Welcoming supporters in Bristol

We were delighted to welcome Liberation Managing Director Dan Binks at our final event in Bristol on 14 June. Dan shared with us the journey of Liberation from the beginning. He said: “Since Liberation brought the first tranche of Fairtrade nuts to the UK market back in 2007, with support from Shared Interest loans, the company has purchased over 9,000 tonnes of nuts and dried fruits from smallholder farmers and gatherers around the world, to sell across Europe.

“Aside from selling high quantities of the commodities at above Fairtrade prices, finding the most beneficial market opportunities for these farmers has been a driving factor for Liberation and its shareholders, many of whom are smallholder nut producers themselves.”

One route to achieving this, and a long-term ambition for the company, is to source value-added products directly from these producer groups. By purchasing retail-ready products at origin, greater value is added at source with better margins for the farming organisations and wider investment in local industry.

In his early days with Liberation, Dan told us how he was involved in a project aiming to bring peanut butter manufacturing capabilities to one of Liberation’s partners in Latin America, and thus the tools to produce their own products. Dan said: “For unforeseen economic reasons, the project came to a halt at the business planning stage; but the concept of adding value at origin remained a consistent goal.”

In 2023, Liberation achieved what they had set out to do many years before and launched a value-added, single origin product to their range. These new boxes of organic cashews were planted, picked and packed by their partners in Kerala, India, before being shipped straight to Liberation’s warehouses. As well as being grown on small, abundant plots of tropical farmland by members of Fair Trade Alliance Kerala, this simplified transport route also means a reduction in the product’s carbon footprint.

The arrival of the latest Liberation branded product has laid the foundation for what is to come for the business’ own range. With the extensive global network of skilled small-scale producer groups, working with a wide range of commodities, the possibilities of growth and development are endless.

Dan said: “Once you scratch the surface of what these farmer organisations are able to produce, you see the breadth of opportunity to develop an extensive range of packed-products directly from origin. We have the possibility to bring cashew butter, coconut oil and spices directly from Keralan farmers. And the scope of possibility does not end in India.”

To read more about Liberation visit chooseliberation.com