Sweet & Coffee
Sweet & Coffee (DULCAFE S.A.) is a privately held Ecuadorian retail café chain, founded in 1997 and headquartered in Guayaquil, operating multi-city storefronts serving general consumers with 100% Ecuadorian-sourced coffee, desserts, and packaged retail coffee products via a Spoonity-powered loyalty app.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1997
- HeadquartersGuayaquil, Ecuador
- Headcount1,001–5,000
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Sweet & Coffee does
Sweet & Coffee (legal entity DULCAFE S.A.) is a privately held Ecuadorian retail café chain founded in 1997 by Richard Peet and Soledad Hanna, headquartered in Guayaquil. The company operates a multi-city café storefront network in Ecuador, complemented by a Spoonity-powered mobile loyalty application (Sweet&Coffee Lovers App), website-based online ordering for pickup, and retail distribution of packaged coffee products including ground coffee, soluble/instant coffee, and Nespresso-compatible capsules. Its core product set spans hot and cold coffee beverages, specialty drinks (milkshakes, chai, frappé lattes), breakfast, sandwiches and savory snacks, and a broad dessert assortment of approximately 40+ items.
The company's operations are vertically anchored in coffee: it owns a roasting and packaging facility in Guayaquil, sources 100% Arabica beans directly from farmers in five Ecuadorian growing regions (Loja, Imbabura, Zaruma, Jipijapa, Cariamanga), maintains direct trade relationships in Loja since 2011, and applies Q GRADER quality control certified by the Specialty Coffee Association of America. Internal training is delivered through Universidad del Café®, established in 2008 with structured programs in induction, academics, growth, and feedback covering leadership, administration, and service excellence.
The business model is direct-to-consumer retail with three streams: (1) in-store food and beverage sales across physical locations, (2) online and mobile-app transactional orders for pickup, and (3) retail packaged coffee sales both in-store and via branded capsules. Headcount is stated at 1,001–5,000 employees. Sweet & Coffee has no disclosed external equity investors, no parent company, no subsidiaries, no M&A history, and no public listing. Brand differentiation rests on the 100% Ecuadorian coffee positioning, four named social responsibility pillars, pet-friendly locations, and the coffee museum experience (Museo del Café).
Sweet & Coffee firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Sweet & Coffee
- Legal name
- DULCAFE S.A.
- Website
- https://sweetandcoffee.com.ec
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1997
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1,001–5,000 employees
- Short description
- Sweet & Coffee (DULCAFE S.A.) is a privately held Ecuadorian retail café chain, founded in 1997 and headquartered in Guayaquil, operating multi-city storefronts serving general consumers with 100% Ecuadorian-sourced coffee, desserts, and packaged retail coffee products via a Spoonity-powered loyalty app.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Sweet & Coffee industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Specialty Coffee Chain
- NAICS
- Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars (722515), Coffee and Tea Manufacturing (31192), Retail Bakeries (311811)
- SIC
- Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Beverages (2080), Bakery Products (2050)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Specialty Coffee Shops (Single-Origin, Third-Wave) (THAFADAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Cafe-Bakeries (Coffee + Pastry Focus) (THAFADAG), Specialty Coffee & Tea Retail (Beans, Leaves, Accessories) (CRAHAGAI), Instant Coffee & Coffee Extract Manufacturing (AFAFADAD)
Keywords
Where Sweet & Coffee is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Guayaquil
- HQ country
- Ecuador
- HQ region
- Latin America
Offices3 records
Markets served
Sweet & Coffee business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Retail Café Sales: Physical storefront sales of coffee, beverages, desserts, and food items across multiple locations in Ecuador. Primary revenue stream from in-store customer purchases.
- Online Ordering: Digital ordering platform for pickup orders placed through the website, generating transaction revenue from food and beverage sales.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Grano de Café (1-20 stars): $1.00 per star |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Grano de Plata (21-40 stars): $1.50 per star |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Grano de Oro (41+ stars): $2.00 per star |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
Sweet & Coffee product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Sweet & Coffee operates a chain of retail cafés across Ecuador, serving 100% Ecuadorian coffee, espresso-based beverages, specialty drinks, breakfast items, savory snacks, sandwiches, and approximately 40+ sweet bakery items. The company also sells packaged retail coffee products including roasted whole beans, ground coffee, instant coffee, and Nespresso-compatible capsules sourced from Ecuadorian growing regions.
Product overview
Sweet & Coffee is an Ecuadorian café chain offering a unified retail café experience centered on 100% Ecuadorian coffee and desserts. The product portfolio spans beverages (espresso, specialty drinks, milkshakes), food items (breakfast, sandwiches, savory snacks, and approximately 40+ sweet bakery items), and retail coffee products (whole beans, ground coffee, instant coffee, and Nespresso-compatible capsules). The company operates a mobile loyalty app (Sweet & Coffee Lovers App) powered by Spoonity, and offers special experiences including the Coffee Museum and pet-friendly locations. Coffee sourcing focuses on direct trade with Ecuadorian farmers, with proprietary roasting and quality control through their Universidad del Café training program.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Universidad del Cafe: Internal training institution established in July 2008 to strengthen personal and professional growth of employees through specialized programs in induction, academic, growth, and feedback.
