{"id":374271,"date":"2024-09-16T17:02:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-16T20:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/?p=374271"},"modified":"2024-09-17T09:16:57","modified_gmt":"2024-09-17T12:16:57","slug":"bio2me-aims-to-take-cerrado-nuts-to-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/bio2me-aims-to-take-cerrado-nuts-to-the-world\/","title":{"rendered":"Bio2Me aims to take Cerrado nuts to the world"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

S\u00e3o Paulo \u2013 In a world that extensively discusses the income that could come from preservation, a Brazilian startup has stood out for establishing such a business, attracting investment, and harvesting products. Bio2Me<\/a> produces baru nuts and fava d\u2019anta in native Cerrado areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Determined to significantly advance the products obtained from this biome and from across the areas it operates, Bio2Me aims to have Arab countries as consumers of baru nuts. The company envisions investment partnerships with the region but prefers to take one step at a time, starting with trade.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Baru:
Baru: The price per kilogram of the nut ranges from USD 30-40 in the Brazilian market.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cBio2Me is a farm operator\u2014we manage farms in the Brazilian Cerrado, focusing on preserved and conserved areas as well as degraded ones that we\u2019ll restore with native seedlings,\u201d says one of the founding partners, CFO Marcio Campos, considering the range of products that can be explored from the six thousand native tree species in the Cerrado.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the products already in Bio2Me\u2019s hands is the baru nut, which the startup aims to introduce to the Arab market by 2025. The goal is to supply between one and two tonnes to the region. \u201cArabs are the largest consumers of nuts and peanuts in the world,\u201d says Campos, noting that Brazil\u2019s friendly relations with the entire world could benefit business with the region.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Baru
Baru nuts are protein-rich<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Bio2Me currently operates a 500-acre farm in the municipality of Luzi\u00e2nia, Goi\u00e1s state, owned by the family of one of the founding partners, Claudio Fernandes. The company is also starting to work with a 4,200-hectare farm in Cavalcante, also in Goi\u00e1s, under a lease agreement with a purchase option. Baru nuts supplied by communities are also sold through Vista, a company run by the same partners that handles commercialization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The nuts are currently supplied roasted to Brazilian distributors and gourmet stores in 50 and 100-gram packages under the Vista brand. However, the goal is to also produce baru nut products such as paste, flour, farofa<\/em>, and oil, and to export 95% or 100% of the production. The company operates on the principle that exporting allows for better compensation for those working in the sector, thus providing a quality life for the communities producing the nuts, encouraging them to remain in the field. Having a reliable workforce is essential for maintaining this type of business, where the baru fruit is harvested manually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Farmers from Rio<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n
\n
\"Farmers
Farmers from Rio work to structure the bioactives chain of the Cerrado<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Bio2Me\u2019s sustainable strategy was developed gradually by the Campos and Fernandes. Both from Rio, with Campos being an economist and Fernandes an electrical engineer, the agribusiness came into the lives of the two cousins somewhat by chance when Fernandes encountered his father\u2019s inheritance: a 100% preserved farm in Luzi\u00e2nia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The engineer discovered that there were baru nuts on the farm and realized the potential when, alongside his cousin and then business partner Campos, he saw the price of the product in a market: BRL 150-200 [USD 30-40] per kilogram. \u201cThis could be the answer we need to make money while preserving the forest standing,\u201d Campos recalls about their thoughts at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following an intensive collaboration with Embrapa, Brazi\u2019’s agricultural research agency, the two first established Vista Produtos Sustent\u00e1veis in 2021 for the trade of Cerrado bioactives. However, upon seeking suppliers in the market, they realized that the supply chain was very disorganized and needed improvements. Then, in 2022, they founded Bio2Me to produce and address the other gaps in the sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Filling gaps<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Often working in partnership with institutions, Bio2Me is addressing a number of gaps to structure the sector. One of these is the slow process of cracking the baru fruit and extracting the nut, which affects the supply chain\u2019s efficiency. This should be resolved with the creation of an effective machine. Bio2Me is also developing a traceability project for the bioactives, so they reach consumers with a traceable origin, and is studying how to utilize parts of the baru fruit, such