By Andre Christopher H. Alampay
Fides Herrera-Lim got butteredFSitting on his shoulder, an omen that his coffee growers assured him was auspicious.
“They are your ancestors,” said a member of their indigenous producer group.
This event sealed their commitment to develop the market for Benguet coffee through their Apo ni Biosa brand.
She began running a coffee shop in Baguio, then turned to running an informal bean-gifting network while living in Denmark, where her diplomat husband Leo was posted as ambassador.
Business partner Stella Longa Sutton recalls the moment she learned from Ms Herrera-Lim that the café was closing.
“There is no one to run it but I feel very bad for the farmers,” he said. Determined to keep at least the bean side of the business going, Ms. Herrera-Lim told him: “I need someone to pack and sell the beans.”
The marketing aspect of the business began when Ms. Herrera-Lim promoted Philippine coffee to other diplomats in her husband's circle.
“Every time (Fides) called she would say 'Ambassador so and so has ordered 10 kilos, can you pack it?' This is how it started. (She) kept introducing it to different ambassadors,” Ms. Longa Sutton said.
Its roots as a popular gift reached back to diplomatic tours and eventually became a product line known as Ambassador's Choice.
Apo ni Biosa is fair trade in the sense that Ms. Herrera-Lim buys the beans directly from farmers, who set their own prices.
“They tell me how much; I don't bargain with them. I accept their price… We want them to get a fair price because it's a very good product,” Ms Herrera-Lim said.
With Mr. Herrera-Lim now serving as Undersecretary for Migration Affairs in Manila, Ms. Herrera-Lim had the opportunity to launch Apo ni Bayosa at Rockwell, Makati on October 25 in the presence of the ambassadors of the Nordic countries.
Ms Longa Sutton said the beans would be sold online, starting in Metro Manila and other urban areas.
The pitch is not much different from the days when beans were a hot commodity on the diplomatic gift-giving circuit – to inculcate appreciation for Benguet coffee while supporting farmers.
