Cafés La Brasileña case: new times, new solutions?

Cafés La Brasileña, an emblematic coffee roasting company founded in Vitoria (Alava, Basque Country) in 1928, enjoyed in November 2020 a consolidated position and great recognition in the Alava market. Its coffees and infusions could be consumed in a multitude of coffee shops, bars and restaurants in the province, as well as through the wide network of vendingmachines that the company had managed to develop. They could also be purchased in most supermarkets in Alava or in La Brasileña's online store. La Brasileña also had seven of its own stores located in the center of the capital of Alava, where it sold the most select varieties of coffee and other types of products such as herbal teas, sugar, nuts, pastry ingredients, accessories, etc.

However, on the verge of celebrating its 100th anniversary, 2020 posed great challenges for this company from Alava. In addition to the development possibilities offered by the trends identified in the market, there were the changes in consumer habits resulting from the measures imposed to contain the spread of the covid-19 virus among the population. It was a time of tremendous uncertainty in which Chema Medrano, the company's marketing manager, asked himself many questions about the direction in which the company should move: "Shall we open new stores in the young neighborhoods of the capital of Alava? And in other provinces of Spain? If so, in what way, will we opt for stores like the current ones or for other types of establishments? As for the brand, should we rejuvenate some of its elements? Would it help us to better reach the young public? Or would the disadvantages of this change outweigh the advantages?". The options were wide-ranging; which would be best for the company?