Fairtrasa

What Fairtrasa does

Fairtrasa International A.G. is a Swiss-domiciled, vertically integrated fresh fruit group that farms, exports, imports, and sells 100% organic, Fairtrade, and Demeter-certified produce to European and North American supermarkets. Founded in 2005 by Patrick Struebi in Mexico, the company pioneered the world's first certified Fairtrade organic avocados and now operates a portfolio of 16 fresh fruit SKUs (avocado, banana, mango, apple, pear, melon, citrus, ginger, turmeric, and others) sourced from smallholder growers across Latin America, Africa, and Oceania. The business is structured around a proprietary Three-Tier Farmer Development Model that progressively moves farmers from subsistence selling to becoming export-capable agro-entrepreneurs, supported by wholly-owned subsidiaries in Mexico, Dominican Republic, Peru, Holland, and Spain. Revenue is generated primarily through wholesale fresh fruit sales to large supermarket chains via direct B2B relationships, with European distribution anchored by the Rotterdam-based Holland office and a dedicated Green Banana program run from Madrid. The company's differentiation rests on excluded middlemen, year-round supply across three continents, ISO 14064 carbon and ISO 14046 water footprint certifications developed with the University of Guadalajara, and a Storybird farm-to-fork transparency platform. Over 60,000 lives have been impacted and more than $5 million in Fairtrade premiums distributed, with stated farmer income increases of 10-50% and up to 10-fold in select cases. The company is founder-controlled, has no disclosed institutional funding, and operates with 11-50 employees across its network.

Name

Fairtrasa

Legal name

Fairtrasa International A.G.

Website

https://fairtrasa.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Fairtrasa is a Swiss-based vertically integrated fresh fruit group that sources 100% organic, Fairtrade, and Demeter-certified produce from smallholder farmers across Latin America, Africa, and Europe, selling directly to European and North American supermarkets via its own import and sales offices.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Organic Fresh Fruit Distribution

NAICS

Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Merchant Wholesalers (424480)

SIC

Wholesale-Groceries & Related Products (5140)

akta.pro primary industry

Organic Produce Wholesale (AFAIACAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Fair Trade & Ethical Supply Chains (Certification, Traceability, Producer Support) (BPAGALAL)

Keywords

• Organic fresh fruit
• Fair trade produce
• Smallholder farmer development
• Vertically integrated agriculture
• Certified tropical fruit sourcing

Headquarters

HQ city

Opfikon

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Fresh Fruit Sales: Fairtrasa farms, exports, and imports organic and fair trade fresh fruit. The company operates as a vertically integrated fresh fruit group, selling directly to European and North American supermarkets. Revenue is generated through the sale of fresh produce including avocados, bananas, mangoes, apples, and other organic/fair trade fruits.
2. Farmer Training and Support Services: The company provides training, pre-financing, and support to smallholder farmers, helping them improve production and capabilities. While the goal is farmer independence, this represents a service component supporting their primary fruit supply.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Fairtrasa is a vertically integrated fresh fruit group that farms, exports, imports, and wholesales 100% organic fresh fruit (avocados, bananas, mangoes, apples, pears, citrus, exotics) with Fairtrade, Demeter, and organic certifications to European and North American supermarkets. The company pairs grower-level support (training, pre-financing, certification, market access) with its own European import-and-sales offices, excluding middlemen so more of the consumer price flows back to smallholder farmers. It also runs the proprietary Three-Tier Farmer Development Model that progresses subsistence growers toward independent agro-entrepreneur status.

Product overview

Fairtrasa is an organic and fair trade pioneer that has evolved into a global fresh fruit group. Their product portfolio consists of 16 distinct fresh fruit products including Apple, Avocado, Banana, Clementine, Coconut, Ginger, Grape, Grapefruit, Kiwi, Lemon, Lime, Mango, Melon, Orange, Pear, Pineapple, and Turmeric. These products are sourced from smallholder farmers across three continents (Latin America, Europe, Africa) through a vertically integrated supply chain model. The company operates a unique Three-Tier Farmer Development Model that supports farmers at different stages of development, progressing them from subsistence farming to becoming export-capable agro-entrepreneurs. Their services include farmer training, pre-financing, organic certification support, and direct market access. The company also offers a Storybird traceability platform that allows consumers to follow products from farm to fork. Their 100% organic product line includes items with Fairtrade, Demeter (biodynamic), and other certifications.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Green Banana Sourcing & Sales Worldwide: Office in Spain that manages the supply chain and sales of the green banana program, worldwide.

