The range of mangoes available in the Central European market will be enriched in the coming weeks with the arrival of the first organic Ecuadorian Ataulfo mangoes from Latbio.
"At Latbio, we are specialized in the production and marketing of organic and biodynamic (Demeter-certified) and fair trade products from Ecuador. We mainly export bananas, both fresh and in the form of natural ingredients, and we also work with plantains, purple bananas and orito. This year, we have had the opportunity to diversify our product range and to start with the Ataulfo mango," says Matthieu Mandon.
"The season for this variety begins in week 39 and ends in week 52. The Ataulfo mango has a mature market in Europe, especially in the north. It is shipped to the Netherlands and distributed from there mainly to France, Belgium, Switzerland and Germany. In addition to having a very intense flavor and being a very juicy mango, the Ataulfo has gained a lot of popularity in these countries thanks to its size, smaller than other varieties. We see that, unlike in the south, where they are more used to the larger calibers, in these countries consumers prefer to buy small quantities," says Matthieu.
"The idea is not to be a niche within a niche."
"At Latbio, we are strongly involved in our growers' communities. What we do with bananas, and now also with mangoes, is to reach agreements with producers to buy their entire production, not just a percentage based on quality or external appearance, because one of the company's key objectives is to reduce food waste," he says. "We already process all the bananas that are not suitable for export into puree, which is supplied to the baby food industry, and our goal is to work in the same way with mangoes and market the processed fruit for baby food production."
Matthieu Mandon says that Latbio is formed by 9 partners with extensive experience in production, marketing and consulting in the organic, Fairtrade and Demeter fruit industry. The company hasn't only opted to produce sustainably with the implementation of an organic agriculture model, but has gone a step further to ensure the protection of soils, biodiversity and the environment, investing in organic and biodynamic regenerative agriculture.
"There is currently a very strong movement promoting conventional regenerative agriculture, but we believe that, in addition to being regenerative, it should also be organic. The idea is not to be a niche within a niche, that's why at Latbio we have a sister company, YanaPacha, which functions as a catalyst for all those producers who are already organic and want to go further."
"Through YanaPacha, producers are guided and given all the necessary advice, training and consulting services so that they can become Demeter-certified and know how to manage regenerative crops, and Latbio helps them with the marketing of their production," says Matthieu. "We have the capacity to take these producers to a higher level of certification and, commercially, allow them to sell their entire production as fresh fruit or as processed ingredients."
For more information:
Matthieu Mandon
LatBio S.A.
M: +34 603458884
matthieu@latbio.com.ec
www.latbio.com.ec