As more tourists from all over the world discover Costa Rica, they are likely to seek products closely associated with our country. Capturing this market is one of the objectives behind the marketing and branding strategy of Costa Rica’s government agency in charge of tourism affairs, ICT. To this end, a handful of firms are finding success on the world’s most popular online retailer.
As it stands now, five brands from Costa Rica are seeing positive results from their experience on Amazon.com. These companies are: Grupo Britt, Get Nuts, Lizano, Natural Sins, and Provehotel. These brands are taking advantage of the massive customer base of Amazon: 188 million and counting. According to a recent report by Leticia Vindas Quiros of business weekly El Financiero, these brands are pioneers in the sense that they are paving the way for others to showcase their Made in Costa Rica products.
In the case of Cafe Britt, a purveyor of fine coffee that was among the first to emphasize the quality of Costa Rica’s high-quality beans and roasts, Amazon represents five percent of its sales /about $300,000 per year. This may be but a drop in the vast ocean of $61 billion in sales for Amazon, but for Cafe Britt it truly opens the door to an international market.
For Natural Sins, a firm that offers unique healthy snacks such as crispy orange thins and coconut chips, Amazon represents 50 percent of its sales in the United States. Just like Cafe Britt, Natural Sins also sells its products using an internal e-commerce strategy, but they enjoy the prestige that Amazon brings to their operations.
Made in Costa Rica Around the World
The Made in Costa Rica concept is still in its infancy, but it is quickly becoming lucrative. One company that has capitalized on this is Florida Ice, the brewery giant responsible for iconic beer brands such as Imperial and Pilsen in Costa Rica as well as Labatt, Honey Brown and Pyramid in the United States.
Florida Ice has actively marketed the Made in Costa Rica concept behind Imperial, and it is paying off in the form of strong sales. The image that is emerging of products made in our country is one of a certain quality. In the case of edibles and consumables, this means fresh and natural ingredients that in many cases entail healthier options. Ecologically-conscious products are also in the purview of Made in Costa Rica, as well as the Pura Vida philosophy.
In the case of Provehotel products, the company is exporting the concept of eco-lodges and other hotels that are friendly to the environment in Costa Rica. Its Eco-Concept, Rain Forest and Natural Essence lines of travel soaps, shampoos and lotions are fondly remembered by visitors to our country.
Get Nuts specializes in treats made from almonds, cashews, macadamia and other candy-coated natural delights. The secret is in the candy coating, which is made from exotic fruits found in Costa Rica. Tourists who visit our malls and multiplazas are likely to be familiar with Get Nuts.
Lizano products such as Salsa Lizano, hot sauce, refried black beans, coffee, Chiky cookies, and its hand-made chorreador for making coffee the way it is supposed to be made in Costa Rica, are seeing positive sales and a growing interest on Amazon. Made in Costa Rica is still a nascent market, but it has a lot of potential for e-commerce hopefuls in our country.
