Caribbean Export 2021 Annual Report FINAL

SUCCESS STORY

NALEDO – LEVERAGING SUPPORT TO MAKE IT COUNT

Penetrating new markets doesn’t always happen overnight, and can take several years of building relationships, knocking on doors and consistently being seen at industry events. No one understands this more than Belize based turmeric paste producers Naledo. The company has leveraged Caribbean Export’s export promotion support to attend SIAL Paris 2018, CARIFORUM-EU Business Forum Germany 2019, Food Matters Live 2020 and 2021, Absolutely Caribbean Virtual Expo 2020, in addition to receiving grant funding, participating in training programmes and featuring in the Original Flava / Absolutely Caribbean cooking show series. In 2020 their wildcrafted, whole root turmeric paste called ‘Truly Turmeric’ won the ‘New Product of the Year’ award at Food Matters Live UK in 2020. News of this high coveted award rebounded across the industry, leading to new contracts being signed with a European distributor that had been following the company since meeting them at the world’s largest food innovation exhibition SIAL in 2018, where they were shortlisted for a product innovation award. ‘Truly Turmeric’ will now be found in natural food stores and other outlets throughout Switzerland, Germany and France. The first pallet heading to Europe in 2021 will contain 1,500 bottles of Naledo’s flagship ‘Truly Turmeric’ paste and a smaller 125g bottle has been developed specifically for the European market. Naledo partners with over 300 small-scale growers in 20 communities across Belize to source their raw turmeric. Their policy of growers planting indigenous trees has resulted in over 900 trees being planted to sequester over 45,000kg of CO2 into the environment. Further, eliminating the use of herbicides or pesticides saves over 2,900 liters of chemicals from entering the environment. This together with irrigation free, wild state growing saves over 1.6 million gallons of water and makes the crop more climate resilient. Naledo’s growers are 40% women, and all earn 8 times the fair-trade price for their turmeric. Their dedication to sustainability has been able to add US $2.28 million to rural communities.

300 small-scale growers 900 trees being planted +1.6M gallons of water saved

Annual Results Report - 2021 | Building Business, Transforming Lives for a Resilient Caribbean 35