Products and services

• Organic and Fairtrade Avocado Organic and Fairtrade-certified avocado sourced from two continents, available year-round for European and North American supermarket buyers; Fairtrasa pioneered the world's first Fairtrade avocados in 2005.
• Organic, Fairtrade and Demeter Banana Organic, Fairtrade, and Demeter-certified banana sourced from three countries and supported by the Spain-based Green Banana Sourcing & Sales Worldwide office and Dominican Republic packhouse.
• Fairtrade, Organic and Demeter Mango Fairtrade, organic, and Demeter-certified mango sourced from up to seven countries across three continents and supplied year-round to European retailers.
• Organic and Demeter Apple Organic and Demeter-certified apple available year-round, sourced from growers across three continents to support consistent supply for European retailers.
• Organic Orange Organic orange supplied from five named varieties sourced in Spain, Egypt, Peru, and South Africa, available most of the year.
• Fairtrade and Organic Lime Fairtrade and organic lime available year-round from Brazil, Dominican Republic, and Colombia, with Tahiti and Persian varieties.
• Organic and Demeter Melon Organic and Demeter-certified melon in five varieties (Seedless Watermelon, Cantaloupe, Gaia, Honeydew, Piel de Sapo) sourced from Brazil and available October to January.
• Organic and Demeter Pear Organic and Demeter-certified pear in nine varieties (Abate Fetel, Anjou, Alexander Lucas, Conference, Comice, Packham, Xenia, Williams, Tongre) sourced from the Netherlands, Poland, and Argentina and available year-round.
• Organic Clementine Organic clementine available October to April, sourced from growers in Europe and Peru.
• Organic Coconut Organic coconut available year-round and sourced from Ivory Coast.
• Fairtrade and Organic Ginger Fairtrade and organic ginger available July to May, sourced from small-scale growers in Peru.
• Fairtrade and Organic Turmeric Fairtrade and organic turmeric available September to May, sourced from small-scale growers in the Central Jungle of Peru.
• Organic Grape Organic grape available most of the year, sourced from growers in Europe and Africa.
• Organic Grapefruit Organic grapefruit sourced from select growers across three continents and available year-round.
• Organic Kiwi Organic kiwi available year-round and sourced from Italy and New Zealand.
• Organic Lemon Organic lemon sourced from Spain and other select growing regions and available year-round.
• Organic Pineapple Organic pineapple available year-round and sourced from select growers in Ivory Coast.
• Three-Tier Farmer Development Model A business-and-development service that segments smallholder growers into subsistence, evolving, and independent agro-entrepreneur tiers with tailored training, pre-financing, and certification support, progressing them from middlemen-dependent farming to export-ready agro-entrepreneurship.
• Storybird Traceability Platform A dynamic transparency platform that tracks and displays the complete journey of Fairtrasa products from farm to fork, allowing retailer and end-consumer customers to verify sourcing and sustainability impact.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 60,000 lives impacted through farmer development programs
• +6 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Dr. Javier García de Alba / University of GuadalajaracoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Dr. Javier García de Alba from the Sustainability and Applied Ecology Laboratory of the University of Guadalajara. Dr. García de Alba is an expert in measuring footprint of local agricultural production and developing strategies for reduction. He conducted year-long studies on water and carbon footprints of Fairtrasa's Mexican avocado orchards following ISO standards.
• EkoGlobalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganization that advises farmers on environmental and social practices and certifies exemplary performance. Dr. García de Alba is director of EkoGlobal.
• Bananica SAC / SharedXminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBananica SAC was a supplier to Fairtrasa and part of SharedX, an umbrella corporation that channels impact investment into smallholder agriculture. Fairtrasa director Ramon Alcedo previously worked at Bananica before joining Fairtrasa.
• Mocó Agropecuaria – Fazenda Tamanduá (Brazil)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-term co-creator partner farm in Brazil providing organic and Demeter melon. Unique high social impact farm that is a key supplier for Fairtrasa's melon program.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Dole Food Company: Global fresh produce leader across fruit and vegetables, supplying supermarkets worldwide. Comparable in fresh fruit distribution at scale but does not focus on a fair trade, smallholder-impact proposition.
• Chiquita: Global banana and fresh produce giant with established EU and North American retail distribution. Overlaps with Fairtrasa on banana and tropical fruit categories but operates at vastly greater scale and as a broad incumbent rather than a fair trade specialist.
• Fyffes: Long-established tropical produce company focused on banana, pineapple and melon, supplying European and North American retailers. Overlaps with Fairtrasa on banana and melon categories as a broad-incumbent competitor.
• Greenyard: European market leader in fresh, frozen and prepared fruit and vegetables supplying major retailers across Europe. Comparable as a broad European fresh-produce incumbent with significant overlap in retail channels and tropical fruit categories.
• Fresh Del Monte: Vertically integrated global producer, transporter and marketer of fresh fruit including banana, pineapple, mango and avocado. Comparable in vertically integrated tropical fruit supply chain but at broad-incumbent scale.

Direct peers

• Nature's Pride: One of Europe's largest importers, packers and ripeners of exotic fruit and vegetables, serving European supermarket customers year-round. Direct peer to Fairtrasa in exotic fresh produce category, multi-continent sourcing and European supermarket channel.
• Special Fruit: Belgian importer and distributor specializing in organic and conventional exotic fresh fruit across Europe. Comparable to Fairtrasa in product mix (mango, avocado, lime, pineapple, ginger) and European B2B supermarket customer base.
• AgroFair: Dutch pioneer of fair trade bananas and tropical fruit, sourcing from smallholder cooperatives in Latin America, Africa and Asia. Directly comparable to Fairtrasa in fair trade smallholder model and tropical fruit category overlap (banana, mango, lime).
• Eosta: Netherlands-based organic and fair trade fresh produce importer and distributor with direct grower relationships across multiple continents. Closest comparable to Fairtrasa in mission, organic/fair trade certification profile, and European B2B supermarket channel.

Regional players

• ONE Banana: Ecuador-based vertically integrated banana producer with Rainforest Alliance / fair trade certifications and direct European supply. Comparable to Fairtrasa in fair trade smallholder-adjacent banana sourcing, but primarily a Latin American producer rather than a globally diversified importer-exporter.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/fairtrasa
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fairtrasa
• Instagraminstagram.com/fairtrasa

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Fairtrasa