However, Peru is not limited to being a substitute for its competitors, but produces specialty coffee on a large scale. These are beans that achieve more than 80 points out of 100 in a taster's rating. At the same time, traits such as fragrance, flavor, aroma, body, among others, are valued.
“The wealth that we have the most as a country is that the different regions of the country have a diversity of ecosystems and altitudinal levels. This makes it vary in flavors, coffee profiles and aromas. So, the mixtures or blends that are handled in the country as varieties also make the Peruvian product very exquisite,” says Rodríguez.
Among the coffee varieties grown in Peru are Caturra, native to Brazil; Catimor, disease resistant; Pacamara, high productivity; Geisha, known for its floral aroma, among others. On the other hand, grains also vary in properties, depending on their geographical origin and processing. Rodríguez highlights that the coffee beans are acidic and the roasting is done depending on the preferences of the local market.
Thus, in coffee-growing areas such as the department of Amazonas or the city of Jaén (Cajamarca), citrus and fruity flavors can be found as a base. In contrast, in the town of Villa Rica (Pasco), coffees with red fruits as base flavors abound, while in Cusco, chocolate or nuts can be identified in pure coffee. “Although this does not mean that in the north you cannot find profiles like in the south. That will also depend on the selection of varieties that the coffee grower grows in each area,” Rodríguez clarifies.
Contrary to what one may believe, Artidoro Rodríguez did not start on the lands left by Félix's grandfather. After his death, there was no generational change in the business, so the hectares were neglected and Félix was forced to work through alliances with local coffee producers in Amazonas and Villa Rica. The main objective is to stabilize the purchase price of coffee, as well as the transfer of the business unit.
“As the price of coffee is a commodity , then when the stock market went up, the coffee farmer benefited, but the roaster was at risk of bankruptcy, but when the stock market went down, the roaster benefited and the coffee farmer was at risk of bankruptcy. So what we have done is generate a price study from the final product, that is, from the coffee already roasted to the final customer and that a shared margin has been generated among all,” explains Rodríguez.
In this way, the company obtains a gross margin that it shares with its producer partners and operational efficiencies generate a profitable business. Under this scheme, Artidoro Rodríguez hopes that coffee growers will have an average projected income in each campaign and plan profits in the medium term. Thus, it is possible to “professionalize” the field and for coffee growers to become entrepreneurs.
“The idea is that this business formula draws the attention of other farmers and they begin to join this. Thus, we will be supplied with more coffee and we will gain more markets. Many times the problem is that we can be very effective commercially, but we also have to be effective in the organization of the communities,” clarifies the CEO.
THE LINK WITH THE USA
Every two weeks, Félix travels from Peru to the United States and vice versa to lead the dissemination of Artidoro Rodríguez in the North American power. For now, the main focus is to consolidate the brand in Peruvian restaurants by positioning it as the “best companion” for the food of the Andean country. Félix recognizes that it is a challenge, because commercial types of coffee are usually served, leaving aside the finer varieties such as Bourbon or Geisha.
Thus, an opportunity to promote Peruvian coffee is lost, in a similar way to how other countries promote their most prestigious wines. Although to reach this point it is necessary to increase the processing and/or mixing of these varieties in Peru to obtain a greater supply in the US and therefore, affordable prices.
“We have the goal of massifying the first line of specialty coffee in Peru. This already has greater added value for the coffee grower by having a better price. In a next stage, we want to learn how to obtain greater volume to supply hotels or restaurants. We must increase the capacity to install roasting processes in Peru to export in greater quantities,” says Rodríguez.
However, another novel business model is already underway: tasting bars. These services are installed in multiple Peruvian restaurants in the US that allow the properties of specialty coffee to be compared with common varieties.
On the other hand, cold brews are served , cold coffee-based drinks, with fruit flavors, which are offered as an alternative to cocktails. Regarding Artidoro Rodríguez's bars, Félix believes that two birds are killed with one stone: Peruvian coffee is promoted and restaurant owners learn new strategies to sell their own products more effectively.
THE BET ON THE LABORATORY
In parallel with its presence in stores abroad, the brand has ventured into the development of human capital with “Artidoro Lab”. It consists of an initiative that has grown in recent years to train citizens in the production of specialty coffee. “We realized that we needed a space where we could train baristas in Peru. And there are not many people who dedicate themselves to this technical career. So we gave them the opportunity to work with us in our cafeteria so that later they could enter other bars or open their own business,” explains Rodríguez.
The initial success of the project led to the opening of workshops specialized in training roasters and tasters. Subsequently, the laboratory has incorporated equipment that analyzes coffee varieties from rural areas to obtain the best possible profile to market. “Our long-term goal is to be the organization that works for Peruvian coffee growing. Our mission is for the coffee farmer to become a manager of equal professional rank or knowledge as a coffee roaster or seller,” summarizes Félix. It is worth wondering if in the coming years Artidoro Rodríguez will position himself as the flagship brand of Peruvian coffee in the United States and beyond.
