• “The opening of Juan Valdez® Cafés at the most important airports on the East Coast of the United States is part of a strategy that aims to expand the presence of the Colombian coffee grower’s brand in high-traffic points where a large and multicultural group of consumers share paths,” said Hernán Méndez, the CEO of Procafecol, the company that manages the Juan Valdez® brand in Colombia and other countries.
•  Juan Valdez, the coffee grower that has represented over 500,000 Colombian coffee growers for more than 50 years, will visit the new store at Miami International Airport on January 13 where he will attend to customers with tastings of the richest coffee in the world.

Bogota, January 11, 2012– Within Procafecol’s international expansion strategy of reaching the main airports of the United States, a new Juan Valdez® Café –the seventh(7) in North America and the fifth(5) operating in airports- recently opened its doors to customers at Miami International Airport - North Terminal D, located near Gate D-24.

The new Café was opened in association with NewsLink®, an airport concessionaire, joined forces with Procafecol four years ago with the aim of expanding the Juan Valdez® brand in North American airports. Thanks to the successful results of the joint initiative with NewsLink®, Juan Valdez® Café has two stores at Newark International Airport (in New Jersey), two stores at JFK International Airport (in New York) and now one at Miami International Airport. Both companies welcome the opportunity to expand the brand with new Cafes in different airports around the country.

The new cafe has an infrastructure capable of offering the complete Juan Valdez® Café experience to customers: a diverse Colombian Coffee product portfolio and a high quality service. As a result of the outstanding perception of the brand in Miami, more than ten thousand customers visited the new store in its first week of operation. 

Miami International Airport was the perfect setting to open a Juan Valdez® Café, not only because its annual traffic exceeds 35 million people, and that it is considered the gateway to South America, but because Miami is a global business center with thousands of executives visiting annually.

“The opening of Juan Valdez® Cafés in the most important airports in the United States is part of a strategy that aims to expand the presence of the Colombian coffee grower’s brand in high-traffic points where a large and multicultural group of consumers share paths,” said Procafecol´s CEO- Hernàn Mendez.

To celebrate this important opening, Juan Valdez, the image of over 500,000 Colombian coffee growers for more than 50 years, will visit the store on January 13 where he will delight people with tastings of the richest coffee in the world. Additionally, Procafecol´s executives will attend the event to answer questions and concerns from customers and the press.   

 Miami highlights[1]

? Miami International Airport ranks first on arrivals and departures from all countries of Latin America, the Caribbean and other cities in the United States. Additionally, Miami’s airport is one of the main hubs that connects Europe with America and is known as the Gateway to Latin America. More than 300 flights depart to over 30 countries across the continent daily.

? Miami is a small multicultural universe with a rich mix of nationalities and cultural diversity where the Hispanic population is a large portion of the total population.

? Miami International Airport was ranked third among U.S airports in terms of international passenger volume. Approximately 100 airlines directly connect Miami’s airport to nearly 150 international destinations.
 
? Over 1,200 multinational companies are located in Miami, therefore the city is known as one of the western hemisphere’s most important international business centers. 

About the Juan Valdez® brand

The Juan Valdez ® brand is the only coffee grower owned brand internationally recognized.  In 2002 the Colombian Coffee Growers Federation, a non for profit organization that represents over 500 thousand small coffee producers, launched the Juan Valdez® signature brand for coffee shops. They were named after the advertising icon that has represented Colombia´s coffee growers for over 50 years. Given the new brand acceptance by consumers, a few years later distribution of Juan Valdez ® signature products began in other channels  both in Colombia and in other countries., The Juan Valdez® Cafés are currently considered synonimous of the highest quality standards for Colombian coffee consumers. They also ensure that Colombian coffee growers get better prices for their coffees.  For more information please visit www.juanvaldezcafe.com and www.cafedecolombia.com

About NewsLink®

NewsLink® is a Miami-based company that employs over 500 customer service oriented individuals. NewsLink® owns and operates retail and food & beverage locations at Miami, Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood, Boston-Logan, Newark Liberty, John F. Kennedy and Cleveland Hopkins International Airports. In addition, for the third consecutive year (2009, 2010 and 2011), NewsLink® has been recognized as the Best Newsstand Operator, Small Retailer Division, by Airport Revenue News, a leading trade publication in the airport concessions industry.