Organic Coconut comes a close second in Tesco Innovation Award

Blue Skies has come second in the Tesco Innovation Award at the World Fruit and Vegetable expo in London. The event which took place between the 21st and 22nd of October was attended by a team from Blue Skies who exhibited a range of
products on one of over 100 stands at the show.

In total nineteen companies entered the Tesco Innovation Award which was presented by Edward Palmer, Tesco Fresh Produce Category Manager on the 22nd of October. The winner was Quickshine Ltd for their ‘Nanology Fruit and Veg Savers’ which extend the life of fresh produce. Sales and Marketing Manager, Guy Murfitt, and Business Development Manager, Anabela Jones, accepted second prize on behalf of Blue Skies which was a bottle of champagne.

The organic coconut is grown in Ghana by a farming cooperative called Canaan.
The coconut is harvested when it has fallen from the tree to ensure optimum
ripeness and flavour. It is then prepared by hand by Blue Skies at their factory near
to the town of Nsawam which employs 1500 and injects £2.5m in to the local
economy every year through salaries. Blue Skies works closely with all its
suppliers and provides free agronomic support and certification to allow small
scale growers to access international markets. The company is the primary source
of income for many communities and has recently launched a Foundation with
Waitrose and Albert Heijn to bring more money to fund community projects such
as boreholes, schools and clinics.

The company’s General Manager in Ghana Ruth Adjei said “Coming second in
this award means a lot to all our staff and the coconut growers whom we work
closely with. It’s a fantastic product that requires a lot of work so to get this
recognition from Tesco is a real honour. It is our hope that we can use this success
to generate more business for what we believe is the best coconut in the world”.
Blue Skies has been operating since 1998 and in 2008 the company was awarded
the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the Sustainable Development category for
continuous achievement in the provision of fresh-cut fruit, prepared at source, and
aimed at maximising the sustainability benefits created for local producers.
Prepared coconut can be purchased in Waitrose and Asda in the UK, Albert Heijn
in Holland and Monoprix in France. It is certified to the Soil Association’s ‘Ethical
Trade Organic’ standard and customers can trace their product back to the farm
using a website which has been developed by Blue Skies called ‘Caretrace’.

For more information visit www.caretrace.com

Publication date: 11/6/2009

respond to this article  email this article    print

Receive the daily newsletter in your email for free | Click here

 

<< back | www.freshplaza.com