Nutrivida Social Enterprise to start exports to eradicate malnutrition in the region

• After 6 years of operation in Costa Rica, Nutrivida will bring five products from its portfolio to Central America.
• Export of products will start in Nicaragua and operations are expected to begin in Honduras and Guatemala within the coming months.
• 9 tons of product will be shipped to Nicaragua in October.
• The company increased its production by more than 300% during 2020; compared to the previous year.
Costa Rica, October 2020. The company Social Nutrivida, began exporting five products from its portfolio to Nicaragua starting this October, as announced by Gisela Sánchez, Director of Corporate Relations of FIFCO, who promoted the creation of Nutrivida at FIFCO 6 years ago, as an initiative to combat malnutrition in Costa Rica and that it now begins its expansion to the rest of the countries of the region; a project that remains and has gained greater interest in the current socio-economic context. The support and advice of the Foreign Trade Promoter, PROCOMER (for its acronym in Spanish) was key for this project.
“Nutrivida is a social company that seeks to transform the environment so that these foods of high nutritional value are more accessible to the population. After 6 years in Costa Rica, our goal is to help combat the problem of malnutrition in other Central American countries where it is even more serious. Nutrivida now becomes an exporter of health and nutrition thanks to the first strategic alliance in Nicaragua,” Sanchez said.
“Companies like Nutrivida help build a better society. It is a company consistent with the values of the essential Costa Rica country brand that contributes to show business with purpose from Costa Rica internationally. Its international expansion is a triumph for the company and for Costa Rica,” said PROCOMER General Manager Pedro Beirute Prada.
Starting this October, Nutrivida will export 9 tons of products to the Nicaraguan market, and it’s expected to start operations in Honduras and Guatemala by the first half of 2021. The first shipments of products will be chicken, beef tail and bean soups, as well as chicken and beef broths.
Increased production by donations
In spite of being a company that does not aim to make a profit, Nutrivida has experienced growth of more than 400% in the last 6 years, and due to the global pandemic; its production has increased by more than 300% compared to the previous year, this is due to the high demand of the product for food donations to people in greater need.
This fact allowed Nutrivida to evolve from four products in its beginning, to expand its offer to 13 products today, all with a renewed and striking image. At this time of pandemic, people tend to prioritize foods that have high nutritional quality and resources are often limited; instead of buying something that doesn’t add nutritional value, you can consider these products as an option.
According to The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2020, in general, and without taking into account the effects of COVID-19, the expected trends in undernourishment would drastically change the geographical distribution of hunger in the world. In Latin America and the Caribbean, the prevalence of undernourishment was 7.4% in 2019, a lower percentage than the global prevalence of 8.9%, which still translates to nearly 48 million undernourishment. On the contrary, in Nicaragua, by 2018 there were more than one million people affected and due to the current context that the number has been increasing.
2.3 million Children (14%) in Central America have stunted growth, compared to 7.5% in South America and 8% in the Caribbean, according to data from the Pan American Health Organization’s (PAHO) Food Safety Overview.
Nutrivida reinforces its social strategy and the products can be purchased by the Nicaraguan population through the Walmart chain under the format Maxi Palí, La Unión and Walmart, as well as convenience stores such as AMPM, Delimarket, Super Express, Commissariat, Cereals and Vegetables and others of the CCN chain in the upcoming days.
How Nutrivida emerges.
In 2014, FIFCO created Nutrivida with the aim of producing high nutritional quality food for the entire population. It is a totally innovative productive concept for the country and was based on the model promoted by economist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus.
Nutrivida achieved the license as a country brand in 2019: Esencial Costa Rica, which demonstrates its compliance with values strongly appreciated by local and international audiences: Social Progress, Excellence, Sustainability, Innovation and Costa Rican Linkage. When a consumer purchases products with the “We Are Essential Costa Rica” stamp on their packaging or labels, they support the employability and talent of local labor.