Providing opportunities to farmers amid crisis

There is a silver lining in these challenging times, as the COVID-19 pandemic is increasing the demand for natural and organic food products when the food industry across the world confronts a recession.

Many consumers turn into these products, which they believe will enhance their overall health and wellness.

Bjorn and Liezl Tomter, a couple residing at Amparo, Pavia, Iloilo, and owners of Evina Naturals, affirm these statements.

“Somehow, this situation is a blessing to us because our sales went up. People knew that our particular products like Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO), turmeric, and ginger are good at strengthening the immune system.” Bjorn unveils.

Bjorn, who is a Norwegian, and Liezl, an Ilongga, started the Einar’s Natural Food Export (ENFE) 19 years ago because they wanted to share a healthy breakthrough with the consumers.

The current crisis brings an encouraging effect for Bjorn and Liezl for their products.

According to Bjorn, VCO’s demand is rising as it is gaining approval in the global market. Of which, they are also trying to find more coconut sources to meet the volume of their production.

“There’s a lot of competition in the world market for VCO because there’s plenty of VCO products coming from other parts of the world. But, what convinced Norway and other countries with our product is that they like our VCO’s quality and taste,” explains Liezl.

However, the downturn of this situation made it difficult for their operation to look for sources of raw materials.

“We are also hampered in finding raw materials, especially during the enhanced community quarantine. Through the Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Division of the Department of Agriculture (DA-AMAD), we were able to meet farmer-producers from other provinces who supply us,” says Liezl.

To reach their production volume in a month, they need about 1.5 tons each for ginger and turmeric, half-ton kalamansi, and 7,500 coconuts to manufacture their VCO and tea products.

This monthly requirement is a big opportunity among the farmers whose livelihood is significantly threatened due to the disruptions in the agricultural chain.

In the middle of this adversity, the increased demand for naturally-grown products is favorable to farmers.

 

“We need bulk of agricultural products to comply with our commitment to our buyers here and abroad. We bought volumes of our raw materials from farmers. In return, we are also giving them a fair price,” Liezl conveys.

Bjorn also added that they are paying as much as P14 farmgate price for the coconut, which is higher than the copra buyers.

Evina natural products are for sale in Iloilo Supermart and all SM supermarkets across the country apart from our Norway, Singapore, and Japan purchasers.

These stores sell the products at P130 for the tea pack categories and P145 for the 250ml bottle of virgin coconut oil.

Meanwhile, an estimated volume of 8,000 to 10,000 boxes of herbal teas and 3,200 boxes of VCO are shipped locally and abroad in a month.

In the next five years, Bjorn and Liezl hope to expand their enterprise. This way, they will be able to help more farmers and their communities.

“If we could increase our operation, this will enable us also to provide more livelihood to farmers who supply us the materials,” she adds.

The couple recalls that their success journey would not be possible without the help of government agencies who assisted them in achieving their goals.

“We are thankful to DA for giving us all the support through market linkages and sponsoring our company in trade-fairs. One time, we have participated in the IFEX where we obtained our Singapore market,” imparts Liezl.

Besides, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) has also taken part in assisting their company in many ways.

Success in business is a continuous learning process to develop, improve, and innovate to benefit the customers who patronize the products.

“There are so many raw materials in the country like black rice and cacao that we know are not fully utilized yet. With that, we hope to obtain more training and find more sources of these crops in developing new products,” Mrs. Tomter says.

For both Bjorn and Liezl, this endeavor is a reflection of their lifestyle. They said selling naturally-grown food products is also comparable to buying health and wellness.

“It is more inspiring to produce products you know that many people can gain from it,” Bjorn said. (Myleen Subang/DA-RAFIS-6/Photos by Jerem De Guzman/DA-RAFIS-6)