THE FINEST WEST AFRICAN SUGARLOAF PINEAPPLE TOOK THE CENTER STAGE AT THE AF&B SHOW
BY EPIPHANE ADJADJI
Partners for Development (PfD) is an American not-for-profit organization whose employees and volunteers work in partnership with local and international groups to improve the quality of life of vulnerable people in underserved communities.
In Benin, West Africa, for the past several years, PfD has been implementing Pineapple Processing for Export (PINEX), a $15M project funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that seeks to help the country diversify its agriculture by strengthening the pineapple value chain. The key objectives of PINEX are to increase productivity and expand trade of Benin’s fresh pineapple, juice, and other products.
Given its efforts to expand trade, PINEX sponsored travel to Americas Food & Beverage (AF&B) Show in Miami in September 2023 for nine Beninese companies involved in fresh and processed pineapple products. PfD wanted to highlight Benin’s distinctive Sugarloaf pineapple which in 2021 earned the country’s first Geographical Indication (GI) from the World Intellectual Property Organization (“Champagne” is perhaps the most famous GI in the world).
During the three-day trade show, Beninese companies interacted with hundreds of visitors at the PINEX booth. Two Beninese processors and exporters, Fruit d’Or and Les Jus Tillou, coordinated tasting demonstrations alongside seven processors of pineapple juice and dried fruit. Samples of fresh juice and dried Sugarloaf (“Pain de Sucre” in French) enabled attendees to experience its sweetness first-hand. A YouTube live stream allowed virtual visitors to view demonstrations taking place at the PINEX booth. The Brazilian liquor brand Condé do Sul blended its spirits with Beninese juice companies’ Pain de Sucre juice to create distinctive pineapple cocktails.
Beyond promotional tastings, the trade platform offered the delegation important business networking opportunities. Beninese processors studied the presentation and branding of competing products and identified areas to enhance their marketability.
Exporter and processor directors also conducted business to business (B2B) matchmaking meetings with prospective American buyers interested in importing Beninese Sugarloaf pineapples.
Participants traded contact information to potentially launch future transatlantic Sugarloaf exports directly to the USA.
Sugarloaf pineapple presents a unique opportunity. It has exceptional sweetness and a distinctive appearance. And it is grown by smallholder farmers and processed by small manufacturing companies in Benin who are improving the standard of living of their families by producing, processing, and selling it.
An independent Household Impact Study (HIS) commissioned by PfD and completed by the firm Cosinus Conseil in 2023 concluded that net income for pineapple producers in Benin had increased by 38% over the first seven years of the PINEX project; and net income for processors in Benin had increased by 345% over the same period.
American pineapple importers are looking for innovative ways to get it across the Atlantic Ocean economically and within a narrow shelf-life span, PfD and the Beninese business owners considered the trade mission to Americas Food & Beverage Show an important first step in accessing the valuable Americas market. The Beninese companies that participated in the Americas Food and Beverage Show returned home optimistic that fresh Sugarloaf pineapple and other pineapple products all have potential in the giant U.S. market.
