Economics

For most industries in Costa Rica, especially agriculture, there are multiple competitors to consider when determining a business plan. To obtain a competitive advantage, it’s critical for businesses to provide a value added benefit to its consumers.

For example, there are many pineapple farms in Costa Rica. The pineapple farm that we visited today provided a value added benefit of being able to provide pineapples year round to its distributors by manipulating the ripening time of the pineapples so they are able to have crops ready for picking at multiple times in the year. Another example of providing a value added benefit was how the software programming company can provide a custom solution for a company with a need to improve their processes and aren’t quite sure what they need. The ability to not only provide a custom solution, but be able to work with a customer who is unsure of what they need and be able to provide a solution that works for them is a value added benefit.