La Siembra Co-operative Inc

What La Siembra Co-operative Inc does

La Siembra Co-operative Inc is a Canadian worker co-operative founded in 1999 in Ottawa that produces and distributes fair trade and organic food products under the Camino brand. The company sources cocoa, sugar, and other ingredients from 25 small-scale farmer co-operatives across 14 countries (primarily in Latin America and the Caribbean), supporting over 47,500 farming families through Fairtrade-certified partnerships. Its core product portfolio spans chocolate bars (including plant-based oat milk varieties), baking products (cocoa powders, chocolate chips, baking bars), hot chocolate mixes, bulk foodservice ingredients, and gift sets — all dual-certified Fairtrade and Organic with no GMOs, preservatives, refined sugars, or artificial flavours. Notable product features include compostable wood-pulp packaging, soy lecithin-free chocolate formulations, and allergen-free baking chips.

The company's business model operates on multiple revenue streams: wholesale distribution to over 3,000 retail points of sale across Canada (natural health food stores, grocery chains, and specialty retailers) at case pricing ranging from $38 to $72 per case; direct-to-consumer e-commerce via the camino.ca storefront with shipping to all Canadian provinces; and sales through online retailers (Well.ca, SPUD.ca, No Nuts About Us). A secondary capital stream comes from Class C preferred shares sold to ethical investors (minimum $2,500, 3.5% target dividend), with $1.5M raised to date. Worker-owners (all employees become members within 14 months) democratically govern the organization, which holds memberships in the Canadian Federation of Labour Cooperatives and Ontario Co-op Association.

On January 1, 2026, La Siembra merged with Equal Exchange Worker Cooperative following a unanimous vote by worker-owners, becoming a wholly owned Canadian subsidiary of the US-based co-operative. La Siembra Inc. retains ownership and distribution of the Camino brand in Canada while gaining access to an international worker co-operative network spanning the US, UK, and former Oke Banana operations. The company holds pioneering status as the first licensed importer of Fairtrade-certified cocoa and sugar in North America (2002) and operates a 100,000 square foot warehouse in Ottawa.

Name

La Siembra Co-operative Inc

Legal name

La Siembra Co-operative Inc.

Website

https://camino.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

La Siembra Co-operative is a Canadian worker-owned co-operative that produces and distributes fair trade and organic chocolate, cocoa, and sugar products under the Camino brand, sourcing from 25 producer co-operatives across 14 countries and selling through 3,000+ Canadian retail locations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Fair Trade Chocolate Products

NAICS

Sugar and Confectionery Product Manufacturing (3113), Chocolate and Confectionery Manufacturing from Cacao Beans (311351), Other Specialty Food Retailers (44529)

SIC

Sugar & Confectionery Products (2060), Food And Kindred Products (2000)

akta.pro primary industry

Chocolate & Chocolate Confectionery (CRADABAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Confectionery, Snacks & Specialty Sweets Wholesale Distribution (CRAOAAAM), Fair Trade & Ethical Supply Chains (Certification, Traceability, Producer Support) (BPAGALAL), International Specialty Ingredients & Import Markets (CRAHAFAL)

Keywords

• Fair trade chocolate
• Organic cocoa products
• Ethical food distribution
• Worker cooperative foods
• Specialty baking ingredients

Headquarters

HQ city

Ottawa

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Direct-to-Consumer Product Sales: Online retail sales of Camino branded products (chocolate bars, baking products, hot chocolates, bulk products) directly to consumers via camino.ca e-commerce platform.
2. Wholesale Distribution: Bulk sales to commercial accounts including natural health food stores, grocery retailers, and independent retailers across Canada. Products distributed through over 3,000 retail points of sale.
3. Preferred Shares Investment: Class C preferred shares with 3.5% target dividend, 3 and 5 year terms, minimum $2,500 investment. Raised $1.5 million through preferred share sales to support small producer value chains, social economy, and community development.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

La Siembra Co-operative Inc produces and distributes fair trade and organic food products under the Camino brand in Canada, including chocolate bars, baking products, hot chocolates, bulk products, and gift sets sourced from 25 producer co-operatives worldwide. The company sells directly to consumers via e-commerce and through wholesale partnerships with over 3,000 retail locations across Canada.

Product overview

Camino is a Canadian brand of Fairtrade and Organic certified food products distributed by La Siembra Co-operative. The product portfolio centers on chocolate and cocoa-based products including chocolate bars (milk, semi-sweet, and plant-based oat milk varieties), baking products (cocoa powders, chocolate chips, baking bars), hot chocolate drink mixes, bulk/foodsERVICE ingredients, and gift sets. All products are certified Fairtrade and organic, sourced from small-scale farmer co-operatives primarily in Latin America and the Caribbean. The brand emphasizes ethical sourcing and democratic co-operative ownership.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Camino: Canadian brand of Fairtrade and Organic certified food products including chocolate bars, baking products, hot chocolates, bulk products, and gifts.
• Cuisine Camino

