1. June 2007 © Copyright FNC 2007 Café de Colombia: protecting and promoting a well-known origin Luis Fernando Samper National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia June 2007-Beijing, China

2. June 2007 © Copyright FNC 2007 National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia (FNC) Founded in 1927, by the coffee growers of Colombia, the Federation is the non- profit, democratic and active advocate of 560,000 small cafeteros. With the funds of the National Coffee Fund, the FNC is dedicated to improve the life in the coffee-growing communities and to protect and promote the Colombian Coffee Industry.

3. June 2007 © Copyright FNC 2007 Some of FNCs Objectives… 1.Ensure the well-being of Colombias coffee growers by working towards the sustainability of Colombian coffee. 2. Foster a system in which Colombian Coffee growers receive the best possible price for their coffee. 3.Protect and Promote Colombian Coffee and guarantee its positioning in the global coffee market.

4. June 2007 © Copyright FNC 2007 It is part of the FNCs strategic objective to maintain and strengthen the differentiation of Colombian Coffee Colombia´s coffee quality is given by its mountains, varieties used, and harvesting and post harvesting processes. Many of these processes are manual, so we can not compete with cost. Only with differentiation.

5. June 2007 © Copyright FNC 2007 Today Colombia is one of the most well- known origins for coffee. It wasnt always this way… During the late 50s the price of Colombian coffee went from $0.85/lb to $0.45/lb due to an excessive supply of coffee in the world market. Only 4% of consumers recognized Colombia as a coffee origin. Roasters dominated the market and they tended to hide origin in order to gain more flexibility in blends.

6. June 2007 © Copyright FNC 2007 Origin?

7. June 2007 © Copyright FNC 2007 The Road towards origin differentiation… For the first time a coffee producing country takes an active stance towards marketing its product and gives a face to a commodity. With a push-pull strategy the FNC achieved to create a segment for 100% Colombian coffee within the coffee category. Consumers demand it, and roasters offer it within their product portfolio.

8. June 2007 © Copyright FNC 2007 Colombia as an origin, became well- known among consumers Awareness of Colombia as a coffee-growing country KRC Research 2004/2005

9. June 2007 © Copyright FNC 2007 Based on our Reputation we developed a trademark-based Ingredient brand strategy

10. June 2007 © Copyright FNC 2007 Those roasters not willing to use the ingredient brand decided to concentrate on the origin Colombian instead

11. June 2007 © Copyright FNC 2007 We then developed Certification Marks. However in some cases the product was not even Colombian

12. June 2007 © Copyright FNC 2007 Trademarks in an ingredient brand context are meant to be endorsers of someone else´s brand. Most of its users are willing to protect the origin. Enforcement of certification marks is difficult an expensive. Both TMs and CMs do not protect against the use of Colombian blend or Colombian type We needed an alternative that would help us defend and protect the Colombian origin We learned that…

13. June 2007 © Copyright FNC 2007 G.I. Café de Colombia In December 2004, the FNC presented the Colombian government with an application for the recognition of Café de Colombia as a Geographical Indication. In February 2005, the Colombian government ratified Café de Colombia as a D.O.-G.I. In June 2005, Café de Colombia became the first product from a non-EU nation to apply for the Protected Gegraphical Indication recognition to the EU.

14. June 2007 © Copyright FNC 2007 Why are geographical indications an interesting alternative to pursue? Roasters and marketers continue in their efforts to make coffee origin irrelevant to the eyes of the consumer Origin continues to be an important differentiation tool. New generations have greater access and interest for more information about the products they consume. Globalization has generated a niche of more conscious and demanding consumers.

15. June 2007 © Copyright FNC 2007 For consumers and regulators of food products, Geographical Indications are a source of information and credibility. Equally, they are becoming a source of growth and development for producers around the world. Emerging consumer trends have created an ideal environment for GIs to flourish. Consumers demand for more and better information about the products they consume represents an opportunity for systems that guarantee origin and methods of production. Different from Trademarks and certification Marks, GIs are intrinsically linked with attributes and quality standards related to origin. In an industry where marketers prefer downplaying origin in order to gain flexibility, GIs appear as an interesting alternative to add value to the products origin. Geographical Indications: a step forward

16. June 2007 © Copyright FNC 2007 Thank you. Luis Fernando Samper National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia Luisfernando.samper@cafedecolombia.com