The business behind baobab: Africa’s superfruit

Financial success is a big enough ambition for most entrepreneurs, but not for Chris Dohse. Not only does want to make money, but he is also out to change the lives of millions and save vast areas of endangered African forest

Behind his business TreeCrops - based in Lilongwe, Malawi - is the baobab, a fruit that looks like a velvety green coconut and has been dubbed “the new superfruit” by market research gurus Mintel. Baobab grows wild in Africa in huge quantities and while Africans have eaten it for millennia, few Europeans has even heard of it until the EU approved it for use in food and drink in 2008. Thanks to its remarkable nutrient profile, baobab is now attracting intense interest from international food companies.

Chris Dohse, originally from Konstanz on the German-Swiss border, spotted the commercial potential of baobab ten years ago when he first came to Malawi. ‘I knew it could be the next mango,’ he says.

A professional forester and ardent environmentalist (he is also Chair of the Wildlife & Environmental Society of Malawi), Dohse believes that developing a global market for baobab can deliver income to poor communities while protecting the biodiversity of Africa’s natural woodlands.

‘We help communities and their leaders to recognise that their woodlands have commercial potential and can be a source of income. By doing so, we encourage them to protect the trees and stop the burning and clearing of the forest,’ he says.

Dohse established his company – TreeCrops Malawi – in 2003 with assistance from the German Development Service (DED). He was joined by Malawian Rosby Mthimba, who also saw the potential of baobab to make a real difference to the lives of rural people.

Mthimba plays a key role in managing the relationship between TreeCrops and the communities, training collectors in how to harvest baobab sustainably, how to handle and store it, and how to plan their land use.

‘It is Rosby’s commitment and talent for making convincing arguments that has made TreeCrops a success,’ says Dohse. ‘She translates my thoughts into the local language and gets the villagers on board. I couldn’t do this without her.’

TreeCrops guarantees to buy baobab from the communities it works with, substantially increasing the average annual income for villagers. In recognition of the traditional knowledge on which its business is based, the company also returns a percentage of its own sales to help fund community projects such as boreholes, school buildings, or forest regeneration.

According to Ben Bennett of the UK’s Natural Resources Institute at the University of Greenwich, TreeCrops provides a model for what could become a massive industry.

‘The numbers could be significant,’ says Bennett. ‘If baobab production is fully commercialised across Southern Africa, it could generate a $1 billion global trade and deliver life-changing income to 2.5 million poor rural households. ‘

At TreeCrops, Dohse is using state-of-the-art professional forestry techniques such as GPS mapping to identify and monitor over 3000 wild baobab trees. He predicts production capacity with ruthless accuracy, plans for long term sustainability and provides communities with maps of their own land and trees.

‘The concept of owning trees is new for rural people in Malawi,’ he says. ‘Beforehand the woodlands were considered common land and no one took responsibility for them. Things are changing now that communities have a financial incentive to look after their resources.’

2009 promises to be the breakthrough year for baobab. Having succeeded in opening up the European market, PhytoTrade Africa – the trade body for the Southern African natural products industry – has its sights set on the US. It has producers in Zambia and Mozambique ready to join TreeCrops in baobab production as demand from the West grows.

As for Chris Dohse and Rosby Mthimba, the pioneers of the baobab industry, where next?

‘The African forest is an untapped treasure trove,’ says Dohse. ‘There are dozens of species other than baobab that have a place in Western markets, for foods, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. We’re currently talking to a big German company about a plant extract with potential use in a heart drug. The future is looking brighter both for rural people here and the forest.’

Organics sales reach double-digit growth in 2008

May 05,2009
By: Jane Hoback

Nonfood items such as supplements, personal care products, linens and clothing propelled an increase in U.S. sales of organic products in 2008, according to a new survey by the Organic Trade Association.

Sales of organic products, both food and nonfood, totaled $24.6 billion in 2008, a 17.1 percent increase over 2007, according to OTA's 2009 Organic Industry Survey.

