Unlocking the potential of South Africa

2019-04-16T14:50:31+00:00November 30th, 2015|Tags: , , , |

South Africa is known for its unique biodiversity and natural resources. ProFound looked into the opportunities on the European market for these products, to support our sector development activities in South Africa, together with CBI. We analysed the potential of South African MAPs (medicinal and aromatic plants) and their extracts, essential oils and vegetable oils as natural ingredients in cosmetic and health products. Moreover, we developed a profile of the sector, looking into the potential to produce and export natural ingredients, South Africa's image on the international market and marketing strategies. The analysis was commissioned by CBI and can be found on [Read more]

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Promoting trade in sustainable flowers from Colombia

2019-04-16T14:52:44+00:00August 5th, 2015|Tags: , , , |

Colombia, the world’s second largest flower exporter, is very progressive regarding the production of sustainable flowers. Colombia is already the leading supplier to the USA, but still has a lot of market to gain in Europe. Many of the exporting companies are certified Florverde, a certification scheme for social and environmental management. The Sustainable Trade Platform in Colombia, an initiative of Solidaridad, has requested Proverde and ProFound to research the European market for sustainable flowers. This research will identify market opportunities for Colombian suppliers of sustainable flowers and support the expansion of Colombia’s sustainable flowers in the European market.

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Championing Vietnamese tea and honey

2016-11-01T16:28:08+00:00June 2nd, 2015|Tags: , , , |

Thinking of Vietnam, most people picture beautiful country sides, rice fields, mountains and cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Tea and honey hardly come to mind. ProFound is taking up the challenge to find the opportunities for these lesser known Vietnamese products on the European market. Vietnam produces high quality tea, but the country’s reputation has not yet spread to Europe. The case is different for Vietnamese honey. In 2007, Vietnamese honey was banned from the European market. Since the ban lifted in 2013, Vietnam has been working to re-establish its key position in the global honey trade. To [Read more]

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Non-Wood Forest Products in Kosovo

2016-10-11T12:38:31+00:00May 13th, 2015|Tags: , , , , |

ProFound has just concluded the first phase of the Market Assessment for the Non-Wood Forest Product (NWFP) sub-sector in Kosovo, consisting mainly of medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs), berries and mushrooms. This assessment has been commissioned by the Promoting Private Sector Employment (PPSE) programme, financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). In the course of two weeks, Gustavo Ferro cooperated closely with the PPSE team and Riinvest Institute in gathering primary data from processors of NWFPs, collection centres, collectors, international organisations and service providers in all corners of Kosovo. The market assessment team was also accompanied by gender analysts [Read more]

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Trade Fair Season

2016-10-11T12:43:37+00:00January 21st, 2015|Tags: , , , |

ProFound is very excited to participate in major trade fairs during the coming months! Our journey starts in Biofach, Germany, where five Ethiopian honey processors who we have supported, are ready to start supplying the European market. They will exhibit their products on ProFound’s Ethiopia pavilion. With our help, more Ethiopian honey processors have the chance to visit Biofach and to get introduced thoroughly to the European honey market. Next to that, our company will be contributing to the works of Gulfood, in Dubai, one of the world’s largest trade fairs for the food and hospitality industries. After a long [Read more]

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Competitiveness of West African cashews

2016-11-01T16:28:08+00:00November 11th, 2014|Tags: , , |

Almost half of the world’s cashew supply is produced in Africa, yet most processing takes place in Vietnam and India. This means that raw cashew nuts are shipped to Asia, shelled in Vietnam or India and then shipped to Europe. Not a very sustainable route to Europe. With the help of European actors, some local processing in Africa has been developed. But there still is a long way to go. For the CBI programme on Natural Ingredients West Africa, ProFound has dived into the European market for cashews and how West African countries can access this market. This Tailored Intelligence research has identified [Read more]

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ProFound searching for alternative materials at Maison&Objet

2016-11-01T16:28:08+00:00September 10th, 2014|Tags: , |

As part of the new market research on alternative materials, Jesse Bloemendaal of ProFound visited the Maison&Objet in Paris to find interesting new materials on the EU market. The visit is part of a new market research on alternative materials for a variety of sectors. Alternative materials are materials for textiles or apparel products which are more sustainably produced compared to conventional materials such as cotton and leather. The first alternative materials that will be researched are organic cotton, hemp, jute, banana fibre, recycled leather and organic wool. This market research is a start by CBI to inform exporters in [Read more]

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Market assessment in Kosovo

2016-11-01T16:28:08+00:00August 21st, 2014|Tags: , , , , , |

In the beginning of August, ProFound consultants Gustavo Ferro and Bert-Jan Ottens embarked on a mission to Pristina, Kosovo, to initiate an assessment of the Kosovar market for processed fruits and vegetables. This assessment falls within the framework of Promoting Private Sector Employment (PPSE), a programme financed by the Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC). The programme is implemented by a consortium of Swisscontact, Riinvest Insitute and PEM Consult. Together with the Riinvest Institute as a local partner, ProFound is conducting the market assessment at three different levels: Trade statistics: an assessment of Kosovo’s trade balance. Value chain dynamics: an analysis of [Read more]

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Exploring the EU market for wild botanicals

2016-11-01T16:28:08+00:00June 18th, 2014|Tags: , , , |

ProFound has recently concluded a pioneer study on the EU market for wild-sourced botanicals commissioned by the Trade for Development Centre (TDC) of the Belgian Development Agency (BTC), anticipating the growing opportunities for these products in the food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries. The study on wild botanicals has been carried out within the framework of TDC’s Producer Support Programme, through which financial and technical assistance is provided to producer organisations. TDC aims at economic and social empowerment of small producer organisations, by both enhancing business knowledge and improving their access to markets. In this context, the study focuses on wild-collected medicinal and aromatic [Read more]

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South Africa: fact-finding and acquisition mission

2016-11-01T16:28:09+00:00March 26th, 2014|Tags: , , |

South Africa is a biodiversity hotspot, offering a wealth of indigenous plants to produce natural ingredients. Next to these raw materials, South Africa also has a large food and wine industry; its waste materials, such as kernels, peel, seeds and low-grade materials can be used to produce a variety of extracts, essential oils and vegetable oils. Only a few companies in South Africa bank on these opportunities to supply export markets with innovative ingredients. Moreover, only recently are some public institutions becoming aware of the opportunities the sector offers for rural development and value addition. In this context, CBI is [Read more]

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