In the 1950s, the National Federation of Coffee Growers (FNC) needed to take action against a phenomenon of commoditization that was occurring in the market. The beans coming from various producing countries used to be mixed with those of Colombian origin in the same bag, thus undermining the differentiation of the national product in the face of competition. At that time, 77% of Colombian production was purchased by the United States, a country where only 4% of the population recognized Colombia as a producer country. It was time to take action.

For Arturo Gómez Jaramillo, “the coffee czar” who presided over the FNC as general manager, the solution was simple: a character was needed to establish himself as a symbol of Colombian coffee.

They held auditions, reviewed several profiles to personify the new protagonist and finally chose a stage performer who met the typical physical traits of the Latin mountain peasant.

The selected man was groomed with an aguadeño hat, a carriel and espadrilles and together with ‘Conchita’, his inseparable mule as if he were a centaur, he began to walk through advertising guidelines and events to conquer the world.

In terms of perception and for the public, he was a Colombian extracted from the bowels of the coffee-growing community. In reality, he was Cuban opera singer José F. Duval (“Joe”), son of Spaniards. He had never in his life set foot in the coffee plantations of the Andean mountains.

In 1969 Joe Duval was replaced by Carlos Sanchez, an actor originally from Fredonia, Antioquia, who played the role of Juan Valdez for 37 years until the time came for him to retire.

In 2006, the FNC, after reviewing 380,000 resumes of Colombian coffee growers in a process that cost 400,000 dollars, finally presented an authentic Colombian coffee grower to personify the famous icon: Carlos Castañeda, born in the municipality of Andes, Antioquia.

When it comes to brand building, the ingenuity of communicators knows no limits. Creativity is strengthened the more astute it is, as long as it corresponds to the needs of the objectives and the brand.

As perception molders and brand experts, we know that the collective imagination is ductile and that, provided with the right tools, it is possible to influence the final consumer at the moment of decision making.

Coffee has been one of the spearheads of Colombian exports.  In terms of value, its participation reached 82.2% of the country’s total exports in 1954.  As a brand, the success story of Juan Valdez has supported the management of the FNC for half a century and has become one of the most memorable images in modern communications.  And the success story of its history, in part, has Cuban origins