National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia

The National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia, (), abbreviated as Colombian Coffee Growers Federation or Fedecafé, is a non-profit business organization, popularly known for its "Juan Valdez" marketing campaign. The Federation was founded in 1927 as a business association that promotes production and exportation of Colombian coffee. It currently represents over 540,000 producers, most of whom are small family owned farms.

While many factors contributed to the impressive increase in production and revenue, the rise and success of the Colombian coffee industry reflects the Federation's rigid adherence to the three objectives which were originally offered to justify its creation: 1) to protect the industry, 2) to study its problems, and 3) to further its interests.

The Federation supports research and development in the production of coffee through grants to local universities and through Federation sponsored research institutes. The Federation also monitors production to ensure export quality standards are met.

The highly successful Juan Valdez branding concept was launched in 1960 to distinguish 100% Colombian coffee from coffee blended with beans from other countries. The trademark character made its debut on a whole-page ad in the Sunday edition of The New York Times on January 6, 1960, featuring a country farmer (campesino) carrying coffee on his mule ''Conchita''.

In November 2019, the Federation received the Distinguished Leadership Award for Social Equity from the Inter-American Dialogue. The award was presented by the vice president of Colombia, Marta Lucía Ramírez. Provided by Wikipedia