Solalter

TRADE BUILT ON RESPECT

SolAlter builds lasting market access for small producers, helping them trade on equal terms in a volatile global market.  

Tomas explained that his approach has always been about mutual respect rather than dependency. 

“The idea of co-operatives is that farmer members get good prices for their crops. So, I subscribe to this approach which is respectful of their work. It is a matter of respect more than help.”  

SolAlter works with a network of Ecuadorian co-operatives including Coprobich, Uoprocae, Fapecafés, and Copropap. These organisations represent hundreds of smallholder farmers growing crops using organic and sustainable methods. By sourcing directly, Tomas ensures producers receive fair prices and stable demand while European buyers gain access to high-quality, traceable products.  

Quality is central to how SolAlter competes with much larger companies.  

“I can compete because I propose high quality products. Farmers work with old varieties which present nice flavours, moreover they work in agroforestry systems which I think has a good influence on taste. In fact, our products present several positive points: organoleptic quality, agroecological systems, respectful of producers, and handcrafted products. Moreover, our product prices are not that different from those from large companies.”  

In recent years, Tomas has continued to adapt the business to strengthen its resilience. SolAlter has invested in a small chocolate workshop in France, allowing greater control of production and improved margins.  

Tomas believes that the role of businesses like SolAlter is not to intervene in farmers’ work, but to ensure they can thrive independently.  

“I don't like to say that I help producers doing whatsoever, they are independent and don't really need help. What I do is inform them on European demands and ask them to foresee for needed documents to prove their way of working regarding deforestation exigences.”  

ARTISAN CHOCOLATE IS A WINNING BUSINESS

Chocolate is SolAlter’s best-selling product, and in 2017, they established a new workshop, with the aim of increasing and diversifying production. Prior to this, all chocolate products were created by French artisans, but the new workshop allows SolAlter to transform some of the goods into finished products themselves, starting with the smaller chocolate lines.

In the future, they plan to improve and create new chocolate products from their new workshop, ultimately increasing their annual sales by 10% and extending their reach across France and Belgium.

SolAlter is a member of Minga, an association for a fair economy. Minga was founded in 1999 through the Wholesale Importers Initiative, allowing retailers to engage in a fair trading approach internationally and locally. Minga seeks to improve the economic lives and relationships between small producers in South America, and their retail counterparts throughout the world, by promoting fair trade commerce and intercultural education.

Shared Interest and SolAlter

Shared Interest has partnered with the business since 2016, providing finance that enables Tomas to purchase crops in advance, manage stock levels efficiently, increase sales and pay farmers fairly, even when market prices fluctuate. 

For Tomas, Fairtrade is about reliable partnerships built on shared values. “In the future SolAlter will continue buying these products to the same organisations, since it is important to them to having regular customers in which they can count.”  

His words reflect the quiet strength that defines lasting change, built not through charity but through connection and consistency. By choosing respect over dependency, SolAlter shows that fair trade can empower communities on both sides of the supply chain. For Shared Interest members, it is a reminder that when finance is used fairly, it can help people turn opportunity into stability, and partnership into progress.