Business Specialization turns a losing business into a profitable one.

During my recent trip to Panama, I found inspiration from a business model utilizing niche specialization to make an unprofitable commodity business strong. 

Dos Jeffes Specialty Coffee, located in Boquete, Panama, offers an example of how innovative thinking and strategic integration can turn around a failing business model.

Ownership & History: Purchased 23 years ago by a retiring business executive from Berkeley, California, the farm had previously failed due to low coffee bean prices which made production unsustainable.

Specialization & Integration: Now the  farm controls every step of the coffee process from growth to drying, processing, roasting, and grinding. This allows them to sell directly to coffee shops in Panama City and Boquete at premium prices.

Experimenting with Fermentation: The team is innovating with different processing strategies, including fermenting coffee beans to enhance flavor profiles. The integrated process allows them to be quickly responsive to opportunities and challenges.

Waste Not: They have even found a valuable use for the byproducts, turning coffee cherry skins into tea and using wastewater as rich fertilizer reducing the environmental impact compared to traditional methods that harm waterways.

Community Focus: Paying workers above the minimum wage not only ensures loyalty but quality production from workers, strengthens the local community, further supporting sustainable practices.

Through specialization and integration, Dos Jeffes has transformed a once-failing coffee farm into a thriving business, benefiting both the environment, coffee drinkers and the local economy. They even grow Geisha coffee, a coffee that sells for as much as $600 a cup in Japan.

If you are a coffee enthusiast, you should definitely find out more!

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