Extracting greater value from avocados with Origen Fresh
Working with an ever-growing network of smallholders in Kenya, Origen Fresh maximises the potential of the avocado harvest and farmer incomes by transforming lower grade produce into high-quality avocado oil.
Agriculture
Impact Indicators
300,000
Farmers
147,000
Female farmers
60
Full-time employees
Turning waste into liquid gold
In the words of founder Grace Kariuki, Origen Fresh is in the “post-harvest waste management business”. Throughout Kenya, many smallholders have avocado trees on their land that produce abundantly without the need for irrigation or other interventions. However, the majority of their crops are not suitable for export. Origen pays farmers a fair price for second and third grade avocados and turns this “waste” into a valuable product.
Why Goodwell invested
Origen plays a crucial role in tackling food waste by minimising post-harvest losses – one of Goodwell’s core motivations for investing in agriculture. Their approach reduces the number of discarded avocados by up to 45%, not only improving efficiency within the agricultural sector, but also enhancing incomes and livelihoods of small-scale farmers – many of whom are women.
Recent achievements and future ambitions
Since Goodwell’s initial investment, Origen has transitioned from producing crude oil to refined oil, enabling the company to expand their customer base and profit margins. They have recently expanded their sustainability efforts by training farmers in regenerative practices and supplying composted organic waste for soil enrichment. The company also produces briquettes from avocado waste to fuel its production facility, saving 10 acres of forest each month.
How Origen Fresh solves post-harvest loss with avocado oil
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“In Kenya, grade A avocado fruit for export is only 5% of the harvest. That means farmers have a lot of avocados that they don’t know what to do with. We take something that is giving a headache to farmers and turn it into a high-value, healthy product.”
Grace Kariuki – CEO & founder Origen Fresh
