BCTA MEMBERSHIP STATUS
Active

SECTOR
Agriculture, Food & Beverage

HEADQUARTERS
Colombia

REGION OF INITIATIVE
Latin America & Caribbean

SDG CONTRIBUTION

RELATED NEWS

Postobón SA, Colombia’s leading producer of non-alcoholic beverages, joined BCtA in August 2017 with a pledge to provide stable livelihoods for 3,000 smallholder farmers through is integrated supply chain by 2020, impacting 15,000 people in all (including farm workers and farmers’ families. To achieve this, the company aims to increase the percentage fruits supplied through its inclusive programme called Hit Social Postobón, to 40 percent by that same year.

Launched in 2008, BCtA aims to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by challenging companies to develop inclusive business models that engage people with less than USD 10 per day in purchasing power (in 2015 dollars) as consumers, producers, suppliers and distributors. It is supported by several international organizations and hosted by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

With a population nearing 50 million, Colombia has a huge potential market for retail products derived from the country’s fertile soils. But years of conflict and persistent poverty have severely constrained the production of crops needed to both meet consumer demand and secure a sustainable living for farmers. Despite the country’s rich biodiversity, when beverage company Postobón began selling its fruit-based drinks in 1997, the local supply of quality fresh fruit was so low that it had to import fruit pulps from abroad.

Postobón’s management went on to identify the causes of Colombian farmers’ low productivity: the impacts of a long, violent conflict on rural areas and a lack of access to modern farming techniques, as well as limited access to financing and uncertain market conditions. With little education, quality inputs or technical assistance, small farmers were subsisting in an unstable production environment, which kept their incomes low.

With a better understanding of the limitations on local supply, the company developed in 1997, the inclusive initiative called Hit Social Postobón . Beginning with rural blackberry farmer associations, the company began supporting local producers and guaranteeing them a stable market for their produce. As the initiative expanded to include more farmers, in 2006 Postobón became a commercial partner of Colombia’s Ministry of Agriculture and included a new fruit – lulo – in the Hit Social programme. Having evaluated the initiative in 2015, the company developed a new inclusive model that enables its further expansion and incorporates social impact measurement.

The initiative seeks to give the producers economic independence and better quality of life, by improving their productivity and competitiveness. As part of its BCtA membership pledge, Postobón plans to train 1,500 small farmers in good agricultural practices, business and finance by 2020 in partnership with UNDP. This will also help farmers to access financial resources by giving them a commercial partner.

For Postobón, building inclusive supply chains for fruit is a matter of corporate sustainability. To meet increasing demand, it will need to source over 130 tons of fruit per year. Unless the company develops close relationships with farmers, procuring that amount of fruit won´t be easy. However, the company’s management believes that by cultivating relationships with smallholders, it can source enough high-quality fruit to meet market demand while improving Colombian farmers’ incomes.