On Portalfruticola.com, we spoke with Claudia Compagnone, Head of National and International Sales at Uyama Farms. This company has impressed consumers in Canada, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, and Singapore with their 100% organic avocado oils, which even won international recognition at the AVPA awards in Paris last year, earning gold and silver medals.
Compagnone notes that Uyama Farms was the pioneering company in planting the Hass variety in Ecuador, as the company aimed to market the fruit fresh. However, they soon realized that the plantations also produced small-sized fruit, along with a lot of waste due to the avocados’ superficial aesthetic issues. This rendered the fruit unsuitable for both external and internal markets.
“With this reality, the need arose to do something with that fruit, and we realized that we could use it to make avocado oil,” says Compagnone.
Thus, the project was born to utilize fruit not suitable for commercialization but still of high internal quality. With this added value, MIRA Extra Virgin Avocado Oil quickly gained traction in gourmet markets, even reaching Whole Foods stores in Canada.
Nothing Goes to Waste
Although the fresh fruit business remains the most important for Uyama Farms, with 70% of its production destined for both domestic and international markets, Compagnone notes that as the industry strengthens to offer high-quality avocados in highly demanded calibers, the “rejections”—as she refers to the fruit that does not meet size standards for commercialization—are utilized in this highly valued gourmet product.
“The quality of the product comes from the quality of the fruit we harvest, which is organic and free from any pesticides, so the oil reflects the fruit.”
“MIRA is a 100% avocado product and is processed using the cold press method, which guarantees it is 100% extracted from avocados.”
Compagnone mentions that having fresh fruit available year-round also adds value to the oil production, as it ensures freshness for the customers.
“With each order from each customer, we harvest the fruit and process it at that moment, which has set us apart from other sources that have marked seasons—meaning they process large quantities of oil in a period, but it gets stored.”
Compagnone says they currently have two standout products:
– **MIRA 100% Unfiltered Hass Oil**, which was awarded the gold medal last year and recognized as the best avocado oil in the world.
– **MIRA Original Oil**, a blend of 80% Hass and 20% Fuerte, which undergoes a filtering process.
“We also have oils with spices that attract consumers and help educate them on its use. There’s oil with oregano, spicy oil, citrus flavors, and these encourage people to try avocado oil because we’ve noticed that people are used to olive oil, and our product is completely different.”
Compagnone notes that each 250 ml bottle of oil is made from 12 to 14 avocados and sells for an average of $12 in international markets.
“In recent years, we’ve seen tremendous growth in interest for these types of products, especially in Canada, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Singapore.”
Uniting the Avocado Industry in Ecuador
Uyama Farms is the company with the most planted hectares in Ecuador, but that doesn’t seem to be enough to generate the necessary volumes for both oil production and fresh fruit exportation.
“Currently, we have about 80 productive hectares, with an average of 5 to 6 tons per hectare annually,” says Compagnone. She adds that the company also sources from other producers, purchasing rejected fruit to supply the oil project.
Regarding fresh fruit production, Compagnone mentions that Uyama Farms is seeking to differentiate itself through the texture, taste, and shipping methods of the fruit.
“Even though we are the largest avocado company in Ecuador, we are still small compared to Peru and Mexico. Therefore, we are looking to stand out with a fresh product that goes from the orchard to the consumer’s table in just a few days, as we are currently handling everything by air.”
“Initially, we sold everything in the domestic market because it was well paid. However, this year we decided to start exporting due to an increase in local supply.”
“We had the problem of volume capacity, as we did not have the amount of fruit that foreign customers were looking for. But we have found some clients who are more flexible and want to grow alongside us, and they are taking the fruit by air.”
“For this season—our first for export—we are aiming to ship 10 to 15 tons weekly to different destinations, which amounts to about 600 tons.”
