Naledo Foods & Beverages Inc

Makers of Truly Tumeric paste

The company was founded after Umeeda Switlo served with CUSO international as an advisor to the Government of Belize on youth and enterprise. Umeeda found an amazing opportunity. Turmeric that is in high demand worldwide was growing wild in Toledo and was only being used locally. We tested the turmeric at BCIT and found that it had the highest Curcuminoid content of any root in the world. We set about making, the first of its kind, Turmeric paste adding fresh lime juice, cold pressed coconut oil, black pepper and sea salt all locally sourced. Canadian distributors and retailers lined up to provide this unique product for their customers. Used in smoothies, curries, salad dressings, soups and so much more it has provided a tasty, bioavailable and clean source of turmeric for Canadians. It is now available in over 1,000 retailers in Canada. Our team in Belize are all young people learning new skills and taking home pay 3 and 4 times the minimum wage. Over 350 small growers are now earning money from a new crop that far outweighs their income from cacao in the Toledo, which is the most deprived area of Belize. Our wild grown turmeric is climate resilient and grown without removing forest cover and without pesticides, herbicides or watering. We earned a nomination at SIAL Paris for a world innovation award. In Canada we are distributed by Ecoideas and now exporting to the US distributed by UNFI. We also recently signed a distribution deal in CARICOM.