Quantifiable outcome
- Serving thousands of Ecuadorians daily across their locations
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Sweet & Coffee
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Sweet & Coffee technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration1 record
Feature3 records
Sweet & Coffee partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- SpoonitycoreSpoonity is the technology provider for Sweet & Coffee's loyalty program (Sweet&Coffee Lovers App). The platform enables customers to register accounts, earn stars on purchases ($20 per star), progress through loyalty tiers (Grano de Café, Grano de Plata, Grano de Oro), and redeem rewards at any participating location. The partnership provides the digital infrastructure for the company's customer retention strategy.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Sweet & Coffee competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Juan Valdez Café: Colombian specialty coffee chain with similar single-origin positioning, owned retail cafés, and a packaged retail coffee business. Closest comparable to Sweet & Coffee's model of an Andean country-of-origin coffee brand extending into retail products.
- Café Britt: Costa Rican premium coffee and chocolate company with cafés plus a strong retail packaged-products business including capsules and gift items. Highly comparable business model: origin-led Latin American brand monetizing across café and retail.
Broad incumbents
- Starbucks: Global coffee chain with cafés, packaged products and a leading loyalty program. Competes in the same café occasion Sweet & Coffee serves and sets the benchmark for loyalty economics, digital ordering and supply chain scale.
- The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf: Specialty coffee and tea retail chain with global footprint and strong café-as-third-place positioning. Comparable to Sweet & Coffee as a multi-location coffee and tea café operator focused on specialty origin sourcing.
- Tim Hortons: Mass-market coffee and bakery chain expanding across Latin America. Comparable business model combining coffee, breakfast and bakery in a high-traffic café environment at a more accessible price point.
- McCafé: Coffee and snack offering inside McDonald's global footprint. Competitor for the grab-and-go coffee + breakfast + dessert occasion Sweet & Coffee targets in malls and commercial zones.
- Illy Caffè: Italian premium coffee roaster with flagship cafés, retail capsules and foodservice distribution. Comparable as a vertically integrated espresso specialist that monetizes the brand across café, retail and wholesale.
Regional players
- Café Pilón: Dominican Republic specialty coffee brand with cafés and packaged products across the Caribbean. Comparable as a Spanish-speaking Caribbean/Central American origin-led coffee brand with café and retail product lines.
Emerging players
- Tostadora de Café Quindío: Colombian coffee roaster producing packaged single-origin and blended coffees for retail. Comparable on the origin-sourcing, roasting and retail packaged coffee side of Sweet & Coffee's business.
- Devoción: Specialty single-origin coffee roaster with cafés in major U.S. cities. Relevant comparable on the third-wave single-origin storytelling and café-retail hybrid model that Sweet & Coffee aspires to at premium tiers.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Sweet & Coffee social profiles
Digital presenceSweet & Coffee financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Sweet & Coffee leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Sweet & Coffee funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Sweet & Coffee M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Sweet & Coffee
What does Sweet & Coffee do?
Sweet & Coffee operates a chain of retail cafés across Ecuador, serving 100% Ecuadorian coffee, espresso-based beverages, specialty drinks, breakfast items, savory snacks, sandwiches, and approximately 40+ sweet bakery items. The company also sells packaged retail coffee products including roasted whole beans, ground coffee, instant coffee, and Nespresso-compatible capsules sourced from Ecuadorian growing regions.
Is Sweet & Coffee a public or private company?
Sweet & Coffee is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Sweet & Coffee founded?
Sweet & Coffee was founded in 1997. It employs 1,001 to 5,000 people.
Where is Sweet & Coffee based?
Sweet & Coffee is headquartered in Guayaquil, Ecuador, in the Latin America region.
How does Sweet & Coffee make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Retail Café Sales are the primary driver. The others are online Ordering.
Who are Sweet & Coffee's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Juan Valdez Café and Café Britt. Broad incumbents are Starbucks, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Tim Hortons, McCafé and Illy Caffè. Café Pilón is listed as a regional player. Emerging players are Tostadora de Café Quindío and Devoción.
Does Sweet & Coffee have an API?
No public API is recorded for Sweet & Coffee.
What industry is Sweet & Coffee in?
Sweet & Coffee's product category is Specialty Coffee Chain. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAFADAA, Specialty Coffee Shops (Single-Origin, Third-Wave), with a secondary code of THAFADAG, Cafe-Bakeries (Coffee + Pastry Focus). Its NAICS code is 722515 and its SIC code is 5810.