Products and services

• Chocolate Bars

Quantifiable outcome

• Supporting over 47,500 small-scale farmer families across 14 countries through fair trade partnerships
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Equal ExchangecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026La Siembra Cooperative Inc. and Equal Exchange Worker Cooperative voted unanimously to merge, creating a unique model of international worker cooperation. La Siembra Inc. established as wholly owned subsidiary of Equal Exchange in Canada. Both were sister cooperatives with 10-year MOU, sharing commercial and solidarity relationship as fair trade worker co-operatives.
• Fairtrade CanadacoreOthersFormerly TransFair Canada; certifies all Camino products as Fairtrade certified. La Siembra worked with TransFair Canada in 2002 to develop certification systems for cocoa, chocolate, and sugar products in Canada.
• FUNDOPO (Fundación Dominicana de Productores Organicos)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDominican Republic cocoa producer association founded early 2000s, primary source of cocoa beans for Camino chocolate bars. Organized across four regions. Average farm size 5 hectares. Quarter of Fairtrade premiums paid directly to producers.
• CONACADO (Dominican Republic Cocoa Producers)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCocoa producers cooperative founded 1985, over 10,000 members producing 17 metric tons of cocoa beans annually (13.5 metric tons organic). 25% of Dominican Republic cocoa exports. CONACADO acquired processing facility in 2008.
• Manduvirá (Paraguay)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorker cooperative founded 1975 with 1,450 family farmers producing golden cane sugar (Turbinado). Built first farmer-owned mill in Paraguay in 2014. Collaboration began 2002 with first container of organic sugar to Camino.
• ACOPAGRO (Peru)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPeruvian cocoa cooperative founded with UN program funding, grew from 27 members in 1997 to 2,100 members. First co-op to export cacao in all of Peru. Won 2012 national quality competition. La Siembra sourcing since 2010.
• NORANDINO (Peru)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociation of 90 grassroots organizations with 4,790 small-scale producers of coffee, sugar, and cocoa. Introduced Cuisine Camino whole brown sugar (Muscovado) in 2009. Managed by Santiago Paz, General Manager.
• CACVRA (Peru)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDemocratic organization of 3,700 cacao and coffee family farmers in Ayacucho, Peru, founded 1969. La Siembra has supported since launching first 100g chocolate bars in 2002.
• El Quinacho (Peru)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCocoa and coffee cooperative in Apurimac Valley, Peru. 800 family farmers. Sourcing began 2010. Named after sturdy wood; survived decades of regional violence maintaining cooperative spirit.
• COCABO (Panama)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFirst agricultural cooperative of Panama, founded 1952 with 20 farmers. Now 1,500 family farmers cultivating premium quality cocoa. Collaboration since 2008.
• Canadian Federation of Labour Cooperatives (FCCT)coreOthersMember organization providing advocacy and support for worker cooperatives in Canada.
• Ontario Co-op Association (On Co-op)coreOthersProvincial cooperative association providing member support and advocacy in Ontario.
• Cooperativas Sin FronterascoreOthersInternational cooperative network fostering partnerships between cooperatives across borders.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Equal Exchange: US-based worker cooperative specializing in fair trade coffee, chocolate, and snacks; as La Siembra's merger partner and new parent company, it is the most directly comparable fair trade worker co-operative in North America.
• Divine Chocolate: Fair trade chocolate company owned by cocoa farmers via Kuapa Kokoo cooperative in Ghana; directly competes with Camino in the ethical/fair trade chocolate category with similar farmer-ownership positioning.
• Endangered Species Chocolate: Ethical chocolate brand with fair trade certified products and mission-driven positioning supporting wildlife conservation; comparable in fair trade chocolate category targeting conscious consumers.
• Alter Eco: Fair trade and organic chocolate and food company with similar regenerative sourcing narrative; directly comparable product categories including chocolate bars and baking ingredients with ethical certification focus.
• Tony's Chocolonely: Dutch chocolate brand focused on slave-free, ethically sourced chocolate; comparable mission-driven positioning in fair trade chocolate, though operating at much larger scale in European markets.
• Beyond Good: Direct trade chocolate company sourcing from Madagascar and other origins with strong farmer-relationship story; directly comparable in premium ethical chocolate category with similar sourcing model.

Broad incumbents

• Green & Black's: Established organic and fair trade chocolate brand owned by Mondelez; broader portfolio player in ethical chocolate category with significant mainstream distribution versus Camino's specialty channel focus.

Regional players

• Soma Chocolate: Toronto-based craft chocolate maker; another Canadian premium chocolate producer with bean-to-bar focus, comparable geography but smaller scale and different category positioning than Camino.
• Hummingbird Chocolate Maker: Canadian craft bean-to-bar chocolate maker; comparable as a Canadian-based chocolate producer with premium positioning, though focused on craft/bean-to-bar rather than Camino's fair trade scale model.

Others

• Camino (Sainsbury's): Not directly comparable; included only to flag naming overlap with Sainsbury's 'Camino' private label in the UK — not a peer to La Siembra's Camino brand.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/caminolala
• YouTubeyoutube.com/watch?v=FBIJZJJgThI
• Facebookfacebook.com/CaminoAmigos
• Instagraminstagram.com/caminoamigos
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/la-siembra-camino

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries2 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 La Siembra Co-operative Inc