ADVANTAGE, sourcing whole food brands
Posted - December 20, 2010
ADVANTAGE, sourcing whole food brands
By Adriana Michael
Passion and commitment are common traits shared by pioneers and leaders of the global organic and natural health movement. Jerry Zeifman, President of Canadian firm Advantage Health Matters, is an entrepreneur who exemplifies these qualities in his quest to promote health consciousness through the use of whole food supplement strategies and raw superfoods through a sustainable, eco-friendly business model.
A dynamic and leading Canadian importer and distributor of some of the most cutting-edge brands of organic supplements in the market, Jerry could be considered a
Machu Picchu opens new cacao plant
Posted - October 15, 2010
Machu Picchu opens new cacao plant
By Clara Paz
In view of growing demand for organic cacao beans and derivates, Peruvian leading cacao processor Machu Pichu Trading inaugurated a new plant last month to process only organic, fair trade, kosher parve and free allergen cacao ingredients and chocolate. It is located in the city of Pisco.
Industry moves to sustainable palm oil
Posted - July 25, 2010
Industry moves to sustainable palm oil
By Warren Beaumont
There is global concern over palm oil being sourced from Indonesia and South East Asia where tropical forests have been cleared to make way for plantations, which have threatened the orangutan. This has led to major food retailers and suppliers to introduce plans to source sustainable palm oil or to ban palm oil in food.
Nestle announced it had stopped sourcing palm oil from the Indonesian company Sinar Mas and was moving to meet high standards for sustainability. Unilever suspended purchases of palm oil from PT SMART, part of the Sinar Mas group. It followed allegations by Greenpeace that Sinar Mas, Indonesia’s biggest palm oil producer, had been responsible for widespread deforestation and peatland clearance.
French supermarket giant Casino has announced that it will no longer use palm oil in 200 of its private label products by the end of 2010 and will eventually remove palm oil from all its food products, citing concerns over palm oil
Euro-Nat: Partnering Bolivian quinoa for 20 years
Posted - February 11, 2010
Euro-Nat: Partnering Bolivian quinoa for 20 years
By Angela Mallaroni
In 1988, entrepreneur Didier Perreol, discovered quinoa at a casual encounter during an exhibition in Geneva. He was looking for a unique cereal product to stand out from his 75 product line his firm Euro-Nat had recently introduced to natural health food stores in France.
Impressed with the grain, Mr Perreol went to Bolivia to meet with ANAPQUI, the only cooperative of small quinoa producers in the country at the time. With his first 500 kg order of Royal Quinoa, Mr Perreol went back home with the commitment to introduce quinoa to France. The emblematic company brand Primeal was born, and an intensive communications campaign followed.
Primeal Royal Quinoa was a success. It was versatile, easy to prepare and mix in many recipes and inspired Mr. Perreol and others to publish quinoa cookbooks. For the next ten years Euro-Nat imported quinoa from the producers in Bolivia and the Primeal brand entered every natural health food store in France. In 2001, Euro-Nat started distribution of quinoa products to major supermarket chains under private label.
To develop a stable project with constant delivery and traceability of the best quinoa available, Mr Perreol made a further commitment: to set up shop in Bolivia itself. In 1997, he founded Jatariy, (
Irupana: building a sustainable model of social enterprise
Posted - January 25, 2010
Irupana: building a sustainable model of social enterprise
By Adriana Michael
With a jeep, 4,000 USD and two ideas, entrepreneur Javier Hurtado Mercado founded Irupana Andean Organic Food S.A. in 1985. First, he wanted to market natural and organic certified products from small indigenous producers in Bolivia. Second, he wanted to make available ancient forgotten nutritious foods. After working for several years with NGOs, Javier and his wife Marta Cordero realized that the only way to help peasant farmers was to set up a distribution business to bring products directly to the buyers.
Until 2004, the firm supplied mainly the domestic market with over 120 natural foods and a distribution network of 400 outlets. Opening a franchise followed, currently with 18 natural food shops that offer coffee, a variety of Andean cereals and baked goods, pasta and honey.
A tender bid from the government (2000-2004) allowed Irupana to offer a nutritious breakfast with quinoa to feed over 60,000 students from public schools. Instead of refined imported wheat for cheap bread, the children discovered a delicious and nutritious local staple.
Australian Organic Skincare
Posted - November 1, 2008
