Marketing dos agentes da cadeia do agronegócio do café: uma análise sob a ótica do marketing mix

The aim of this survey was to analyze the marketing strategies adopted by the coffee agribusiness chain in the south and Cerrado regions of Minas Gerais, in an attempt to put forward actions which may come to increase the consumption of coffee in the local market. As for methodology, qualitative techniques were used such as document analyses and detailed personal surveys with representatives of the several agents in the coffee chain. The results showed that, besides the search for quality improvement, also identified were strategies of segmentation by the different agents in the chain, trackability being the basis of most of such strategies. Institutional support was also identified, noticeably the process of Origin Certification and the Coffees of Brazil Program which seek to valorizing and disseminating the coffee culture in society. In spite of such aspect, the need for greater integration so that these strategies can range the chain as a whole was evident. In this sense, strategies directed to produce segmentation and to the search for differentiated markets by highlighting the produce's quality, may prove to be a means of increasing the sector's competitivity. The communication with the final consumer thus becomes an essential factor in this segmentation process.