Many people know that “Parisian Coffee” means high quality. We may say that the “Parisian Coffee” is one of the most famous and respected coffee brands in Armenia. The founders of this company are Vazgen and Valerie Asatryan, to whom we have talked to regarding their business and other issues.
– It’s one thing to gain the trust of the consumers, it’s another thing to maintain that trust. Which is easier? What do you do in this regard and what issues do you have?
– In this regard, the most important thing is quality. We try to maintain the quality, taste and flavor of our coffee. Although coffee culture is gradually developing in Armenia, the coffee crop may have slight taste changes b every year, which sometimes causes confusion among consumers. During our technical elaboration we try to make sure there are no changes in the taste, or at least that they are slight. We have imported the same crop for 10 years. Recently, we acquired new German machines which grinds the coffee in a larger size. Some people complain that the coffee grains are large and rough, however it doesn’t have any thing to do with quality. In Europe if someone trusts a coffee brand he would never say that the taste is different, it is impossible. In Armenia, there is always a struggle to convince people that there is still high-quality. Europeans do not complain, but our people always find something to complain about.
– Doesn’t the unfavorable competition affect your business?
– Of course it does. Sometimes we have gone to a café and ordered Parisian coffee, but they brought coffee with a totally different taste. People buy cheap coffee from the market and sell it using our brand name, because there is a big difference in the price. There are also issues concerning the preparation of coffee. For example, sometimes coffeepots are not washed properly and the residue at the bottom of the pot gets mixed with “Parisian Coffee.” It becomes a “bouquet” of different types of coffee. Or they make the coffee from tap water, which is wrong.
– How do you fight against this phenomenon?
– We don’t really care that much. We just explain, and many popular restaurants, cafés and hotels have bought our coffee making machines from us. The consumers know our coffee and can’t stand when they are cheated. However, there are cafés where this situation continues.
– Has the coffee culture developed in Armenia? Can people differentiate bad from good?
– Yes, the situation has significantly changed, we have prepared special shows for this purpose. We want to show that producing coffee is a profession. It’s not roasting sunflower seeds. It is a difficult thing to do, just like wine production. Every producer has his own ways, methods and technological secrets of production. We were the first coffee producers that invested our business in Armenia. Our devices were installed by the French. Of course making money is a good thing, but we didn’t come here to lie to people in order to fill our pockets. We have estimated that we will get huge profits in 10 years. We wished to inject the coffee culture of Europe into Armenia, for example, the French people drink one type of coffee in the morning, another in the afternoon and a totally different type in the evening. Armenians have a habit, they like to imitate things. For example, one Armenian opens a gas station, others are going to try to do the same. The same with us. When we tried to rate our coffee from one to five, everyone else did the same. We don’t have much print on the package of the coffee. We write about the proportion of coffee, the weight, information about importation, etc. Many others imitate our activity without understanding. There is a very interesting thing, if you compare the international prices of coffee in New York and London and take the least expensive and add the fee for customs and taxes, you may be surprised at how cheap the coffee price is here. Why is that? There is only one explanation, they use different methods which hurt the company. Or they advertise, “our coffee is the best and the freshest” without understanding that the fresher the coffee, the worse it is, the same can be said about wine.
– Are there any laboratories in Armenia that can survey the coffee and find out whether what’s written on the package is true or not?
– There are, but don’t you know how all this stuff is regulated in Armenia? There is a very interesting thing here. Everybody likes to use the words “European” and “elite.” Our coffee really comes from Europe with all the necessary documents. But these documents are not valid in Armenia. There are only two countries in the world- Turkey and Armenia, where European product documents are not valid. The quality certificate that we have is a serious document, but here they tell us they are not interested in it. Our coffee is thoroughly examined at the European customs.
– Have you not applied to the Committee on Competition Protection?
– No we haven’t. At least we are sure that our product is accepted in Europe. We hope that sooner or later, the situation will improve here. Perhaps that’s our mistake that we are not sufficiently interested in it. We just see that the competition is not fair.
– To some extent I understand what you mean when you said it’s hard to work in Armenia. Are there any other issues with bureaucracy, for example, customs?
– If I told you there are no obstacles would you believe me? Indeed, there are problems and obstacles for any international businessman who does business in Armenia. But let me say that the situation is gradually improving. They try to look better. In the past our containers would stay at the border for days due to some minor inaccuracy at the customs. Now there is more discipline at the customs. You couldn’t say the same thing six or seven years ago. Of course there are some mistakes being made now, but things will get better.
There are other difficulties as well. Our geo-political position and current relationship with our neighboring countries creates difficulties during transfers. For example, we want the border between Turkey and Armenia to be opened. That way it would be easier for us to work with other European countries.
At present we import the coffee through Georgia, that is why we depend on them to some extent.
Not withstanding all those difficulties, we do not intend to leave Armenia, and we plan to develop our business here. We may say that we are setting an example for other Armenians living in the Diaspora. I’m sure that all those issues will be solved in the near future.