WildFoods wins 2008 Natural Product Award
WildFoods of Botswana has won the 2008 PhytoTrade Africa Natural Product Award. The company receives a cash prize of R20,000 and an all-expenses-paid booth at the 2009 Natural & Organic Products Exhibition in Cape Town.
The award, now in its third year, is given to an enterprise in southern Africa that is commited to ethical and environmentally sustainable products with natural ingredients.
WildFoods won the award for its tasty and innovative Marula Stix snack product made from marula fruit pulp. Marula Stix are popular with many safari companies and Air Botswana offer complimentary packets of Marula Stix to their passengers.
Wild Foods has been committed to the development of ethical and sustainable products for many years. The company produces a range of naturally organic products made from natural ingredients harvested in the wild by impoverished rural communities in Botswana. The income from selling marula and other ingredients to Wild Foods makes an important contribution to the livelihoods of these communities.
‘Frank Taylor has long been a driving force behind the commercialisation of natural products in southern Africa,’ said PhytoTrade Africa’s CEO Gus Le Breton. ‘He has led by example through his commitment to environmental sustainability and community development.’
Frank Taylor said the prize money would be a huge boost to WildFoods, helping the company to develop its business and increase the support it provides to local communities.
Winning the “Best in Show” Award was the Red Cedar Rooibos body care product range. This South African company is community run and managed and supports community development in Wupperthal where the products originate.
End of the beginning for Baobab
When baobab fruit hit the headlines recently, it was heralded as a new “superfruit” by numerous print and on-line publications across Europe including the Times of London and the BBC. The impressive media response following on the heels of the EU Novel Foods approval, has also prompted many enquiries from producers and businesses from all over Africa who want to get involved in baobab trade. The massive response that PhytoTrade Africa has received from producers from all over African continent demonstrates the contribution that they feel baobab harvest, collection and processing could make to their livelihoods. This is certainly good news for Africa as it demonstrates that there is huge potential for Africa-wide supply of baobab.
But Cyril Lombard, Market Development Manager of PhytoTrade tempers this enthusiasm with a word of caution: “The market for Baobab fruit products is currently embryonic and we’re at the start of a long process to develop this industry, both from a supply chain and technical perspective. Also, the conditions of the Novel Foods approval means that the market in the EU for Baobab fruit products will be exclusively for members of PhytoTrade Africa. In addition, the specifications are very tight and need to be complied with in order to protect the European consumer. This said, PhytoTrade will monitor the market and in time, may be able to offer producers in non-PhytoTrade countries opportunities, if the market demands it”
Together with PhytoTrade Africa’s South African-based commercial partner, Afriplex, PhytoTrade is shortly embarking on Baobab trade mission to the Supply Side West Natural Products trade show in Las Vegas to meet potential new clients. PhytoTrade is also continuing work on the GRAS notification for Baobab fruit pulp for entry into the US market.
Bridging the Gap: Phytotrade Africa's experience of the certification of natural products
220kb pdf)
New Baobab Brochure
137kb pdf)