Press Release

Feb 2009

TROPICAL WHOLEFOODS INTRODUCES ONE OF NATURE'S MOST DELICIOUS SECRETS…

When we think of an apricot, we think of the soft orange flesh around the stone. But crack open that stone you'll find one of nature's treasures - a delicious, nutritious treat known as an apricot kernel.

Now, award-winning fair trade dried fruit company Tropical Wholefoods is introducing the first apricot kernels to the UK market in three flavours: natural, chilli roast and tamari soya roast. (Tamari is a wheat free, traditionally brewed soy sauce).

The kernels are small, almond-shaped and taste like almonds with hints of amaretti. They are rich in mono and polyunsaturated fats and fibre and are widely eaten by the
famously long-lived mountain people of northern Pakistan.

Tropical Wholefoods Marketing Director Kate Sebag says: "Apricot kernels are great as a snack or scattered on salads. They are also lovely to cook with. Ground up they make wonderful ingredients for cakes and biscuits, and are traditionally used in the Italian amaretti biscuits.

The kernels come in 50g packs and sell for a suggested retail price of 99p. They are available from health food stores nationwide and from Tropical Wholefoods and other online stockists. The products are savoury and so mark a change in direction from the fruit snacks and cereal bars for which Tropical Wholefoods is already well known.

The kernels carry the FAIRTRADE Mark. This means farmers receive extra income from their fruit and can invest more in their villages, schools and land.

In an added twist, Tropical Wholefoods is also exploring using the apricot stone itself for use in cosmetics as an exfolliant, so every single part of the fruit will be consumed or used in a useful way.

Kate adds: "We're always looking for ways of increasing dividends to our farmer partners, and we are all aware now that the world has limited resources, so how wonderful it will be to find three ways of generating income - from a single fruit - the apricot."

The apricot kernels will be sold in the company's striking new packaging. The new look, which will also be used for its dried fruit and dried mushroom ranges, involves bold, black and white imagery with an African and Asian feel and incorporating strong splashes of colour.

The company's new logo is a lino-cut type impression of the sun. Using this logo, Tropical Wholefoods aims to reinforce the positive environmental impact of its products which are dried in the villages where they are picked using solar energy. They are also economical on food miles as they are transported by sea in non chilled container ships.

Kate Sebag adds: "We felt it was time for a new look. We wanted our packaging to show the spirit of the communities we are working with in Africa and Pakistan.

"The packaging now shows African and Pakistani village life," adds Kate. "We see gardens being tended, fresh fruit sliced, children learning their lessons and playing sports - games of football for Africa and cricket for Pakistan . We didn't want to idealise rural life but we did want to convey the beauty and positive spirit of the communities we work with.

"The sporting images are intended to suggest the energy that eating dried fruits gives you - as well as the health of the communities which Tropical Wholefoods trades with. These are products which really do 'keep you going'. We also see images of people enjoying fruity refreshments which we hope will give people a taste for snacking on the products and also cooking with them."

Tropical Wholefoods new neater packs also use less film than before and take up less shelf and storage space in shops and warehouses so reducing transport costs.

Ends

For more information, samples, packshots and other images please contact Helen Riley helenriley@headlinemedia.co.uk 020 8348 3103 / 07931 300 425 or Margaret Rooke margaretrooke@btinternet.com 0790 44 55 666.

Notes to Editors
Tropical Wholefoods' range of products includes: organic Fairtrade mango, sun-dried pineapple, chewy banana chips, bogoya bananas, Fairtrade apricots, Fairtrade apricot kernels (3 flavours), 4 types of dried mushrooms - organic chanterelles, shiitake, porcini, oysters, 6 flavours of organic, Fairtrade fruit and cereal bars - mango &brazil, date & walnut, apricot & kernel, pineapple & cashew, banana & honey, tropical fruit bar. Pack sizes range from 50g to 150g. Bars are 40g. All fruits are also available in bulk on line.

The company was established by husband and wife team Adam Brett and Kate Sebag seventeen years ago in order to win lasting markets for farmers in developing countries. It supplies its branded products to supermarkets and also supplies dried fruit to them for use in their own brand products. Most of their products carry the FAIRTRADE Mark, the only independent consumer guarantee of a fair deal for farmers in developing countries. In the UK the FAIRTRADE Mark is administered by the Fairtrade Foundation. Tropical Wholefoods supplies Tesco, Sainsbury, Morrisons, Oxfam, Boots and smaller health food stores nationwide. It has a significant niche in the independent sector with products well known for their healthy and ethical qualities.

Tropical Wholefoods works with business partners in some of the world's poorer countries. It buys dried bananas and pineapples from Fruits of the Nile in Uganda which in turn works with more than 700 farmers. It buys dried apricots, walnuts, almonds and apricot kernels from Mountain Fruits which works with more than 1500 farmers in the remote, arid mountains of northern Pakistan . It buys dried mangoes and cashews from Farming Associations WOUOL and TON in Burkina Faso .

The company which packs and bakes all its own products on site, employs 30 people in Sunderland and three in London.