Could the golden berry become the fifth berry after strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries?
That’s what Dennis Brito Madrid of Golden Sweet Spirit is hoping for. And in turn, he’s investing in the concept with a new project. He notes that Ecuador has an advantage in producing the golden berry, which are also being shipped by countries such as Peru and Colombia. “Ecuador is in the middle of the world and have 12 light hours a day during the whole year. So golden berries can be harvested weekly throughout the whole year,” he says.
As a berry, it’s still a relatively new concept though shipping this fruit from Ecuador to the U.S.--the first shipment went through in December 2019. So to build on this opportunity, Golden Sweet Spirit began a project in the last quarter of 2021 with small farmers to source berries from them. “Ten to 15 years ago we started with just our own production to export. We wanted to change our model to associate with the small farmers because they have the soil, the labor and other advantages,” he says. Today, it is working with 210 small farmers.
Supporting small farmers
While the goal was in part to tap into the quality golden berries smaller producers were growing in Ecuador, it was also about giving those smaller farmers opportunities. “Ecuador has a big challenge from a social support aspect. We have a lot of money--there’s a lot in bananas--but it’s not fair that a small group have almost 90 percent of the money in the country and that small farmers don’t have anything,” Brito Madrid says, noting it’s also working on this project with local government and Indigenous communities.
Along with supporting small farmers, Brito Madrid notes that Golden Sweet works with climate change in mind and has created an energy plan to reach by 2030. “We’re working to reduce global warming,” he says, noting it also has the Escuela de Uvilla, which is a school for small farmers. While growers learn about farming technology at the school, they also learn about practising sustainable farming which in turn also helps save the pure water of the high lands in Ecuador.
That water helps grow berries that are slightly different, a fact that Brito Madrid wants to capitalize on. “We don’t have the volumes that Peru or Colombia have but we do have the quality,” says Brito. “The size of fruit we have is also bigger than other countries because of our ecosystem with volcanic soil and fresh water.”
Increased volumes in 2022
With the impacts of the pandemic still affecting growers and shippers worldwide, this year golden berry shipments have been limited. “But the small farmers are planting a lot of golden berries which will be available next summer,” he says.
That said, consumption to date has not been as expected. “The market isn’t growing the way we thought it would because of COVID and I think a lot of people are affected by the economy,” said Brito Madrid. However, Golden Sweet is counting on the overall boost in produce consumption throughout the pandemic to help with demand--particularly the even stronger boost berry consumption has seen. For golden berries, which have high levels of vitamin C and carotenes, this would be its time to shine.
The increased volume that Golden Sweet is also planning to ship should help make the fruit become more accessible too. “We need the volume to do this project at the same prices as the strawberries and blueberries--if they see the clamshell costs the same, they’ll try it,” Brito Madrid says, noting Golden Sweet is also exploring more sustainable packaging for the berries as well. “But berries are the most expensive fruit in the supermarket. But if you have quality, people say it’s expensive but they’ll pay it. The quality makes the difference, which we have.”
For more information:
Dennis Brito Madrid
Golden Sweet Spirit
[email protected]
www.golden.ec