Xokotl Green banana flour
Husband-and-wife Zayurit de la Cruz Lomera and Jaime Vazquez were both banana growers before deciding to use their production to make added-value finished products.
They manufacture gluten-free flour made from green bananas.
“The community where this comes from is completely dependent on bananas […] but they are almost always sold fresh," said de la Cruz Lomera. "We wanted to create a new product that has added-value, selling it at a price that [gives back] to the community. We buy the bananas at a higher price than the middlemen.”
“First we cultivate the bananas, then we dry them out in the sun and grind them to a flour. It’s a 100% natural process, we don’t add any chemical products.
“It’s very complete from a nutritional point of view and is gluten-free. Bakers can use it in the exact same way as wheat and potato flour but it is healthier.”
Based in Coahuayana in the southwestern state of Michoacán, Xokotl has already started to sell in shops in Guadalajara and was at ANTAD Alimentaria to find national and international distributors.
“In Mexico, not everyone can buy this product, it’s for a more selective consumer base. We would like to export this,” said de la Cruz Lomera.
Around six kilos of fresh bananas are needed to produce one kilo of green banana flour, which is around six times more expensive than wheat flour.
Xokotl means fruit in native Mexican language Nahuatl.