Costa Rica Takes 'The Natural Choice' to Europe via Amazon Ads
Jul 17, 2026
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Imagine a shopper in Hamburg asking Alexa for a quick pineapple recipe, then discovering the fruit came from Costa Rica—right before their groceries land at the door in an Amazon Fresh bag telling the same origin story. That's not a hypothetical. It's the exact retail moment Costa Rica's country brand is now engineering across three of Europe's most demanding food markets.
esencial COSTA RICA has launched the second phase of "The Natural Choice," a multichannel international campaign putting the country's fresh banana, pineapple, coffee and yuca in front of millions of consumers in the United Kingdom, Germany and Spain. The strategy blends the full Amazon Ads ecosystem with digital media and more than 240 in-store tastings at major European retail chains.
Meeting Shoppers Where They Already Are
Rather than a traditional ad blitz, the campaign is built to slip naturally into daily routines—during entertainment, cooking and the unboxing of an online grocery order. Working within Amazon Ads, "The Natural Choice" shows up across:
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Amazon's European websites and a dedicated Brand Store
Prime Video ads and Fire TV featured experiences
Alexa voice experiences and audio ads
Branded, recycled Amazon Fresh delivery bags
Every touchpoint is enriched with recipes developed by chefs in Spain, Germany and the UK, educating shoppers on how to use the products, their sustainable origin and their nutritional profile. The through-line: concepts like "from our land to your table" and "the natural choice for modern life," designed to make Costa Rican produce an easy default in everyday cooking.
"Desde esencial COSTA RICA buscamos cómo conectar nuestra propuesta agrícola con consumidores europeos de una forma innovadora, pero sobre todo que se sienta natural. Por eso tener presencia en medios de Amazon nos permite ser parte del día a día de los consumidores… Este esfuerzo no sólo posiciona la propuesta agrícola del país, sino que también es una forma de la Promotora de Comercio Exterior de apoyar a un importante sector productivo de Costa Rica," said Adriana Acosta, Director of esencial COSTA RICA.
A First-of-Its-Kind Country-Brand Play
This phase builds on the campaign's first run, developed by esencial COSTA RICA with the Amazon Ads Brand Innovation Lab during the second half of 2025. That effort was the first multinational country-brand export-promotion campaign on Amazon Ads, spanning the UK, Spain and Germany and using Fire TV, Prime Video, the Amazon Brand Store, Amazon Fresh bags, Amazon Lockers and a custom Alexa experience.
"Lo que más me gusta de esta campaña es cómo se integra de manera natural en la vida cotidiana de los consumidores," said Kate McCagg, Global Head of Brand Innovation Lab at Amazon Ads. "Ya sea que estén viendo una receta en Fire TV, cocinando con Alexa mediante comandos de voz o desempacando sus compras, la historia de los productos costarricenses los acompaña en momentos cotidianos, aportando contenido útil y un toque de frescura y dinamismo a su experiencia diaria."
From Screen to Sampling Station
The digital layer is grounded in real-world sampling that brings the online story into physical retail. In France, the campaign runs 120 pineapple and yuca tasting days across 20 Intermarché supermarkets in and around Paris during June and July. In Germany, another 120 fresh-pineapple tasting days take place in 17 EDEKA supermarkets (the Meyer and Struve groups in and around Hamburg) over the same period.
The timing is deliberate: the campaign lands across the European spring and early summer, a prime window for promoting fresh produce and wellness-oriented eating.
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The Numbers Behind the Push
This is a diversification strategy backed by momentum. According to PROCOMER (Costa Rica's foreign trade promotion agency), in the first four months of 2026, combined exports of green coffee, pineapple, banana and yuca to Spain, Germany and the UK grew 23.6% year over year—rising from $142.2 million to $175.8 million.
That growth reflects European demand tilting toward quality, sustainability, traceability and origin—the exact attributes Costa Rica is leaning into to differentiate its agricultural offer.
Why It Matters
For procurement directors, importers and foodservice buyers, this is a signal worth reading. A national brand is investing to make Costa Rican banana, pineapple, coffee and yuca top-of-mind at the exact moment consumers plan meals and place orders—which typically strengthens pull-through demand at retail and on menus.
Sourcing opportunity: Rising consumer awareness of origin and sustainability makes traceable Costa Rican produce an easier sell on menus and shelves. Operators can lean into "single-origin" and "sustainably sourced" storytelling that's already being seeded with shoppers.
Marketing playbook: The campaign is a template for how commerce-media ecosystems (Prime Video, Alexa, Fresh bags) can drive food discovery. F&B brands and operators building retail-media or QR-recipe strategies should take note.
Demand tailwind: A 23.6% export jump into these three markets suggests supply relationships are worth locking in early as availability and pricing tighten around peak demand.
The broader trend: origin, freshness and sustainability are becoming purchasing triggers, not just marketing garnish—and the brands that connect those attributes to easy, everyday use are winning the basket.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine’s “Top 40 Under 40” for founding American Wholesale Floral. Politz is also the founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
