Where passion and business blend perfectly

AMPUCAO, Philippines — Striking a balance between pursuing one’s passion and ensuring that a business thrives is not a walk in the park, but a coffee connoisseur is proving that it’s possible – all for the love of coffee and the farmers.

Equilibrium Intertrade Corp. founder and CEO Cherry Cruz is determined to promote the local coffee industry not only to meet the increasing demand for the beverage but more so to uplift the lives of the very people who produce the commodity.

While Equilibrium has been in business for the last 22 years, it was mainly involved in trading, importation and distribution of top quality products and innovative solutions for coffee, tea and specialty beverages. It was only seven years ago when it decided to focus on coffee production and processing after Cruz was introduced to Torani, a US-based company which produces flavoring syrups that can be added to coffee.

“When I was introduced to Torani, that’s when my coffee journey started. We started selling to customers and then I started teaching them how to use the syrup for their coffee, so naturally I had to learn about coffee in general,” Cruz said in an interview.

Equilibrium looked for a partner to transform the coffee beans into roasted coffee products, but they eventually realized that they have a different take on quality so they decided to roast the beans themselves.

A year later, the firm took things on a more serious level and began collaborating with farmers.

Equilibrium has expanded its reach as far as farming is concerned to the provinces of Ilocos, Bukidnon, Palawan, Davao, South Cotabato and Benguet, covering some 400 farmers producing up to 50 metric tons of coffee beans per season.

“My dream of actually collaborating with the farmers came true when we forged a partnership with them. I have always wanted to have contact with them,’’   Cruz said.

“Right now, we really know where the product is coming from and we have a say on the quality. It’s also a big responsibility because we work with the farmers and we teach them knowledge. We have to be sure that whatever we teach them is the right way,” Cruz said.

Cruz admitted that business has become more capital intensive due to more collaboration with farmers particularly trainings and seminars.

“We started farming ourselves already. We have agriculturists and agronomists in our team. I think right now, among all the coffee companies, we are the only one who have this kind of people onboard,’’ Cruz said.

Winning the farmers

Unlike other commodities, coffee has only one harvest season (December to March) per year and it takes three years before the plant would actually grow and bear fruits.

Cruz said that each year is a learning process for her and the company, realizing that different approaches are needed as problems are unique every harvest season.

“Like on our first year, we just gave what the farmers need and in the end we realized we cannot be like this. Farmers should have a stake so that they become more committed, more engaged. The attitude of the farmers changed when the endeavor became a collaborative effort,’’ Cruz said.

“I think the best way to deal with anybody is to be honest with them. We told them how much we spent and this would take this number of years to recover. By doing so, they become very cooperative,” she said.

Cruz also reminds farmers to focus on proper farm management in preparation for better harvest when the next season comes.

“I want to be able to provide better livelihood during the off season and to connect more groups of farmers and hopefully we can set up our own farms which would be a model farm for everybody to see and to learn from,” Cruz said.

Long way to go

The local coffee industry has yet to take off and while the private sector has been doing its fair share to contribute, the government needs to do its part to improve the status of the sector.

Cruz believes there is government support but the focus on what they actually want to accomplish has yet to be established. There also seems to be a disconnect on what the farmers actually need from what is being given to them.

“For example, the Department of Agriculture provides free seedlings but sometimes, it will not bear fruit so the effort is wasted. It should be focused and they have to do a lot of due diligence on what variety thrives in which kind of environment. They lack those and in the end, they are providing the wrong inputs,” Cruz said.

The Philippines produces four varieties of coffee namely Robusta, Arabica, Excelsa and Liberica with Robusta getting the chunk of production at about 70 percent.

The country has more chances in beefing up production of Robusta given the type of soil and the areas available for coffee are really much more suited for the variety.

Cruz said even globally, experts are claiming that in the next 10 to 20 years, Robusta will flourish because it is more resilient to climate change.

The Philippines remains heavily dependent on importation coming from all over the world including Colombia, Guatemala, Vietnam, Indonesia, and India, among others.

“Everybody thinks that the volume is too small, but we have to have a different mindset. If we always think we are small, we will always be small but if we put our minds into growing then that’s how we grow,” she said.

As for Equilibrium, Cruz said her company would continue to expand as long as they discover new areas that have really good coffee profiles so it can supply more coffee shops and other institutional buyers through its Curve coffee brand. Right now, 70 percent of its coffee is sourced locally.

“We have all our plans in our coffee business that’s why we are investing in farms, warehouses, processing facilities, bringing experts from abroad to teach us and the farmers,” Cruz said.

Hopefully, Equilibrium will be able to export in the future once it achieves the consistency in coffee that it wants to attain to help more farmers increase their income.

More than the business side of coffee, Cruz wants Equilibrium to further succeed in getting the right balance between financial security and social responsibility through  sustainable   farming.

“It is time for us to give back, we want to be a model in the industry. I want the company to be the game changer.  I want to  support as many farmers as we can while earning as well,” she said.

After all, it is all about finding the equilibrium of things.