Promoting exports of food products from Malawi

2019-07-12T07:44:37+00:00February 28th, 2019|Tags: , , , |

SMEs in Malawi are preparing to export sunflower oil, peanut butter and chili sauce, amongst others. During a workshop in Malawi, our consultant Kasper Kerver presented export opportunities. He challenged the entrepreneurs to make the most of these opportunities by developing a marketing strategy. With this support, entrepreneurs like Endrina in the picture below can scale up their business and generate more income and employment.  The workshop was part of a private sector development programme with partners Palladium and the Malawi Investment and Trade Centre (MITC). This programme improves access to markets and finance for SMEs. It also builds capacity [Read more]

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Biofach 2019 – Organic Africa Pavilion breaks records again

2020-03-04T10:31:03+00:00February 27th, 2019|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

From 13-16 February, the 22 exhibitors at our largest Organic Africa Pavilion yet met with almost 1,100 business leads. The pavilion included exhibitors from Madagascar, South Africa, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Kenya, Namibia and Mozambique. Both Botswana and the Comoros made their debut at BioFach.  "The added value is huge. It's helping us as a platform to showcase our products to this incredible market, where people are coming from all around the world." - Serge Rajaobelina, Sahanala, exhibitor from Madagascar  The companies displayed natural ingredients for food, cosmetics and health including baobab, honey, fresh papaya, African vegetable oils, spices, medicinal plants, [Read more]

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Organic Africa Pavilion doubles in size: 24 exhibitors at stands 4-359 and 4-571

2020-03-04T11:40:44+00:00January 18th, 2019|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Back to popular demand, our Organic Africa Pavilion 2019 at the BioFach trade fair is bigger than ever. On two Organic Africa Pavilions which total nearly 180m2, we will host 24 exhibitors from 10 countries. The steep increase in market access needs from African suppliers shows the continent's readiness for export.  From 13 - 16 February 2019,  these exhibitors will be ready to meet potential business partners. You can find them at stands 4-359 and 4-571. Stand 4-359 Companies from Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, South Africa and the Comoros, offering various herbs & spices, citrus peels, cocoa beans, fresh papaya, tiger [Read more]

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South East Asian producers getting ready for BioTrade exports

2019-02-07T14:16:57+00:00December 21st, 2018|Tags: , , , , , , , |

ProFound experts Robbie Hogervorst and Aafke van Sprundel conducted a series of market entry strategy trainings in Kuala Lumpur, Yangon and Mandalay for the Helvetas Regional BioTrade Project South East Asia. More than 20 Vietnamese, Lao and Myanmar companies were trained and supported to develop their first market entry strategy. A second objective was to build capacities of business associations to start developing market entry services to their members.    During the workshop, the participants were guided to define how they wanted to position themselves on the market. Do they want to be a high end, a sustainable, ethical, unique [Read more]

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ProFound matches suppliers from Indonesia, Tunisia and Peru to buyers at SIAL

2019-03-01T14:24:46+00:00October 26th, 2018|Tags: , , , , , , |

7,020 companies from more than 109 countries presented their products to food manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers and foodservice professionals at SIAL in Paris this week. All manner of food products, from ingredients to final private label and branded products, were shown, across 21 exhibition sectors. ProFound supported SIPPO (Swiss Import Promotion Programme) with matchmaking for Indonesian, Tunisian and Peruvian companies. The Indonesian pavilion alone made more than 500 business contacts.  At the fair, our expert Gustavo Ferro worked specifically with Tunisian harissa producers – engaging with European retailers and final product wholesalers to promote the product and suppliers. Robbie Hogervorst mostly worked with Indonesian producers of coconut [Read more]

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Re-enforcing Jatamansi trade in Nepal

2021-11-25T07:13:43+00:00October 18th, 2018|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

The project “Succeeding with CITES: Sustainable and equitable Jatamansi trade from Nepal” was just launched in Kathmandu, Nepal. This project address the sustainability and legality of international trade of the medicinal plant Nardostachys grandiflora (Jatamansi). ProFound consultant Jolanda van Hal attended the launch: Great to see the strong support in Nepal from private sector companies and governmental organisations such as the Department of Plant and Resources and Ministry of Forests and Environment. This bodes well for our aim to develop equitable and sustainable Jatamansi trade from Nepal. At the launch, Dr. Bishwa Nath Oli, Secretary of the Ministry of Forests and Environment, [Read more]

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Paving Colombia’s way to the international cocoa market

2019-03-01T15:08:51+00:00September 19th, 2018|Tags: , , , , , |

ProFound’s senior consultant Gustavo Ferro spent the last few weeks in Colombia, where he has worked in different activities of Swisscontact’s Colombia + Competitiva (C+C) programme. Gustavo is part of Swisscontact’s Swiss Expert Network (SEN), and has been advising on C+C’s specialty cocoa projects. The specialty cocoa sector in Colombia has an enormous potential to thrive. The country has a pallet of around 9 cocoa-producing regions with diverse agro-climatic and social characteristics. Colombia’s cocoa bean production reached new records in 2017, at over 60 thousand tonnes. Challenges in Colombia's cocoa bean exports  At the moment, only around 20% of Colombia’s [Read more]

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Sustainable and equitable Jatamansi trade from Nepal

2021-11-25T07:13:45+00:00July 10th, 2018|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

Together with our partners TRAFFIC International and ANSAB (Asia Network for Sustainable and Bioresources), ProFound has been awarded funding by the Darwin Initiative through the UK Government for the project “Succeeding with CITES: Sustainable and equitable Jatamansi trade from Nepal”.  Jatamansi (Nardostachys grandiflora) only grows naturally in the Himalayan range, mainly in Nepal, India and China. The root of this plant is used in traditional medicine. Its essential oil is also used in cosmetics and aromatherapy.  Sustainability issues of Jatamansi Habitat loss and overexploitation of Jatamansi is leading to a degradation of the species, which poses future problems for the [Read more]

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Central America – A Multisectoral Value Chain Analysis

2019-03-28T11:44:37+00:00July 6th, 2018|Tags: , , , , , |

Coffee, cacao, (fresh and processed) fruit and vegetables, as well as fish and seafood: they are a few of the most demanded products on the European food market. They are also among the most important export products for Central America. As such, many exporters in the region are still looking for opportunities and often dream of Europe as key market. Europe is perceived as an ideal destination for high-quality products and premium prices.  Also, European buyers show great interest in products from Central America: The region furnishes complex, high-altitude Arabica coffees with multiple social and ecological certifications which match European [Read more]

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Moringa trending! Read our study and join the initiative

2019-04-12T14:27:49+00:00June 28th, 2018|Tags: , , , |

Moringa: Buyers say it will be a new trend soon, and the number of commercial moringa farmers in Zambia is growing. Farmers, investors, (inter)national buyers, government institutions and NGO’s are gearing towards exporting moringa leaves, leaf powder and seed oil from Zambia to Europe. ProFound has been studying the European market for moringa for many years and assessed the situation in Zambia to determine the market opportunities for Zambian suppliers and recommend market entry strategies. The results of this study, commissioned by the Dutch Enterprise Agency (RVO) are now available for everyone interested in the market potential of Zambian moringa. [Read more]

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