SEX[AGENARIAN] APPEAL

Juan back to revitalise coffee sales (James Wilson, May 22 2003, Financial Times)

Juan Valdez, the moustachioed representative of Colombian coffee for more than 40 years, is being brought out of retirement and pushed into the Hollywood spotlight as beleaguered coffee farmers woo young consumers to try to confront a market slump.

In his traditional peasant garb and played by a sexagenarian actor, Juan may not be an obvious choice as the face for a new generation. But Colombia's coffee growers are seizing on Juan's debut this weekend on US cinema screens in a cameo appearance in Bruce Almighty, the latest Jim Carrey film, as an opportunity to boost coffee's appeal for the youth market.

Global oversupply of coffee has sent prices tumbling to their lowest real levels in 100 years, according to the World Bank and International Coffee Organisation, which held a joint conference this week to address the crisis and its effect on developing nations. But in the absence of quotas or agreements to cut production, attention is turning to how to raise prices by driving up demand.

Gabriel Silva, general manager of Colombia's coffee growers' federation, says boosting consumption among the young is "critical" for the industry.

Like nearly all retrograde movement, this is an excellent idea. Posted by Orrin Judd at May 23, 2003 9:01 AM