Juan Valdez ® is one of the most recognized labels in the world. It’s hard to imagine Colombian coffee without Juan Valdez ® wearing his pancho and sombrero, standing alongside his faithful mule, Conchita, with Colombia’s rugged mountains in the background. He embodies Colombian coffee.

Surprisingly, Juan Valdez ® is a relatively young man. The concept of Juan Valdez ® was born in 1981, developed by Doyle Dane Bernbach. Doyle Dane Bernbach modeled the label after old time Colombian cafeteros – Colombian coffee bean pickers.

The label was born so that consumers would know when they were drinking 100% Colombian coffee inspected and approved by the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia. Some coffees are mixed with different beans and different qualities of the beans. Juan Valdez ® guarantees the consumer that she is drinking 100% Colombian coffee.

Initially very few brands of coffee were 100% Colombian. Moreover, the Federation didn’t have a lot of money to invest in marketing the Juan Valdez ® label. Over time, though, Juan Valdez ® has taken the coffee world by storm. With some savvy marketing and globalization, Juan Valdez ® is recognized worldwide – especially in North America and Spain, where marketing has been more widespread. Moreover, coffee drinkers have refined their tastes and started to demand better coffee. Consumers now look for the label so they can be assured they’re drinking the real McCoy (or perhaps the real Valdez).

In the North American market, the logo comes with the “100% Colombian Coffee” label, while in the international market, it says “Café de Colombia.” Recognition of the Juan Valdez ® logo is up to over 80% in the North American market. After some market studies, the Federation is now phasing out the North American label. Soon, all 100% Colombian coffee approved by the Federation will carry the “Café de Colombia” label..

The logo is not a brand.

It’s designed so that any coffee drinker has a guarantee of quality. Coffee producers, though, want this logo on their brands and they need to meet rigid standards to get a license to use the logo on their product. Juan Valdez ® can be used on only whole bean or ground roast coffee without flavor enhancers. This is why you won’t see Juan Valdez ® on a vanilla-flavored coffee. All coffee brands using the Juan Valdez ® label are open to inspection by the National Federation of Coffee Growers every three months. License to use the logo can be revoked if the coffee producer doesn’t meet the standards of the Federation.