Cooperativa de Caficultores de Antioquia

What Cooperativa de Caficultores de Antioquia does

Cooperativa de Caficultores de Antioquia is a coffee-growers' cooperative headquartered in Medellín, Antioquia, Colombia, that purchases, aggregates, and commercializes green coffee produced by more than 11,600 associated smallholder farmers across 28+ municipalities in the department of Antioquia. Founded around 2000, the cooperative operates within the broader Colombian Coffee Growers Federation (FNC) system and is structured as a member-owned entity with delegate governance and a staff of roughly 106 employees. Its core activities include coffee purchasing and export commercialization through partners such as Expocafé, distribution of agricultural inputs (notably fertilizers), and the operation of social programs covering education, health, and infrastructure for member households.

The cooperative has built physical and technical capability around quality differentiation. It holds Fairtrade and Starbucks C.A.F.E Practices certifications, has renewed Q Grader credentials, and operates dedicated cupping infrastructure including the Montebello Coffee Quality Lab (opened April 2019) and the Centro Especializado de Cafés Diferenciales in Cañas Gordas (opened December 2019). In 2019 it launched CAFÉ PARA EL ALMA, its first consumer-facing own brand, signaling a tentative move downstream from B2B green coffee supply toward retail. In 2020 it initiated construction of 173 drying marquees across 12 municipalities to expand post-harvest capacity at origin.

The cooperative monetizes primarily through coffee commercialization margins on green coffee sales to international roasters and exporters, supplemented by fertilizer and input sales to members, premium reliquidations to farmer-members, and grants or service revenues tied to social programs. Strategic alliances — including the partnership with Fundación Monómeros (2018) for input access and the long-running relationship with Starbucks via C.A.F.E Practices — anchor its commercial channels. The XXII General Assembly (March 2019) reformed the cooperative's bylaws to support an expanded operational scope.

Name

Cooperativa de Caficultores de Antioquia

Legal name

Cooperativa de Caficultores de Antioquia

Website

https://cafedeantioquia.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

The Cooperativa de Caficultores de Antioquia is a Medellín-based coffee cooperative that purchases, aggregates, and commercializes green coffee from over 11,600 smallholder farmer-members across 28+ Antioquia municipalities, serving international roasters and exporters.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Coffee Cooperative Services

NAICS

Coffee and Tea Manufacturing (311920), Coffee and Tea Manufacturing (31192)

SIC

Beverages (2080)

akta.pro primary industry

Coffee, Tea & Cocoa Trading/Wholesale (AFAIAKAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Coffee & Cacao Plantations (Coffee, Cocoa) (AFAGACAI)

Keywords

• Coffee commercialization
• Specialty coffee sourcing
• Agricultural inputs supply
• Fair trade certification
• Cooperative member services

Headquarters

HQ city

Medellín

HQ country

Colombia

HQ region

Latin America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Others

Revenue model

1. Coffee Commercialization: The cooperative purchases coffee from its members and commercializes it, providing market access and fair prices. Revenue is generated through the sale of coffee to international buyers including Starbucks and specialty coffee markets.
2. Agricultural Inputs Sales: Sale of fertilizers and amendments to associated coffee farmers through the aprovisionamiento agropecuario (agricultural provisioning) division.
3. Fairtrade Premium: Members receive 20 cents per pound of Fairtrade certified coffee sold, channeled through the cooperative's social development fund for community projects.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Cooperativa de Caficultores de Antioquia purchases coffee from its 11,600+ associated coffee-farming families across 28+ municipalities in Antioquia, Colombia, and commercializes it to international buyers including Starbucks under Fairtrade and C.A.F.E Practices certifications. The cooperative also distributes agricultural inputs (fertilizers and amendments) to members, operates coffee quality laboratories, and delivers social programs including educational scholarships, visual health services, and pension support.

Product overview

Cooperativa de Caficultores de Antioquia operates as a multi-service coffee cooperative offering a comprehensive portfolio centered on its core product Café Antioquia, which represents over 80,000 coffee-growing families. The cooperative provides coffee purchasing services through network points, agricultural inputs (Fertilizantes y Enmiendas), specialty coffees with certification seals (Cafés Especiales y Sellos), and quality infrastructure including laboratories in Montebello and El Peñol. The portfolio includes differentiated products such as Café Antioquia Selecto and CAFÉ PARA EL ALMA, along with a specialized processing center (Centro Especializado de Cafés Diferenciales) featuring hulling, roasting, and packaging capabilities. Beyond coffee commercialization, the cooperative supports members through educational scholarships (Apoyo Educativo), visual health programs (Programa de Salud Visual), and business planning tools (Kit Planificador Empresarial). The offering operates as a unified cooperative structure rather than a modular software platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CAFÉ PARA EL ALMA: A specialty coffee product line processed with origin from Montebello municipality, developed as part of a social responsibility project for coffee farmers affected by armed conflict

Products and services

• Café Antioquia

Quantifiable outcome

• More than 300 coffee farmers received reliquidación (quality premiums) totaling $146,144,034 COP from Starbucks C.A.F.E Practices program
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered minor, core and major.

• CorantioquiaminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 September 2019Regional environmental authority partnering in the PIRAGUA program for water resource monitoring and environmental sustainability recognition.
• ColpensionesminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 August 2019Pension fund partner for the Anualidad Vitalicia (Lifetime Annuity) program benefiting founding cooperative members aged 70+ who can no longer work in coffee farming.
• Federación Nacional de CafeteroscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 6 May 2019National coffee federation providing institutional support, extension services, and coordination with the Colombian Coffee Growers Committee. The cooperative participates in 'Conversemos Cooperativo' events with FNC leadership.
• Starbucks Coffee CompanycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 April 2019Starbucks provides the C.A.F.E Practices (Coffee and Farmer Equity) certification standard and purchases coffee from the cooperative. Through this partnership, farmers receive reliquidación (quality premiums) totaling millions of pesos for producing high-quality, sustainably sourced coffee.
• ExpocafécoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 April 2019Coffee exporter and partner in the C.A.F.E Practices reliquidación program, facilitating the delivery of quality premiums to coffee producers from Starbucks contracts.
• Comité Departamental de Cafeteros de AntioquiacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 April 2019Regional coffee committee providing technical support, SICA system information, and field extension services to cooperative members.
• CLAC (Coordinadora Latinoamericana y del Caribe de Pequeños Productores y Trabalhadores de Comercio Justo)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 February 2019Latin American network of small producers co-owner of Fairtrade International. Cooperative representatives train CLAC members in cooperative education methodologies.
• Fundación MonómerosmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 July 2018Alliance for childhood education through Cooperativismo Infantil (Children's Cooperativism) program. Also partners on agricultural training courses and educational initiatives. Delivers 85 workshops in rural schools and 3,825 educational booklets to children of coffee-farming families.
• Bank Visual Óptica IPSminorOthers · 29 June 2018Vision health services provider for the Visual Health Program offering eyeglasses and optical care to cooperative members and their families.
• Universidad de AntioquiaminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 June 2018Academic partner in agricultural business training courses for coffee farmers, including the course 'Herramientas básicas para el crecimiento de su negocio agrícola'.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Cooperativa de Caficultores del Huila: A similarly-structured Colombian coffee-grower cooperative serving farmer members in the Huila department; operates purchasing points, certification programs, and member services analogous to Cooperativa de Caficultores de Antioquia.
• Equal Exchange: A US worker cooperative that imports fair-trade coffee from small-producer cooperatives and operates a certified, ethically-sourced model; comparable in cooperative-led, fair-trade coffee distribution.
• Manos Campesinas (La Voz que Inspira): A small-farmer coffee cooperative organization in Latin America marketing differentiated fair-trade coffee; comparable as a peer in the producer-coop, fair-trade segment.
• Carcafé (Pas Americas): A Colombian green-coffee exporter with similar farmer-processor relationships and internationally certified supply chains; comparable in coffee commercialization and sustainability-certified sourcing.
• Federación Nacional de Cafeteros: The Colombian national coffee federation that the cooperative is affiliated with and that provides institutional support and field extension services to member growers; most directly comparable industry counterpart.
• Cooperativa Coffees: A US-based importer cooperative that buys directly from small-farmer cooperatives like this one under fair-trade principles; comparable as the counterparty model but useful as a downstream/counterpart peer for the same supply chain.
• Expocafé: A Colombian green-coffee exporter that is also a documented direct commercialization partner of the cooperative; comparable along sourcing, exporting, and C.A.F.E Practices premium-distribution activity.

Others

• CLAC (Coordinadora Latinoamericana y del Caribe de Pequeños Productores y Trabajadores de Comercio Justo): Latin American network of small fair-trade producers co-owner of Fairtrade International; the cooperative actively trains CLAC knowledge managers, making this a closely related ecosystem participant.
• Yara International (Colombia): Major global fertilizer and agricultural inputs supplier with operations in Colombia; comparable along the aprovisionamiento agropecuario (agricultural provisioning) revenue stream of the cooperative.

Broad incumbents

• ofi (Olam Food Ingredients, coffee): One of the world's largest green-coffee traders with substantial Colombian sourcing and certified supply programs; broadly incumbent peer with overlapping capabilities in green coffee commercialization and certifications.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/coopantioquia
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cooperativa-de-caficultores-de-antioquia

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cooperativa de Caficultores de Antioquia