Spain is the world’s second largest importer of cocoa solids and a large cocoa processing country with a rich chocolate tradition. ofi was established in Spain in 2011 in Valencia and increased the cocoa powder proposition through the acquisition of Macao, a well-recognised brand with a strong market share.
Our management team has over 30 years’ experience in cocoa and maintains strong relationships with Spanish chocolate and confectionery manufacturers, snack companies and powder users. We have created a marketing and manufacturing centre of excellence for cocoa powder and are a leading supplier to the chocolate beverage and biscuit industries in the Iberian and North African markets. The Macao brand is sold in 36 countries globally with a strong growing presence in Middle East and Russian regions.
Macao adds value to cocoa cakes coming mainly from the Ivory Coast, completing the supply chain model. The Valencia plant leads the way with excellent Food Safety Quality Assurance processes.
In December 2012, we acquired SEDA Soluble Coffee, a brand which has been associated with the production of private label and bulk coffee since 1957. A new, accomplished management team were implemented into the business.
SEDA Outspan Iberia SLU has 3 locations. A manufacturing plant in Palencia; the centre in Villamuriel manages packing and logistics; whilst the office in Madrid supports the commercial activities.
At our plant in Palencia we process soluble coffee and mixes of coffee with chicory or cereals, pure instant chicory and mixes of cereals without coffee.
We operate robust quality audit systems and maintain third-party certifications. The coffee operations in Spain primarily service the European market, whilst the plant in Vietnam supports Asia.
Through SEDA we offer private label solutions to coffee customers across Europe with a range of different packaging types.
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How do you differentiate between the environmental impacts of organizations across different geographies, local conditions, products, local regulations etc.?
For several years, ofi has been working towards assessing the true value (cost or benefits) of some of our operations on the ground. Our latest case study on Natural Capital Valuation: Assessing Natural Capital costs in coffee operations, delves into year-on-year monetary impact of our select coffee growing operations in five origins.
Globally, an estimated 12.5 million to 25 million smallholder farmers depend on the coffee industry for their livelihoods, according to figures from Fairtrade1 and the FAO2. However, the majority of these farmers face significant challenges including limited access to formal agronomy training, inadequate resources, small farm sizes and insecure land tenure. These factors often hinder the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices, which are crucial for preserving Natural Capital over the medium and long term. As a result, coffee production often imposes a cost on nature in the form of GHG emissions, degradation of soil structure and fertility, depletion of ground and surface water, and loss of natural ecosystem services critical to agricultural production.
To address these challenges, we employ Natural Capital valuation techniques, which leverage environmental economics to assign a monetary value (US$) to our impacts and dependencies, encompassing carbon emissions, water usage and ecosystem services. Quantifying Natural Capital in this way enables us to assess and mitigate risks while fostering investments that promote a positive impact on landscapes and ecosystem.
We evaluated twenty AtSource+ coffee farmer groups sourced from five different origins3 to assess their GHG emissions and water use related Natural Capital Costs (NCC). Reporting on the NCC is based on each metric tonne of product which makes the cost intensities very sensitive/ dependent on farm level yields. Thus, understanding the underlying yield dynamics is also crucial for interpreting these NCC footprints effectively.
The combined expertise of our local sustainability teams with partners such as Funcafé, TechnoServe, Côte d’Ivoire's National Nutrition program, USAID (United States Agency for International Development), and Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) delivers solutions to improve access to clean water, healthcare services and supplies, and nutritious food.
Initiatives range from using geo-location to identify and screen for infant malnutrition in farming communities in Côte d'Ivoire - where one in five children experience stunted growth and development - to fortifying key staples with vitamins and minerals in our processing facilities.
Child Labour Monitoring and Remediation Systems (CLMRS) have become increasingly valuable in helping us understand and tailor our interventions. They help us identify children at risk of, or in a situation of child labour, so that we can engage with families to improve and enable school attendance through training and facilitation of necessary certificates for example.
Drawing on best practices by the Fair Labor Association and the International Cocoa Initiative (ICI), CLMRS has been scaled up to cover all nine of our direct cocoa sourcing countries, coffee in Guatemala, cashew in Nigeria and 100% of our hazelnut sustainability programmes in Turkey. To date, our CLMRS systems covers over 260,000 farmer households.
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