Nurturing the future
Our story began
over a thousand years ago with our ancestors, the Tayrona people. They were the
first to cultivate the land at the steps of the lush Sierra Nevada de Santa
Marta, the Organic Mountain, using sustainable farming methods that looked to
the future and benefited the whole community. These methods inspired the birth
of our brand in 2002, when we began exporting sweet bananas and smooth coffee
from Santa Marta to Tokyo. Shortly after, in 2004, our Sydney office followed
suit by bringing panela and coffee to Australia. Since then, Organic Mountain
has been available to consumers via independent retailers across the
Asia-Pacific region.
In 2017, Daabon
Organic Australia (DOA) rebranded and expanded the brand. This meant that we
needed to reconnect with our ancestors, the Tayrona people, to hear their
message and bring it to a world in need of sustainable food. After a year of
rediscovering, engaging, conducting research and attaining the requisite
certifications, we relaunched the brand. This rebirth, as we called it, not
only brought a new face to our brand but also expanded what was once a
four-product range in to a 20-product range over six categories; beverages,
sweeteners, grains & flours, baking, oils and snacks.
Slowly but steadily
people’s diets are changing. Consumers are increasingly conscious of what they
are eating and are questioning labels and ingredients in terms of their health,
environmental and ethical implications. The rebirth of Organic Mountain is a
clear statement that Daabon wants to be part of this conversation. Having
sustainable, vertically integrated supply chains, organic certified products
and supporting social projects, we have the tools to bring the right products
to market the right way.
The world is a
little bigger than it was when we first launched, but our mission remains the
same: to support local farmers and their communities. This is why we strive to
work directly with farmers and not traders. We seek to partner with companies
that support the social projects that directly benefit the lives of farmers who
are working to promote sustainable agriculture. This is why we want to show
exactly where the money from each purchase goes. We aim to accomplish this by
providing full transparency in our supply chain and by giving the consumer
access to our sourcing regions. To this end, we have created a tool on our
website called trace your difference, which allows you to search any batch code
and look up the origin of the product, so you can be assured of where your food
comes from and which local social projects you are supporting.
The relaunch was
marked on 25th May 2018 with a cooking event at the kitchens of Vive Cooking
School. Our staff enjoyed a day of hands on cooking in teams of two led by our
lovely chef Jodi, who taught us just how delicious organic food can be. We made
a grilled chicken, chia chimichurri, quinoa and kale-rocket salad, topped with
wild black rice, followed by our own quinoa fettuccini from scratch! Yes…quinoa
pasta! This, was then lightly and quickly cooked with zucchini, spaghetti,
garlic, lemon and chili. To finish, we made a stunning and delicious chia seed
& orange cheese cake, which was a huge hit.
Our launch event
was promptly followed by the production of a video showcasing the organic
desserts created by our very talented pastry chef Tiffany. From the ultimate
chocolate cake and lemon chia tarts to panela glazed quinoa doughnuts and a
sticky banana pudding, the Organic Mountain team managed to bring to life a
dozen culinary ideas. We are happy to be able to share all the recipes and
videos with you on our website: www.organicmountain.com.au .
Our relaunch in
2018 also saw us visit Melbourne for our first trade show. After this successful first entry to market
we look forward to participating in two more large scale trade shows; Naturally
Good (Sydney, 2-3 June 2019) and Fine Food Australia (Sydney, 9-12 September
2019), so do be sure to pass by our stand to try our delicious treats and
discover the sustainable world that Organic Mountain has to offer. See you in
2019!