At a Glance
Location: Chile
Impact Areas: Labor Inclusion, Environment, Sustainable Income
People Supported:
Small-scale Farmers, Rural
Joined NESsT Portfolio:
2021
Overview
Chile’s small-scale farmers play a crucial role in food production, yet many live in poverty as a result of multi-stakeholder value chains that distance farmers from the end-consumer thus reducing their total earnings.
SAVIA (formerly known as Fresh & Co.) is a social enterprise founded in Chile that curates organic produce sourced from small-scale farmers. The enterprise supports the livelihoods of smallholder farmers who cultivate certified organic produce from their own farms by directly connecting them to local businesses in Santiago such as restaurants, coffee shops and hotels.
SAVIA trains farmers in their network to improve the quality and variety of their products. With fewer players in the value chain and high-quality products, the enterprise grants collective farmers a 30-50% price increase compared to what wholesalers offer them in conventional markets.
The Chilean enterprise passes on learnings from businesses to small-scale farmers, training them to launch value-added products that increase their profitability. For example, instead of selling raw produce, SAVIA supports farmers to invest in drying them or blending them with other ingredients to create artisanal goods. For local residents who are not farmers, SAVIA also offers job opportunities in packaging, farm transportation, and last-mile delivery.
Food waste reduction is another one of SAVIA’s major priorities. Its food chain currently generates less than 5% of food waste, compared to 40% in the conventional industry. Businesses that are sourcing from SAVIA are adding agroecological and fair trade products to their menus, increasing their appeal to the growing population of conscious consumers worldwide. By the end of 2022, Savia plans to reach 100 restaurants.
Results & Impact
35
jobs created by 2022
98,400
rural low-income households supported
30-50%
increase in small-scale farmer income
“Savia is an element that gives life to a material or immaterial thing, and this new name better represents the impact we want to achieve in the food chain, generating fair trade for all actors and reducing waste.”
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NESsT Investment
NESsT and IKEA Social Entrepreneurship welcomed SAVIA into the portfolio to help the enterprise scale its impact by further expanding sales and diversifying to the B2B market. To achieve these growth objectives, SAVIA will focus on extending its reach to small and medium agricultural communities. NESsT will help the company to support a heterogeneous group of farmers with different production capacities and crop varieties, from single crop producers to multi-crop producers.
Since its founding, SAVIA has forged robust partnerships such as with “Instituto de Desarrollo Agropecuario” to strengthen the production capacity of 10 farmers and onboard them into the company’s network. NESsT and IKEA Social Entrepreneurship will also support SAVIA to deepen its impact model, generating productive alliances with small and medium farmers that allow them to reduce their productive, financial, and commercial risks.
In 2022, NESsT supported Savia with a strategic pivot that further grew its business. NESsT worked with Savia to shorten its production chain, connecting small and medium producers directly to restaurants, coffee shops, hotels, and convenience stores throughout Santiago.
The pivot has seen initial success. To date, Savia has incorporated 60 restaurant chains. The social enterprise achieved this by shifting its focus away from its business-to-consumer channel (B2C) and toward its business-to-business channel (B2B). By honing in on its strongest channel, Savia is able to better differentiate itself from its competitors and improve its value chain, saving costs to secure higher incomes for smallholder farmers.