Press Release

May 2009

HERNE HILL IS THE HUB FOR PIONEERING FAIR TRADE FIRM

A pioneering company, which has helped changed the lives of thousands of smallholder farmers in Africa and Asia, owes much of its success to its local roots in Herne Hill.

Kate Sebag, Marketing Director of Tropical Wholefoods, is marking World Fairtrade Day (May 9 2009) by paying tribute to the support she has received from local companies and businesses in the Herne Hill and Dulwich areas.

Tropical Wholefoods, which is based in Herne Hill, is an importer and distributor of fair trade dried fruits, dried mushrooms, nuts and fruit bars. It supplies health food, delicatessens, farm shops, Oxfam, Morrisons and Boots with its produce. The company pioneered sun dried fruit which it first brought to the UK over 15 years ago.

Then the company had a turnover of £15,000 but this has now reached £2.5million and Kate is hopeful of a flourishing year despite these difficult economic times.

She says: "The support and help we have received from local businesses and people has been wonderful. This has really helped us in lots of ways not least in getting our products well known in our community."

One example is when she called on local businesses to help when she wanted to set up a photoshoot to show off new recipes using her products.

She says: "I decided to make up several recipes to show the range and versatility of the products I sell. I am quite a good cook but I asked my local baker for help with a batch of hot cross buns with a twist - using our Fairtrade dried apricot and mango instead of currants. The baker made them for me free of charge - and they were delicious!"

As well as the buns, Kate needed to source plates and dishes to display the freshly cooked dishes, plus she needed extra ingredients and 'props' such as flowers.

Again, local businesses triumphed.

The list of helpful businesses includes:

- Hot Cross Buns were cooked by Kindred Bakery, 23 Half Moon Lane, London SE24 9JU
- Lamb for a tagine recipe was supplied by local butcher, Walters on 321 Railton Road London SE24 OJN
- Fruit and Vegetables were bought from The Fruit Garden, 315 Railton Road.
- Spices, flour, sugar and other products came from Londis at 14 Half Moon Lane, London SE24 9HU
- Moroccan Crockery lent by Mimosa, 16 Half Moon Lane, London SE24 9HU
- Ribbons were supplied by The Art Stationers, 31 Dulwich Village, London SE21 7BN
- Flowers came from The Flower Lady, 297 Railton Road, next to Herne Hill Station
- Even the light bulb for the lighting came from RJ Electrical Supplies, 165 Herne Hill, London SE24 9LR

Kate adds: "It all goes to show what a fantastic area Herne Hill and Dulwich is - everything is within walking distance and everything was provided with local friendliness and helpfulness.

"My husband, Adam, and I have lived and worked in Southwark for more than 10 years and have lived and worked in neighbouring Lambeth for more than 15 years. We brought up our children here. We always knew it was a great area and this just goes to show how brilliant local community can be."

Tropical Wholefoods products are also popular in the local area.

The local Oxfam store 20 Half Moon Lane stocks Tropical Wholefoods products, local school Rosendale Primary has run healthy eating days and days on Fairtrade when all the kids have scoffed dried mango from the company and invited Kate in to talk about her visits to Burkina Faso.

The fresh fruit and veg shop, the Fruit Garden on Railton Road, stocks Tropical Wholefoods bars, as does the local chemist Fourways Pharmacy on 12 Half Moon Lane. Londis on Half Moon Lane also stock Tropical Wholefoods fruits and bars.

And every summer the company takes a stall at Lambeth Country Show in Brockwell Park.

Kate adds: "We're always reading about the lack of neighbourly spirit in the UK today and how unfriendly Londoners are but down here we are proof that the opposite is true."

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 and fair trade 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.