Hypothetically speaking...

If a company from the U.S. wanted to start doing business in Costa Rica (such as partnering with an existing Costa Rican company and expanding), they would need to know a few things about the way Costa Rica works. For my own purposes, I'm going to use the previously mentioned company Café Britt.

Café Britt is a Costa Rican company that produces coffee, as well as chocolates and gifts. Although they do not grow their own coffee, they buy beans from local farmers and roast them in their own facilities, where they are packaged and then distributed to one of their 140 stores in 10 countries (or sold online). Their employees are a specific breed. Particularly, they have to be enthusiastic and highly motivated to put the customer's needs first. They are rewarded by various incentives, ranging from prizes to opportunities for upward mobility within the company. These employees go through a complex group interview process, rather than a traditional one, to better see if they can work in a group the way that Café Britt needs them to.

Challenges:
1.Finding employees that fit the "Café Britt" aesthetic.
2. Expanding into the United States; Why should Americans buy this coffee as opposed to any other coffee?
3. Marketing to locals; Why should Ticos buy this gourmet coffee as opposed to the other lower quality brands that are available at a much lower price?
4. How can they practice more sustainable methods of production?
5. How can they increase their overall profit?

Recommendations on how to overcome them:
1. Café Britt uses a specific type of employee. As they expand, they obviously need to hire more and more employees that are highly motivated and are customer-centric. The interview process is time consuming. My recommendation is that the  hiring process be simplified for the starting positions and they will still have the remaining incentives to work harder, such as prize/bonuses and opportunity for upward mobility.
2.  At this moment, Café Britt has one store in the United States (in Miami). In order to reach more of the population, they need to expand further into the US. Since they already have stores in airports, it would make sense to put more Café Britt stores in airports around the country. However, they should have elements that are geared towards the American market. For example, Americans love seasonal flavors (hello, pumpkin spice latte?). My recommendation is to create some seasonal varieties to market to Americans in particular.
3. Ticos generally don't buy Café Britt coffee; it is a tourist attraction. How does one convince them that gourmet coffee is what they should be drinking, rather than normal coffee? My recommendation is to market the coffee as less of an experience; Ticos aren't looking to experience the Tico lifestyle, they already live it. Instead, make the coffee seem more like a family brand to them, to make it more appealing.
4. Café Britt is a roaster and a producer of coffee. However, they do not do this in the most environmentally effective way. During our visit to iCafe, we saw many methods of sustainable fuels that could be implemented at Café Britt's factory to better this. I recommend this because it will help not only the environment, but likely their sales. It doesn't hurt a company's reputation to be known for being environmentally friendly, and it will make them more competitive against those who are already sustainable.
5. In order to increase profits and decrease costs overall, the company has a few options, but I recommend product extensions. This would help with problems 2 and 3. If new products were created and sold, in addition to the current products, it could potentially allow them to penetrate new market segments and increase profit overall.