as the pulp and the skin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bio2Me is also working on developing a neural network to map areas using drones, identifying trees by their canopies and thus assessing how promising the terrain is for bioactive extraction. Other initiatives include training communities that work with Cerrado products, including in fire brigades\u2014fire prevention is an area of focus of the startup\u2014and developing a nursery for native Cerrado seedlings, as finding them on the market is a challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Working with this, the startup\u2019s leaders realized that extracting bioactives is a solution for preservation areas, as, by law, farms need to maintain at least 20% of their land with native vegetation, which is often considered a cost by owners. However, the possibility of generating income from these areas could change this. \u201cThe Ministry of Agriculture is saying that in ten years, baru nuts will be to the Cerrado what a\u00e7a\u00ed was to the Amazon biome,\u201d says Campos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cerrado products<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Baru nuts, which are protein-rich, are considered a superfood and are mainly consumed by vegans and marathon runners. However, their consumer market is still very limited. On the other hand, fava d\u2019anta is a source of components for the pharmaceutical industries. The fava d\u2019anta produced by Bio2Me is sold to a Brazilian exporting industry. The farm operated by the greentech company has 270 baru trees and 420 fava d\u2019anta trees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bio2Me\u2019s profile has already caught the market\u2019s attention, to the extent that the company has been recognized for several initiatives aimed at startups and innovation. It is part of the Panela Nestl\u00e9 project, an initiative by the multinational food company to accelerate innovation, and was one of seven selected for the Cerrado Sustainable Soy project by international consulting firm PwC, which promotes solutions for vegetation conservation in Cerrado areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The whole world<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Last year, Bio2Me held a market presentation event at the headquarters of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce<\/strong> (ABCC) in S\u00e3o Paulo, of which it is a member. The company relies on the institution to carry out its plans concerning the Arab market. \u201cI want to export to the whole world, but a primary focus is the Arab market, so our relationship with the Arab Chamber is a long-term one,\u201d says Campos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Campos and Fernandes are the owners and leaders of Bio2Me, and the startup has two investors: Antonio Nuno Ver\u00e7as and Vicente Parente. Both investors also have stakes in Vista. Bio2Me is currently raising BRL 25 million [USD 4 million]. By July next year, the company aims to be operating 25,000 acres, according to Campos\u2019 projections. The expansion will continue with a strategy focused on preservation and profitability. \u201cThere is no green company in the red. This has to be profitable for everyone, because you can only preserve if you have income,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read more:
<\/em>Eco-friendly jewelry brand reaches 11 countries<\/a>
Abu Dhabi launches hotel carbon calculator<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Translated by Guilherme Miranda<\/strong><\/p>\n

Supplied\/Bio2Me<\/div>
Supplied\/Bio2Me<\/div>
Supplied\/Bio2Me<\/div>
Supplied\/Bio2Me<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Brazilian startup grows baru nuts in the native area of Goi\u00e1s state and aims to make Arab countries its main consumers abroad. Focused on generating income through the preservation of the biome, the company has ambitious goals for expanding the lands it intends to operate and the bioactives to be extracted from the standing Cerrado.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1455,"featured_media":374220,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[103],"tags":[50976,50974,9534,10138,9561,50975,7512,50977,34293],"class_list":{"0":"post-374271","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sustainability","8":"tag-baru-nuts-2","9":"tag-bio2me-2","10":"tag-brazil-en","11":"tag-cerrado-en","12":"tag-exports-en","13":"tag-forest-income","14":"tag-nuts","15":"tag-standing-forest","16":"tag-startup-en-2"},"wps_subtitle":"The Brazilian startup grows baru nuts in the native area of Goi\u00e1s state and aims to make Arab countries its main consumers abroad. Focused on generating income through the preservation of the biome, the company has ambitious goals for expanding the lands it intends to operate and the bioactives to be extracted from the standing Cerrado.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/374271","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1455"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=374271"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/374271\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/374220"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=374271"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=374271"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=374271"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}