Coliman, a global leader in organic banana production and proud Mexican family business, celebrates 55 years of nourishing lands, people and customers. Established in Tecoman, Colima, Mexico in 1963, Coliman is one of the largest Fairtrade certified organic banana growers in Latin America. They are also much more.
Coliman is supported by a robust set of family agricultural business’, serving both Mexican national and global markets. With strategic locations, throughout Mexico, Europe and the USA, the group supports all of the endeavors of Coliman’s growing product portfolio.
Coliman’s main North American exports include: organic and conventional bananas, Hass avocados, papayas, as well as an emerging fresh cut division churning out some of the globes trendiest and on point items, like jicama tortillas.
At the core of all their programs is supply chain control, robust quality assurances, advanced food safety systems, cutting edge heath standards and worker and community success stories.
“Owning the supply chain is essential to successful, sustainable, long-term fruit and vegetable programs for the benefit of not only the end consumer but also our valued customers and employees”, shares Jorge Aguilar Jr, Coliman’s Corporate CEO.
In bananas alone Coliman’s total proprietary supply chain covers more than 1,300 hectares of Organic, Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance certified bananas, with three farms and five packing houses, all located in Coliman’s home town of Tecoman, Colima. Coliman is the largest single proprietors of organic bananas in Latin America and that gives them a considerable competitive advantage, with complete oversight of the entire chain: nurseries, farms, quality, labor, compliance, certification, food safety, worker heath and safety to name just a few.
Coliman is not only one of Latin America’s largest global organic banana shippers; they are also one of Mexico’s most essential Hass avocado exporters; with farms and operations in the Mexican states of Michoacán and Jalisco. Coliman services retail, food service, processing and wholesale sectors around the globe with year-round premium Hass avocados.
Papayas, (Maradol and Tainung varietals) are another of Coliman’s main North American export items, also grown in Colima. Although papayas represent a smaller percentage in the overall portfolio of Coliman products, their marketing efforts in papayas represents an important percentage of all Mexican papaya exports.
Coliman Fresh Cut, a strategically located (Mexicali, Mexico) modern, state-of-the-art processing facility, was born from Coliman’s continual commitment to innovation and their swift ability to react to market and consumer demand. The plant is one of the most advanced in the region, fully certified by a collection of the globes strictest processing and manufacturing certifiers, including HACCP and Primus GFS. The fresh cut plant not only services Mexican domestic markets with a gamut of fresh cut – no preservative, all natural- fruits and vegetable products, but increased North American sales are gaining momentum, in part fueled by heath conscious consumers with a large appetite for ready to eat products.
One of the most popular products launched are the Jicama Tortillas. American consumers in particular are drawn to them by their adherence to the Whole30, Keto, Low Carb, Gluten Free, Raw Food and Paleo diets.
The Coliman Group’s dedication to quality, food safety, innovation and supply chain control, can only be outdone by their dedication to their local Mexican communities. Social and environmental responsibility has been part of the core value since the company’s inception. According to Aguilar. “For Coliman, it’s the people that matter most: our family, our friends, our workers, our customers and the environments in which they all live. Our success is their success. Our dedication and certification on organic, Fairtrade and Rainforest products validate the history of our actions and help us establish long-term sustainable structures for us to expand on not only at home, but globally as well.”