Café Local
1 year later
In June 2006, 1 year after the BiD 2005 finals, the online shop of Café Local opened. At www.cafelocal.nl you can buy locally processed and packaged quality coffees from Costa Rica, Ethiopia and Papua New Guinea.
| Country | Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Papua New Guinea, Netherlands |
|---|---|
| Total investment | €20,000 (Hivos grant + € 10,000 own investment) |
| Turnover | no figures available yet (couple of hundreds of packages sold since opening online shop in June 2006) |
| Direct employment | expected in 2 years |
| Indirect employment | expected in 1 year (our suppliers have more business because of our demand) |
| Contribution to Millennium Goals | Increased income for farmers and cooperatives due to export and extra added value on product. Increased environmental, social and economic sustainability as result of importing only certified coffees (Utz Kapeh, Organic ISO, EKO certifications). Education of suppliers by sharing of chain knowledge. |
From registration to first shipments
After the BID finals 2005 the company was registered as a Dutch ‘VOF’ at the Chambre of Commerce. This was the start for many things among which e.g. reinforcement of contacts with the cooperatives, development of the webstore, establishment of logistics, financial support and marketing. Our activities resulted in the first shipments of coffee, the opening of our webstore, strategic partnerships with several entrepreneurs and an alliance with HIVOS.
"Café Local was only a vague idea when the BID challenge 2005 started. During the BiD process we realised that this idea had a future. 1 year later, Café Local has become a real business, due to our hard work, and also the stimulance and network of the BiD Challenge."
Opening of the online shop
In June 2005 we opened our web store, which is now up and running. We sell high quality coffee. More and more people are interested in coffee specialties and in the origin of the products they buy, they want to know how it is produced. Café local is filling a gap in the coffee business.
Café Local is different in its approach to the coffee market, we focus on keeping the added value of roasting and packaging in the country of origin. Effective communication of our own identity is a challenge.
Plans and challenges for 2007
Café Local strives to be profitable at the end of 2007, among others by optimizing logistics, new distribution channels and expansion of the number of supplying countries from South America and Africa with at least 4 extra countries.
Café Local is a small initiative with the big ambition to open up the European market for local coffees. Marketing is the key to this. We are always looking for extra investments and extra help of marketing professionals. Email us if you are interested:
