To start a coffee business in Peru, decide your model first—café, roastery, farm-to-cup, or exporter—because licenses, capital, and margins differ. Register your company and obtain a RUC with SUNAT; most startups choose the Régimen MYPE Tributario to manage cash flow, then enable electronic invoicing (factura electrónica) and IGV (18%). Secure a municipal Licencia de Funcionamiento and pass the ITSE (Defensa Civil) safety inspection; food handlers need a carnet de sanidad and your site must meet DIGESA sanitary conditions (water, pest control, SOPs). For roasting, confirm zoning and three‑phase power, install ventilation, and keep lot traceability; for cafés, budget for an espresso machine, grinders, filtration, and SCA bar flow. Source directly from cooperatives in Cajamarca, Cusco, Junín or San Martín; buy with moisture 10–12%, water activity <0.60, and ≤0 primary defects per SCA. Implement cupping, record roast profiles, and set QC on extraction yield. Protect your brand at INDECOPI (Class 30 and 43). If exporting, register in VUCE, classify under HS 0901, obtain a SENASA phytosanitary certificate for green coffee and an ICO Certificate of Origin via MINCETUR, then quote FOB/CIF. Track labor in T‑Registro/PLAME, enroll in Remype, and standardize COGS, shrinkage, and weekly cash reconciliation, and monthly KPI break-even reviews.
