Costa Rica Journal

Business

Establishment Labs: The Costa Rican Company That Took On AbbVie and Johnson & Johnson

Establishment Labs (NASDAQ:ESTA) hit $2.1 billion in market cap under CEO Peter Caldini, with the stock up 96% in a year.

Wealth

How the Rich Are Quietly Disappearing Into Costa Rica’s Mountains

From hidden estates to off-grid compounds, Costa Rica’s wealthiest residents are increasingly paying for distance, privacy, and control.

Business

Café Britt Made $111 Million Last Year. Tourists Had Little to Do With It.

Cafe Britt posted $111.6 million in revenue in 2025. Hotels, restaurants, and supermarkets generated more than $80 million of it. The company most people associate with airport gift shops is quietly becoming an everyday coffee business.

Business

FIFCO Sold Its Beer Empire to Heineken for $3.2 Billion. Now It Has to Figure Out What It Is.

Florida Ice and Farm Company no longer makes beer. After 118 years, Costa Rica's most iconic consumer company sold its entire beverages, food, and retail empire to Heineken for $3.201 billion. What the five public filings reveal about what was sold, what remains, and what comes next.

Business

How Holcim Costa Rica Set the Stage for Its Biggest Transformation Yet

Before Holcim Costa Rica's 2025 financials arrive, its last public filing tells the story of a cement giant remaking itself under competitive pressure, with zero debt, ₡17 billion in profit, and a construction services bet still waiting to pay off.

Economy

Costa Rica's Growth Engine Is Switching Cylinders

Costa Rica's economy expanded 4.7% in February 2026, but the drivers are changing. Construction surged 11.8%, free trade zone growth cooled, and exports to Asia jumped over 50%.

Economy

Consumer Prices Extend Deflationary Trend in April

Costa Rica’s consumer prices remained in negative annual territory in April, extending a prolonged deflationary cycle that continues to shape the country’s monetary and consumption outlook. Data published by the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INEC) showed the Consumer Price Index (CPI) reached 108.06 in April,

Economy

Deflation and Weak Employment Data Strengthen Case for Lower Interest Rates

Costa Rica’s recent economic data continues to support the view that the country is in a low-inflation, slowing-growth environment that justifies the Central Bank of Costa Rica’s ongoing interest-rate reductions. The latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) data from Costa Rica’s National Institute of Statistics and Census (INEC)