Costa Rica business summed up: Chocolate, Coffee, Pura Vida. With the lowest poverty rate in Central America, Costa Rica has unique business aspects that focus on sectors like tourism, agriculture, and technology services. The country shines on economic growth and political stability. However, some challenges exist, such as acquiring specific certificates and corruption. While abroad, we visited many companies proving that thriving in this tiny country is obtainable.
One company that stood out to me the most was Cafe Britt, a coffee and chocolate company that grows, roasts, and manufactures all of its products. Much like every company in Costa Rica, Cafe Britt prides itself on satisfaction, eco-friendliness, and integrity. We had the opportunity to attend their coffee tour, which was very educational and successful for the tourist industry. People of all ages can learn about the aspects of a coffee business in Costa Rica, test-taste all their products, and leave the tour with a new perspective on coffee. Also, we got to talk with the company’s owners about how they built the company from the ground up and about their future products and plans. The most impressive part of this business is that their coffee is everywhere in Costa Rica. Gas stations, malls, grocery stores, coffee shops, and airports are just scraping the surface of the locations you can find their products!
Another company we visited was the Toucan Rescue Ranch. This company’s goal is simple: to rescue, rehabilitate, and release Costa Rican wildlife. They receive sick, injured, or confiscated animals such as toucans, sloths, parrots, monkeys, and more to hopefully ultimately release them back into the wild. This company is strictly funded by the money produced by their tour of permanent animal residents, merchandise, and donations. This presents challenges, as their marketing team informed us on the tour, but it has a bright future with sponsorship plans and social media tactics.
Costa Rica changed my perspective entirely in the business world. It gave me an opportunity to experience a different set of values that promote sustainability, social responsibility, and relational tactics. Compared to my experience in the US, Costa Rica proved to blow my expectations out of the park.
