Fruandes: Organic Fair Trade Dried Fruit from Andean Smallholders

What Fruandes actually does

Fruandes Frutos de los Andes is a Colombian agro-industrial company that processes organic dried fruit, cocoa and cane sugar, including banana, mango, pineapple, dragon fruit and goldenberry. It sources its raw material from small farmer associations in the Colombian Andes under direct fair trade principles, processes it at its own plant in Ibagué, Tolima, and sells both finished consumer products and ingredients for other food brands.

Founded in 2002 by Hugo Ciro and Giovanni Porras, Fruandes made its first export in 2003, 180 kg of dried fruit to Canada, and now ships to Canada, the United States, Japan and several European countries. Its impact model rests on five pillars: governance, allies, environment, human capital and community development.

Where Fruandes shows up

• Export markets: Canada, USA, Japan, Italy, France, Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland
• Product range: organic dried fruit, cocoa and cane sugar, as finished products and as raw materials
• Certifications: Fair Trade (WFTO), USDA Organic, EU Organic, Kosher and COR
• Smallholder training: member of the Business Call to Action since 2017, with a commitment to train 500 smallholders in organic practices

Proof, not just claims

Fruandes has been a certified B Corp since 2013, and pairs that with WFTO Fair Trade and organic certifications that each require independent verification of its sourcing and processing.

Why this belongs on a sustainability directory

Smallholder fruit farmers in the Andes often sell fresh produce at volatile prices with no route to export markets. Fruandes turns that fruit into shelf-stable organic products, pays fair trade terms to farmer associations, and trains growers in organic practices. That ties it directly to SDG 1 (No Poverty) and SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) through fair income for more than 350 farming families and formal jobs at its plant, and to SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) through certified organic production.