ERGOS COFFEE operator Carlos Pascual, pioneer of Guatemala boutique coffee movement

Carlos Pascual, the operator of ERGOS brand in Taiwan

Take Taiwan as the starting point, gradually overcome cultural differences and establish a network.

With unique customer service, we have won the long-term cooperation of more than 200 manufacturers in Taiwan.

At first glance, the brand name of ERGOS immediately reminds me of the meaning that may be related to environmental protection. Carlos Pascual, the operator of the brand in Taiwan, explained that ERGOS is actually a brand name created by combining the meaning of the words earth and goods. Since his hometown of Guatemala takes agricultural products as a major export item, it is named in memory of the rich earth resources given to the local people by Mother Earth.

The coffee family has a deep history.

Carlos's grandparents moved from Europe to Latin America in search of new worlds and development opportunities, and eventually his parents decided to settle in Guatemala, so most of his relatives and friends are engaged in coffee beans and agricultural cultivation-related industries, through mutual assistance to form an invisible sales network, and he is currently acting as the driving force behind this cooperation network, actively promoting the export of high-quality agricultural products from his hometown to the world. It is also hoped that through the export of direct sales from the place of origin, the profits will be exploited layer upon layer, so as to bring more income to the farmers in their hometown.

Carlos says he has been working in the family business for many years and may be driven by the family's risk-taking genes, often thinking about the possibilities of breakthroughs in the status quo. After several thoughts and repeated communication with his family, Carlos decided to come to Taiwan bravely in 2008, taking Chinese learning as the first step in his outward exploration. The Chinese language Teaching Center of National Chengchi University has also become his enlightening place in Taiwan, and after completing the language course, he continued to apply for a Master of International Business Management (IMBA) degree.

Through the study and practical experience accumulated in Taiwan over the years, he has not only greatly improved his professional knowledge of business management and finance, but also enriched his network because of various project cooperation and internship opportunities. Since over the past six years, most of his main activities have been focused on National Chengchi University, the first overseas business base is naturally located in the founder of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Exchange of National Chengchi University. Its main business is to import raw Guatemalan coffee beans for sale to Taiwan and other international markets such as Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand.

Connect people and help each other to develop business opportunities

Talking about the motivation of using Taiwan as the starting point for starting a business, Carlos said that since his parents were both entrepreneurs, he naturally embarked on the road of starting a business from an early age. The main reason for choosing Taiwan is that a sound and safe investment environment has been enacted in the country, so that he can start a business with peace of mind and find reliable business partners. Although at the beginning of the business encountered the problem of language and cultural differences, which made the development not as smooth as expected, but in the perseverance of Carlos gradually overcome, but also began to steadily expand the career network.

As Guatemala's geography and environmental climate are quite suitable for growing coffee beans, many estates produce high-quality products with different flavors. At present, it is mainly divided into eight producing areas, among which Vivette South Fruit region and Koban two producing areas have the most unique quality and flavor, and have won the extraordinary Cup Coffee Competition in Guatemala (Cup of Excellence) many times, among which El Injerto is the best of the two coffee beans awarded by Carlos through competitive bidding.

Although there are many coffee farm owners in the family, they are not good at product marketing, so under the active persuasion of Carlos, the team production and marketing cooperation mode is launched. He mentioned that networking and mutual cooperation are an important part of the entrepreneurial process, and more than 150 coffee farms have signed cooperation with ERGOS to provide unique professional services such as warehousing and preservation, sample baking, cup testing and screening, packaging and export, in addition to the direct sales of products from their origin to Taiwan and other international markets.

Actively participate in the exhibition and have multiple sales channels

Since its inception, ERGOS has participated in many professional exhibitions in Taiwan, such as Taiwan International famous Tea, Coffee and Wine Exhibition, Taiwan Bakery Food Exhibition, International Tourism Exhibition and held product presentations for many times. El Injerto, a heavyweight Guatemalan coffee estate, has been invited to Taiwan to share the processes of coffee bean planting, harvesting and post-processing with operators, looking forward to a transparent production resume. Let customers have a deeper understanding of Guatemalan boutique coffee beans.

In addition, ERGOS also holds coffee cup testing sessions from time to time, which not only introduces new products to customers, but also takes the opportunity to interact and listen to customers' needs and suggestions. Carlos believes that Taiwan's coffee market is indeed quite competitive, but only considerate, sincere and unique customer service is the key to winning long-term cooperation. At present, Taiwan has more than 200 cooperative manufacturers, and it is expected that it will become the largest importer of Guatemalan coffee beans next year (2015).

For Taiwanese manufacturers who want to go to Central and South America to develop new markets, Carlos still stresses that networking is a very important part of local business transactions, and it is easier to access local markets through network operation than in unfamiliar markets. In other words, there is little chance of getting into the local sales channel without the introduction of people familiar with the local market. Carlos believes that machinery and equipment, consumer products, electronic products, and mobile communications products will still be the main demand items in Central and South America in the next few years, and there is still a lot of room for Taiwan's related industries to expand. He also warned that before Taiwan manufacturers go to develop, they should conduct an in-depth study of the local market environment and first cultivate a network of people, so as not to fail because they are not familiar with the business model. █