Author: Joesie Tumanda

Manila, 28th January 2021

–Today the local sustainability retailer ECHOstore (1) and the international organic farmer association Naturland (2) start their partnership to improve livelihoods of local smallholders and boost a sustainable lifestyle in the Philippines. Both partners are longstanding organic pioneers and match perfectly to contribute to trustworthy organic supply chains. From today consumers can buy and order at ECHOstore local Philippine products certified according to the strict organic standards of Naturland. Starting with products such as Virgin Coconut Oil, Turmeric powder and tea from Davao and Mascobado sugar from Negros it is envisaged to enlarge the choice of Naturland certified products even more in near future.

“When I met Naturland I did not need to think long about agreeing to this cooperation – because I knew that these guys with almost 40 years of experience represent the highest level of organic integrity and standards”, says Chit Juan, ECHOstore founder and Organic advocate for 15 years. “Although having offered food products for some time now, we decided to replace them step by step by Naturland CERTIFIED ORGANIC products to provide orientation for customers in this crowded market of natural and organic products”, continues Chit. “Naturland standards go clearly beyond government requirements when it comes to organic”.

In its online store a special section is devoted to Naturland CERTIFIED ORGANIC products. Customers will also find Naturland certified products in the physical ECHOstore in Makati as it re-opens after offering “just delivery“ for the past ten months. They can now come into the store, albeit limited to two persons at a time, and choose their favorite snacks, and essentials.

Already more than 3,000 Naturland farmers produce healthy food in the Philippines

“Naturland is very glad to start this cooperation as it will help to boost organic farming in the Philippines and to create better livelihoods for the many smallholders here”, highlights Marco Schlueter, responsible for International Affairs within Naturland. “We partnered with ECHOstore because of their long-standing commitment to the organic movement. Moreover, in the midst of the worldwide Covid-crisis our more than 3,000 Naturland farmers in the Philippines can thus find new market opportunities. With ECHOstore they can now also sell their produce in the local market, additionally to their overseas exports.”

“I am glad to see the Philippines now joining the club of Southeast Asian countries developing their domestic organic markets – after being mainly concentrated on exporting to EU and US. The people here deserve to have access to organic quality products.  It is all about consumer trust and Naturland is the guarantee of safe organic”, says Arvind Narula, organic pioneer and Chairman of the Urmatt Group of Thailand (3). “Moreover, the Naturland certification, which ranks amongst the highest global organic standards, will help accelerate growth in the organic sector and gain access to new export opportunities to the world also in the Southeast Asian region.”

Notes

• Echostore was founded by three ladies in 2008 to give market access to community products made by small producers around the country. In 2012 it started promoting heritage products like heirloom rice, Adlai, kadyos and other legumes and endangered species of coffee- Liberica and Benguet Arabica . You can find the online store at echostore.ph and on social media channels Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. To further service the growing needs of consumers who want organic products, ECHOstore even carries Vermicast or organic fertilizers, organic coffee, rice and a host of other staples that customers have been looking for.
• Naturland – based and founded in Germany in 1982 – is one of the leading farmer associations and certifiers for organic agriculture in the world, uniting 140,000 farmers, gardeners, beekeepers, fish farmers and fishers in 60 countries. In the Philippines more than 3,000 farmers belong to the Naturland community. For almost 40 years now, Naturland has been pioneering the development of organic, social and fair food chains worldwide, combining one of the strictest private standards for organic production with a quality assurance system ensuring the highest degree of organic integrity.
• Urmatt – founded by a Thai entrepreneur in 1999 – is a producer of certified-organic products based in Thailand. Its products are collected from local farmers who use organic methods of farming to produce jasmine rice, coconut water, rice noodles, rice cakes, chia seeds and organic eggs. For over 3 decades of experience in the agricultural industry, Urmatt transitioned to 100% organic operations and sold its products domestically as well as globally with USA, Denmark, and Germany being the major markets.