Last updated on December 12th, 2024
In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, The Shelby Report of the West recently visited with Lisette Gaviña Lopez, a fourth-generation coffee roaster at her family’s business, Vernon, California-based Gaviña Coffee Company.
Company history
For those unfamiliar with Gaviña Coffee Company, can you provide a brief overview of the company’s history?
The Gaviña coffee legacy began in 1870 when brothers José María and Ramón Gaviña left Spain for Cuba, establishing a family tradition. My family’s coffee heritage spans over 150 years.
José María and Ramón passed on the art of coffee cultivation and roasting to their children, including my grandfather Francisco Gaviña. In 1960, political upheaval forced the family to flee Cuba for the U.S. The journey from Cuba to California was marked by significant challenges and resilience.
When the Gaviña family emigrated to the United States, they had to rebuild their lives from scratch, learning a new language, exploring new markets and adapting to different coffee taste preferences. Along with my grandmother and a young family, my grandfather worked many odd jobs until he was able to get back to his passion and founded F. Gaviña & Sons Inc. in Los Angeles in 1967, now known as the Gaviña Coffee Company.
What started humbly has grown into one of America’s largest family-owned and minority-owned coffee roasters. Today, the third and fourth generations of Gaviñas work at the company and are deeply involved in every step of the coffee-making process, from seed to cup.
The Don Francisco’s Coffee and Cafe La Llave brands have been very successful. To what do you credit the success of these labels?
The key to Gaviña Coffee Company’s success is an unshakable commitment to quality and consistency, sourcing the finest coffees from the best coffee-growing regions.
With Don Francisco’s Coffee, we feature a variety of high-quality coffees from around the world made with 100-percent Arabica beans and offering single origins, special roasts and blends and flavored coffees to be prepared using various brewing methods.
Café La Llave espresso was created for a specific consumer: Latin-style espresso drinkers who appreciate authentic, intensely aromatic, rich and bold flavors. Café La Llave leverages our Hispanic heritage and has a loyal following across the U.S.
Café La Llave is also available in different product formats, from traditional finely ground espresso to single-serve pods and espresso capsules.
What were some of the company’s early innovations?
Initially, the company focused on producing the type of coffee the family knew and loved – strong, bold, dark-roasted espresso. So, it catered to the very small Cuban community in Los Angeles during the late 1960s. Recognizing the demand for similar coffee profiles among other ethnic groups, such as the Middle Eastern and Vietnamese communities, F. Gaviña & Sons started custom roasting for these groups.
One of the company’s significant early innovations was the introduction of whole bean coffee in a bag under the Don Francisco’s Coffee brand. This was almost revolutionary at the time, as most store shelves were stocked with light roast canned coffee.
This move marked the beginning of the gourmet coffee revolution, with consumers seeking higher quality, single-origin coffees. Additionally, Don Francisco’s Coffee bags featured a one-way valve, which helped keep the coffee fresher. The brand was also among the first to bring flavored coffees to grocery stores, establishing a strong position in the flavored coffee market.
Over the years, Gaviña Coffee Company has adopted new coffee technologies, such as K-Cups and aluminum espresso capsules for their Don Francisco’s Coffee and Café La Llave brands. We have also implemented free consumer recycling solutions through a partnership with TerraCycle. Gaviña is always innovating to meet the changing needs and preferences of our customers, while looking for new ways to minimize environmental impact.
[RELATED: Gaviña Family Celebrates 150-Year Family Coffee History]
What learnings have driven the company’s newest innovations?
The Gaviña Coffee Company continually adapts to meet the evolving needs of our customers. Recent innovations include the introduction of aluminum espresso capsules for Don Francisco’s Coffee and Café La Llave brands, which cater to modern preferences for convenience and variety.
Because we also believe in sustainable practices from seed to cup, and even beyond the shelf, it was important for us to address any environmental concerns related to our packaging. This is why in 2019 we partnered with TerraCycle to offer free consumer recycling solutions for our coffee packaging.
The company has now transitioned from F. Gaviña & Sons to Gaviña Coffee Company. Can you explain the reason behind this change?
The name F. Gaviña & Sons highlighted that the company was a family business but didn’t reflect the industry we were in. With the fourth generation coming into leadership positions, we thought it would be a good time to update it and include “coffee” in our company name, adopting a more inclusive identity that also reflects all contributing family members.
Leadership and future
Running a family business can be difficult. What challenges do you face working with family?
Running any kind of business can be challenging, especially a family business that many other families depend on. This includes our employees, many of whom have been with us for decades, the farming communities where we source our coffees and our customers. We feel a huge sense of responsibility to do right by all of them.
Our core values have guided us through the years. These include:
- Education and innovation: We’re committed to continuous learning and improvement.
- Quality: Our unwavering focus is on creating the best coffee products.
- Passion: Our love for coffee drives us, and sustainability is at the heart of our passion.
As a family business with more than 150 years of experience, it’s tempting to rely solely on our traditions and methods. However, it’s essential to remain open to learning and evolving. We once relied only on our internal knowledge, but we’ve learned the value of embracing external perspectives and continuous education. We gain valuable insights from industry peers, coffee industry events and learn from newer companies facing similar challenges.
With the fourth generation of the Gaviña family now taking over leadership, what is the vision for the company’s future?
Tradition and innovation will drive our coffee and legacy for future generations.
The company’s ability to pivot, innovate and commitment to quality and sustainability have been integral to our enduring success. Caring for the environment will continue to be a cornerstone of our family tradition; after all, the earth gives us coffee.
Therefore, we will continue to prioritize sustainability from seed to cup and beyond, building upon efforts such as the Direct Impact Initiative, which centers on dedication to farmers, sustainable sourcing, environmental stewardship and social responsibility.