The survey, conducted by the Lieberman Research Group, showed that organic food sales grew 15.8 percent to $22.9 billion. Organic food now accounts for 3.5 percent of all food product sales in the U.S., the OTA said. Total U.S. food sales grew 4.9 percent in 2008.

Meanwhile, organic nonfood sales reached nearly $1.65 billion, a whopping 39.4 percent increase over 2007 sales.

"Organic products represent value to consumers, who have shown continued resilience in seeking out these products," said Christine Bushway, OTA's executive director.

In organic nonfood categories:

Supplements sales grew 38 percent to $566 million
Fiber, including linen and clothing, grew 65 percent to $472 million
Personal care products grew 19 percent to $443 million
Pet food grew 48 percent to $76 million
Household products grew 42 percent to $50 million
Flowers grew 54 percent to $42 million

"It is not surprising to see higher rates of growth in the organic nonfoods categories than the organic foods categories, as this sector is less mature than organic foods in general," the OTA said in its executive summary of the report.

Consultant Debbie Swoboda, of Stuart, Fla.-based Debbie Swoboda Marketing Solutions, isn't surprised at the results either. "People are becoming more aware," she said. "And in many cases, prices have come down."

Organic baby clothes, for example, are gaining in popularity, Swoboda said.

In the organic food categories, fruits and vegetables accounted for the lion's share of sales – 37 percent, followed by beverage and dairy, with 14 percent each.

Organic breads and grains and beverages showed the strongest growth. Breads and grains were up 35 percent over 2007. Beverages were up 40 percent.

Swoboda wondered what effects the lingering bad economy will have on organic sales in 2009. "People are concerned. But our industry is still up."

During hard times, dietary supplements pump $60B into national economy

May 28,2009
By: Angela Cortez

Despite the current recession, the dietary supplements industry is growing, creating jobs and pumping $60 billion into the national economy, according to a new study cited by the Natural Products Association.

"If you take a dollar and drop in the pool, you come up with almost three dollars," said the study's author Joan DaVanzo of the health care consulting firm Dobson DaVanzo.

For every dietary supplements dollar spent, the economic contribution is $2.71. The industry also accounts for more than 1 percent of total U.S. health expenditures during the last 10 years, according to the report: The Economic Contribution of the Dietary Supplements in the United States.

The industry contributes about $60 billion to the economy through direct and "ripple effects," DaVanzo said. Directly, it accounted for $22.5 billion in 2006, the latest year statistics were compiled in the study. But DaVanzo said newer statistics indicate continued growth, as dietary supplements sales climbed 5.9 percent to $23.7 billion in 2007.

Because dietary supplements are produced by a large number of manufactures and distributed through a variety of channels, the supply chain involves a number of industries, including retail, agriculture and transport, delivery and warehousing. Those industries stimulate other jobs.

"It starts with suppliers and goes to natural products stores and online venders, so you can see the chain," DaVanzo said. "The net is $22 billion, but once it ripples through where jobs are related … the (dietary supplements) industry touches so many different industries."

Dietary supplements also provide the direct employment of nearly 200,000 people. Under the ripple effect, those jobs expand to more than 400,000 within about 100 different industries.

The study is the first of its kind to measure the economic ripple of the dietary supplements industry, an industry in which 80 percent of Americans buy vitamins and other supplemental health aids. DaVanzo said the growth can be attributed to the fact that as the population ages, people are taking a greater role in seeking out ways to remain healthy.

The industry also pays more than $10 billion in local and federal taxes.

David Seckman, executive director and CEO of Natural Products Association, is using the report in his discussions with state legislators, as well as members of the U.S. Congress, to show that the industry is an economic driver that shouldn't be over-regulated.

"With the health care reform debate going on, this information is critical," he said.

The study was commissioned by the Natural Products Foundation, a nonprofit that supports dietary supplement industry research and education.