Digital payments are increasingly accepted in cocoa-growing origins and after decades of farmer-level cash transactions, cocoa farmers in Brazil and Ecuador were the first in Barry Callebaut’s supply chain to go digital with payments.
Grupo Bimbo, owner of well-known bakery brands including Sara Lee and Thomas English Muffins, is leading a Series A funding round for Ecuador-based LiveKuna, an emerging brand of superfood snacks, cereals, pastas, and alternative baking flours.
A coalition of South American banana growers have warned that the price they receive from European retailers is unsustainable after it emerged Aldi will cut the amount it pays for the fruit next year.
The European Union’s proposed organic regulation will break up organic, Fairtrade, and small-scale farmers’ cooperatives, meaning they will struggle to survive in the global market, says Fairtrade International.
Coffee and cocoa farmers often grow avocado and mango as part of sustainable agroforestry systems - but these are vulnerable to climate change and should be swapped for more resilient crops, according to a recent study.
Nutritional progression will take front and center stage throughout LATAM as public consultations, models and regulations drive change, says a regulatory expert.
Retailers are pushing suppliers to adopt more sustainable practices in Latin America, says Chain Reaction Research, as it reveals Carrefour Brazil's CEO asked suppliers to map out their deforestation action plans.
Israeli ag-tech firm Equinom is breeding 'better' quinoa with more protein, higher yields and a less bitter flavor. We talk to its CEO about its potential to be used as a plant protein isolate.
LiveKuna is blending native superfoods, such as chia seeds and quinoa, with probiotics and adding them into convenient formats in order to expand their reach.
Ecuador's Alcopalma is increasing the amount added-value palm oil with organic and RSPO certifications - but there are "big opportunities" for conventional palm oil in Latin America, says the CEO.
A smartphone app, powered by artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning, can help farmers detect banana plant diseases, including the destructive TR4 that was recently reported in Colombia.
On the back of winning a global food safety award, Chilean ingredient supplier Alfa Group is embarking on "a very aggressive commercial mission" in Latin America, it says.
US company C16 Biosciences has developed a way to 'brew' palm oil through microbial fermentation, producing sustainable, deforestation-free palm oil. But what will the impact on smallholder farmers be - and will consumers accept it?
ACORBANEC – the Ecuadorian banana association – has signed an agreement with It’s Fresh to use the UK company’s technology to help increase green life of Ecuadorian bananas.
Creating fusion foods, such as quinoa or amaranth gnocchi, is a good way to add value to native and nutritious Andean ingredients, according to Argentinian scientists.
The private sector forms a critical role in securing a universal health model across Latin America but it must be regulated and guided given how influential and complex industry is, says the High-level Commission of the Pan American Health Organization...
Ecuadorian start-up Takay sources fruit that has been rejected by buyers for aesthetic reasons to create its healthy, ready-to-blend smoothie and ice cream mixes.
Brand familiarity and trust create a protective 'shield’ that leads consumers to perceive a product as healthy – even if a red warning traffic light is telling them otherwise, according to data from Ecuador and Chile.
Ecuador’s efforts to create value at origin could be damaged by the EU’s recent regulation of heavy metal cadmium in chocolate, claims the president of the country’s cocoa export association.
Mexican bakery giant Grupo Bimbo posted record sales in 2018 and has expanded its presence in Chile with the acquisition of biscuit and cake manufacturer Nutra Bien.
With global demand for avocados set to rise by 15% annually until 2024, the boom is benefitting Latin American countries through job and wealth creation, according to the World Avocado Organization (WAO).
Specialty nut and seed oils from the Amazon, such as murumuru, could be used to replace cocoa butter or to boost the nutritional profile of products such as margarine, Brazilian researchers say.
Young Argentinians' and Ecuadorians' perception of ultra-processed food is closely aligned with the original definition, recent research suggests, and the results can help manufacturers with successful new product development.
By commercializing the Amazon's precious food resources through responsible supply chains, rainforest-to-table movement Cumari hopes to protect the rainforest. "We’ll only conserve what we value," it says.
Natural Habitats is one of the world's biggest producers of certified organic palm oil, and almost all its supplies are grown in Ecuador. We caught up with its sustainability director to find out more.
Latin America and the Caribbean face many social, economic and environmental issues, all of which must be addressed collectively by regional stakeholders, including food and beverage manufacturers, says the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United...
Consumers across Latin America care greatly about environmental issues and a high percentage expect corporate engagement and will forfeit non-environmentally friendly brands, particularly in Colombia, finds Nielsen.
Scientists from Italy, Brazil, and Spain have identified ursolic acid as the bioactive in guayusa and maté that may offer anti-diabetes and anti-metabolic syndrome benefits of the botanicals.
Smallholder cocoa farmers in Ecuador can match the yields of CCN-51 with Nacional fine flavor, says the world's largest fine flavor cocoa plantation Hacienda Victoria.
Traditional tea-like leaf guayusa is ripe for innovation in branded European goods after recently winning EU novel foods approval, says Ecuadorian firm Waykana.
Kallari Chocolate, an Ecuadorian cocoa farmer group that also produces branded chocolate, is to open a chocolate factory near its plantations in Tena next year.
For the first time in 10 years, FMCG volume consumption across Latin America shrank by -0.1% in the second quarter of 2018, according to a new report from Kantar Worldpanel.
Nestlé has finalized its majority interest acquisition of Ecuador-based Terrafertil in a move analysts say strategically secures supply for the food major to push deeper into the organic space.
From clean label to sugar and sodium reduction, a few trends resonated throughout the 2018 Fi South America expo in Sao Paulo. Here’s our take on what’s hot…
Arla Foods Ingredients is launching a whey protein ingredient solution to reduce the cream cheese manufacturing process from up to 20 hours to just 30 minutes.
Consumers across Latin America are spending more on their basic baskets and are becoming skilled omni-channel shoppers, according to a new report from Kantar WorldPanel.
DuPont’s new POWERBake 8000 fungal xylanases can help bakers across South America achieve a more efficient and stable baking process and improve volumes in the final product.
After years of talking, Latin America must move to create a single free trade market if it wants to remain globally competitive because doing so could drive upwards of $11bn in annual trade flow, says the chief economist at Inter-American Development...
Products containing SweeGen's stevia-derived non-GMO Reb M are expected to launch in Colombia in late 2018 and throughout 2019 following approval from the country’s Secretary of State for Agriculture and Procurement (SEAB).
Countries across Latin America and the Caribbean are already among the global leaders in initiating demand‐related solutions, but more needs to be done to incentivize the food industry to offer more healthier products.
Ecuador’s traffic light labeling system is having an impact on consumer food and beverage purchases, says a new study from scientists at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito.
Colombia and Ecuador currently export most of their palm oil but demand in Latin American is growing, and the oil crop has the advantage that consumers' minds are "a beautiful white page", according to trade group Fedepalma.
