A study case on coffee (Coffea arabica): Limu Coffe - IRD

7) Assessment of the product as a GI candidate
7.1) Market alternatives & differentiation tools
Nowadays, the gourmet/specialty coffee sector is growing in many countries, notably
in the United States, an important Ethiopian coffee consumer, where the industry has enjoyed
a 12% annual growth rate This trend is predicted to continue, and according to commentators,
will account for as much as 40% of US coffee consumption (IPRIA, 2009). This sector offers
many opportunities developed through different tools which are alternatives to the fluctuating
conventional market. Indeed some consumers will be concerned about the price of a bag of
coffee beans; others rather focus on flavour and fragrance in comparison to price while
another section of consumers will give importance to the working conditions of the coffee
growers. Moreover, these consumers might display characteristics of more than one category;
this diversity allows differentiation tools to segment the coffee market.
The development of these tools accompanies the ongoing debate on the impact and
relevance of intellectual property to development. Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) have
never been more economically and politically controversial than they are today: patents,
copyrights, trademarks, industrial designs, geographical indications dealing with many areas
of human activities as public health, food security, education, trade, industrial policy,
traditional knowledge, biodiversity, biotechnology, internet, entertainment and medias, etc.
In this context, promotional strategies of niche marketing and product differentiation might be
possible locating products at the intersection of culture and geography. This section mainly
lies on Rangnekar (2003) and IPRIA (Intellectual Property Research Institute of Australia,
2009) works.
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