Direct Fresh GmbH, based in Hamburg, has recently moved into Demeter bananas from a growing business in Ecuador. This sets the company new standards for the range of biodynamic products and especially overseas goods in the German market. FreshPlaza met both the producer and the importer at the Demeter booth at Biofach 2019 in Nuremberg. A conversation about passion, the circular economy and not least a growing and interesting niche in the international specialized trade. 
A partnership that is bearing fruit: Felix Stamer (l), Sales Manager of Direct Fresh GmbH and Demeter producer Fernando Monsalve at the Demeter booth at this year's BioFach in Nuremberg.
Since 1998, Fernando Monsalve manages his fields according to biological guidelines. It was not until many years later - in 2013 - that he became aware of biodynamic cultivation for the first time through a workshop. After a trip to a medical cannabis grower, he decided to dedicate himself to Demeter cultivation. The complete conversion of his business took around 2 years. "I'm still in the conversion phase. Demeter is incomparable to other organic certificates in that sense," said the Ecuadorian. 
From the plantations to the port of Hamburg
Currently, 150 families are working on the cultivation of the banana plantation there (about 130 ha). The basic idea of the Demeter farm includes organic diversity, a holistic circular economy with integrated livestock, as well as the production of in-house fertilizers in the same location. "Although there are two distinct seasons in Ecuador, we have been able to deliver consistent volumes year round. This ability to deliver, but also the beautiful color of our banana plants, as well as the higher Brix value of our fruits, proves that our cultivation methods work," Monsalve emphasizes.
He came to a partnership with a European customer for the Demeter product only in the course of the Fruit Attraction 2018 in Madrid, where the dedicated producer and the management of Direct Fresh GmbH got to know each other for the first time. The Hamburg-based company has been offering FairTrade and organic bananas for several years, but its range did not yet include products from biodynamic cultivation. After a trip to the producer, the partnership was established. "The basic idea as well as the passion behind the biodynamic cultivation struck us immediately. In return, it is now our goal as an importer to share our knowledge with the local producers so that we reinforce each other," explains Sales Manager Felix Stamer of Direct Fresh GmbH. 
Managing Director Dirk Landahl of Direct Fresh GmbH
Continuous sales
At the end of January, the first Demeter bananas from Ecuador arrived at the Port of Hamburg. Continuous sales were also secured, because Direct Fresh GmbH has already been able to conclude programs with a German supermarket chain. Stamer: "The demand for Demeter bananas is gradually increasing. In terms of price and performance, so far we have received only positive feedback."
It is also an interesting niche for the producer and trader. Monsalve: "In Ecuador, there are only two producers who deal with Demeter bananas in a big way. There are several in the Dominican Republic, but their bananas are much smaller. "For the importer, the partnership offers not only the opportunity to bring unique goods on the German market, but also to place the topic of sustainability in the limelight. Stamer: "We try to hire a rethinking among the traders, because we have to adapt to nature and not the other way round."
For more information:
Direct Fresh GmbH
GF: Dirk Landahl
Kiebitzhof 9, D-22089 Hamburg
Tel.: +49 40 2000 745 13
Fax: +49 40 2000 745 10
email: info@direct-fresh.de
www.direct-fresh.de