Big Win for Caribbean Food Company Naledo at the International Food Expo

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The New Food Product of the Year Award 2020 was conferred upon the Caribbean company Naledo. The award was conferred on the company at the Food Matters Live (FML) 2020 event. The FML is an international food event hosted in the UK. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the event was held on the virtual platform. Every year this prestigious award and event bring together food enthusiasts and food producers from around the world.

Nutritionist at Chartwells, Freya Strutt was quoted saying that Naledo deserved the award due to its origin taste, usability and the overall aesthetic value of the brand. She added, ‘the shortlist was really strong with lots of really good products, and it’s exciting to see where the market is going in terms of new food products.’ The five shortlisted candidates for the award were praised by the judging panel for their product originality, innovation and novelty.

Unforeseen Product Novelty

Naledo won the award for world’s first wild-crafted, whole root turmeric paste and fresh turmeric blended juices. Founded in 2016 by Umeeda Switlo, this Belizean company works in conjunction with small producers in Toledo, Belize. This award-winning product is currently sold in over 1000 retail stores across Canada, America, Belize and the Bahamas. What is outstanding about the Naledo enterprise is that it pays the partnered turmeric farmers 28 times more than the average rate. This is significant in facilitating a better living standard for them- including the procurement of better healthcare and education facilities for their families.

Words of Appreciation

Umeeda Switlo expressed her excitement and gratitude on being conferred the prestigious award by saying, ‘Naledo would like to thank Caribbean Export and the European Union for making sure we could attend the virtual event.’ She further extended a gracious acknowledgement to her turmeric growers including Spice farm, Texbell and Silk Grass. Her speech also included a vote of thanks to the distributors of products including Ecoideas in Canada, United Natural Foods in Inc. in America and Circle R in Belize. Lastly, she went on to express her heart-felt gratitude to her loyal customers around the world, stating that such an accolade would be impossible without their support and love.