How many fourth-generation family members are working at the company?
We are 10 cousins total, with eight working in the company.
How does Gaviña Coffee Company position itself among the growing, yet competitive coffee market?
The market demands innovation. As a family brand with a rich coffee heritage, we stay relevant by leveraging our past and continuously learning to innovate, meeting evolving consumer preferences. Quality, taste and sustainability will always be our priorities. After all, coffee is the world’s favorite beverage, and we’re committed to fueling generations to come.
What are the advantages of having women in leadership roles at Gaviña Coffee Company?
Women have always played a pivotal role in coffee production, and it’s vital they have a voice in the industry. In my family and our company, women like my grandmother, Anatolia, and my aunt, Leonor Gaviña-Valls, the company’s first VP of marketing, have been central figures. As a fourth generation coffee roaster, I draw much inspiration from them, especially from a female perspective. Leonor often speaks fondly of her mother, recalling how she was the driving force behind our company.
From pursuing higher education in the early years of our business to becoming the first woman president of the Specialty Coffee Association and championing women in coffee, Leonor has been a tremendous influence. She paved the way during a time when women were beginning to climb the corporate ladder.
For myself, I recognized early on the importance of a solid education and deep knowledge of the coffee industry to succeed and earn my place in leading my family’s business to new heights. Among the fourth generation, five women have worked or are working in our company.
Products and market
Gaviña Coffee Company boasts a diverse brand portfolio. Can you walk us through the company’s main brands and their target markets?
The company makes the highest-quality, family-crafted coffee, including Don Francisco’s Coffee, Café La Llave and Jose’s Gourmet Coffee (exclusively at Costco Wholesale).
The company’s broad array of coffees include:
- Don Francisco’s Coffee – Gaviña’s flagship brand, one of the leading specialty coffee retail brands in Southern California and a national brand.
- Café La Llave Espresso – The leading Latin-style espresso brand in the Southern California and Southeast markets.
- Gaviña Gourmet Coffee – One of the leading wholesale gourmet coffee brands.
- Café Gaviña Espresso – As Gaviña’s first brand, this rich, dark roast is a classic European-style espresso.
- Private Labels – Gaviña is a longtime coffee supplier to a variety of private-label customers including Costco (under the Jose’s brand), McDonald’s, Publix and many others.
- Foodservice – Gaviña supplies the highest quality premium coffee to more than 3,000 coffeehouses and restaurants throughout the country.
The single-serve market continues to grow, and the company currently offers both K-Cups and aluminum espresso capsule varieties. Have these been successful and are there plans to expand the single-serve segment further?
Yes, K-Cups and aluminum espresso capsule varieties have been very popular among consumers. These brewing methods offer convenience, safety and variety.
What other innovations or new product categories is Gaviña Coffee Company exploring?
Innovation and perseverance is deeply ingrained in our DNA. The key to our success is honoring our past while forging a path to the future. We are continuously working on improving our product offerings and giving consumers more ways and reasons to enjoy our coffees.
Don Francisco’s Coffee has a strong presence in the West, while Café La Llave is dominant in the East Coast. Does the company have plans for national expansion?
Our coffees are available nationally via Sprouts, donfranciscos.com and amazon.com.
Company culture, legacy
What role does sustainability play in the business?
The Gaviña family has a deep connection to the land since we started as farmers. The company was founded on the pillars of sustainable farming and social stewardship and is dedicated to continuing its coffee legacy for future generations.
As a family and company, we have a strong commitment to protecting the communities we source from and a responsibility for the well-being of farmers. At Gaviña, sustainability is at the core of every business decision.
With more than 150-plus years in the coffee industry, what does the Gaviña family consider their greatest legacy?
Our greatest legacy is our immigrant success story, a testament to the American dream. It’s incredible to think that my grandfather started the company in his 60s, with limited savings from odd jobs, and we’ve grown to become the nation’s largest privately held minority-owned coffee roaster with a 240,000-square-foot facility that produces more than 40 million pounds of coffee annually.
Also, knowing that we have loyal customers who have grown up with our coffees, making them part of their coffee experiences and multigenerational traditions, is something that we treasure.
As fourth-generation leaders, my cousins and I cherish our family legacy and the wealth of knowledge passed down through generations. We also continue to learn, embracing external perspectives, integrating new technologies, refining processes and prioritizing sustainability to maintain our reputation. Tradition and innovation will drive our future.
Looking ahead, what are the company’s aspirations for the future? How does Gaviña Coffee Company want to be known in the coming generations?
Caring for the environment is at the cornerstone of our family tradition – the earth gives us coffee. So, this is an area that we will continue to prioritize as we want coffee to be available for generations to come.
Gaviña is always innovating to meet the changing needs and preferences of our customers while looking for new ways to minimize environmental impact. Our goal is a greener coffee footprint – from seed to cup, and even beyond the shelf. We want people to feel good about drinking our coffee, not only because it tastes good but because it does good.
Gaviña Coffee Company’s fourth generation includes Frank Gaviña Jr., Lisette Gaviña Lopez and Michael Gaviña. “Coffee is our legacy, a passion passed down through generations. We innovate with this heritage in mind, crafting delicious coffees that uplift spirits
Michael Gaviña, Lisette Gaviña Lopez and Frank Gaviña Jr. are part of the fourth generation at family-run Gaviña Coffee Company. “We strive for a greener coffee footprint from seed to cup. Our partnership with TerraCycle extends our sustainability efforts by offering consumers a free and convenient way to recycle our packaging, closing the sustainability loop,” Michael Gaviña said.
