It has been a busy start to the year for South365, a company that since January of this year has been a new associate brand of Chileprunes and whose partners have also already packed their bags for the MEWA Congress in New Delhi, India.
This event in the Asian country, in which the nut has always had an important role – given its high consumption in that country -, also constitutes an excellent opportunity for prunes, where the cultural values of the Indians, prone to carry A healthy life is linked to the benefits that this fruit provides and that has turned it into a superfood.
This is what the partners of the Chilean firm South365, the agronomist Joaquín Tagle and the commercial engineer Rodrigo Lecaros, estimate, a company that wants to be a protagonist in the history of the Chilean prunes. Therefore, this trip and his entry to Chileprunes. “We believe a lot in this industry, in this business, in its evolution and maturity. We have a spectacular product, rich and full of health benefits, and we have the mission of continuing to promote it, in new markets and segments, and in other formats. We come with the desire to contribute to the development of the Chilean prunes industry, with our work, ideas and points of view,” says Joaquín Tagle.
MEWA India 2024 takes place this February 16 and 17, and more than 1,000 Indian and global companies are expected to attend, presenting an exceptional platform to expand the image of our plum among Indian buyers, even more so after the agreement of August 2023, which allows the entry of dried plums into that country without requiring a phytosanitary certificate.
“In that country, we can compete with Californians,” they say.
Focus on producers, human team and clients.
South365 is a company that was born in 2017 and offers dried plums, walnuts, almonds and other dried fruits to the most demanding palates in the world.
With a central office in Vitacura, Santiago de Chile, its business model is via consignment, providing a complete service that ranges from support in the harvest, with sessions with the producers, to the drying, packaging and subsequent sale of the product, including all marketing, plus international certifications.
“We work with more than 50 producers from the central valley of Chile, located between the Valparaíso Region and the Ñuble Region, in the south. Of them, over 30 are linked exclusively to prunes, our main product in terms of volume and FOB sales,” its partners point out. In fact, of the total volume exported, among all nuts, 3,500 tons of nearly 5,000 are dehydrated plums, being among the 10 main Chilean brands in this category.
South365 exports to more than 45 markets on 5 continents, with a strong presence in European countries for dried plums, although Asia has been growing strongly in recent years as an attractive continent for prunes consumption.
This company was born with the values and its DNA placed in its three fundamental pillars, all equally important for the success and sustainability of the company: producers, human team and customers.
“At South365 we not only strive to produce quality fruit and provide excellent service. We also take care of and strengthen our producers, whom we ensure we serve in the best possible way and work with them to produce quality production from source; then, our human team, whom we care for, develop and motivate; and of course, our customers, to whom we must respond in a timely manner with quality, safety, proximity and service. All of the above accompanied by sustainability policies, such as the preservation of lands and the environment through Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), the care and support of all those who provide us with services, and the provision of safe and healthy food to consumers through the most demanding certifications,” they express.
