I was on the telephone with the owner of a large Italian coffee company. We had been talking with their U.S. representatives about producing a special hot chocolate blend to use in their machines. Over a series of calls and emails about the project, we heard that they hoped to build a relationship with us, and that they prized our flexibility and innovation.
And, of course, they were adamant about quality.
In the coffee world, the quality of what is served in the cup is an unchallenged mantra for many. Unfortunately, the tenor of this conversation was different. In accented English, he kept insisting that cost was the paramount consideration.
“I must have high quality but at a low cost,” he repeated. “The market here is different than in the United States,” he continued. “And my customers won’t pay more than 10 cents Euro for what I am looking for.”
That number was exactly a third of what his American counterpart had indicated. I asked whether or not he had yet found a product that filled both of his requirements— low cost and high quality.
“No,” he admitted. “There is low cost but low quality. And high cost and high quality.”
I realized that there would be no way to make this customer happy, and I told him that I didn’t think that we were going to be the right partner for what he needed. As I hung up the phone I was disappointed and relieved at the same time. I wanted to make this...
