Straight out of business school, clutching a diploma and headed for a job in development, Edouard Rollet made his way to Africa to work with UNICEF. He never lost touch with his old classmates and although each of his friends were in different corners of the world, they began to craft an idea for a Free Trade food brand. Yes, Alter Eco is a food brand, but their goals are loftier — their mission: “We are a team of fair trade visionaries and food-loving explorers on a mission to connect you to our farmers and their honest foods. When you taste the sweet justice of our mission you will understand our persistence, and our invitation to join us in finding your Alter Eco.”
The company launched in the US in 2005 and they have been on a winning streak ever since. Another badge of honor this company wears is that of B Corp. As a certified B Corp you know their intentions are good ones. Rollet, Co-Founder and COO at Alter Eco, took some time out of traveling to remote villages around the world to answer five questions for Tonic:
What thing are you most proud of?
Every time I am standing in line at the cash register of a grocery store and I see, in front or behind me, somebody with an Alter Eco product in his or her cart, images of Phak Pom, a Jasmine rice farmer in Thailand, or Mrs. Sompoi, the Thai rice co-op manager, Don Aureliano, a quinoa farmer in Bolivia, or Oswaldo, coca farmer turned cacao farmer in Peru, come to my mind. When I picture these farmers and their extremely remote villages, I am so proud for them that their outstanding product made it all the way to the shelf of a US store. The farmers are very proud of their crops so I can’t help but be proud for them when customers across the US enjoy them, not always aware of the work and dedication involved it having these available on shelf.
Of course, I am also proud of Alter Eco being healthy and thriving after the economy hit a wall during two years that were the worst in more than a century and where consumer spending, a key indicator for us, was at its lowest ever. That means a lot. It demonstrates that shoppers and other stakeholders, such as investors, believe in what we are doing and believe that being sustainably-minded while enjoying great foods is the way to go.
Finally, these days, I am really proud of the Dark Quinoa chocolate bar we just launched. It took us a while, but I think we have it right! The puffed quinoa, crunchy texture and intense cacao aromas are just such a treat.
What area of CSR do you think your company can improve in and what steps are you taking to make that change?
Packaging is our main focus right now. Being in the food and the consumer goods business makes packaging essential. Packaging represents a sustainability concern, both in terms of end of life/disposal and in terms on energy use. As a result, we are putting an emphasis on developing our sales in bulk (getting Alter Eco products placed and promoted in bulk bins) and encouraging online customers to buy our rice, quinoa and sugar in bulk. We also have strong programs in place for water recycling and energy efficiency in the manufacturing plants where Alter Eco products are made. We are also fully offsetting the carbon emissions that result from our products, supply chain, distribution and organization through a large reforestation project implemented by one of our partner cacao coops in the Peruvian Amazon.
But most importantly, our operations staff is working hard in researching our best option for moving to compostable packaging. The main issue at this time is that most compostable packaging options we have found are made from GMO corn or other GMO crops, and making the switch to this would just be moving from one far from ideal solution to another. Other issues we are facing are shelf life limitation of new packaging material and making sure that compostable packaging can indeed be easily composted by the average citizen.
What is the best piece of advice you have ever gotten?
To never give up… I don’t know if it’s the best advice, because it can have a high price, but it’s certainly the adage that has led us to be where we are now.
Looking back to the beginning of the business would you have done anything differently? Why?
We started this business with very limited resources, compared to other startups in the food and beverage space. Our resources were small, especially when considering the number of products we were launching (about 35 food products in 8 different categories, such as quinoa from Bolivia, rice from Thailand, chocolate from Peru and Bolivia and sugar from the Philippines), our global operations that result from our supply chains, and the money required to compete on a shelf next to multi-billion dollar food conglomerates. On top of the stress our limited resources have put on me and my business partner, Mathieu, one often realizes that by trying to save a few bucks, it actually ends up costing more because having the right tools and resources can make a business operate much more efficiently. That said, I must admit that this has given us a savvy approach to business, and conservative stance on spending, one that I hope to keep even as we get more support and resources to achieve our mission. Money does not grow on trees, and being smart is key when running a Fair Trade business, where triple bottom line activities have a direct impact on our costs and margins.
What is your goal for fair trade business worldwide in the next 10 years?
Right now, fair trade only represents 0.01 percent of all international trade. If within 10 years, fair trade and ethical sourcing could reach the 1 percent mark, that would be great. And if, in the course of this 10 years, Alter Eco has any direct or indirect implication in participating to this growth, then that’s even better! We have a lot of work to do. Society is still unfair to the vast majority of its people, in the US and elsewhere, and it is our role to come up with the right business model and the right product while standing up for the billions of people who struggle to put food on the table every day.
Read more Dollars and Sense.
Images provide by Alter Eco.