The Colombian panela company that shines in Germany and the US

The panela produced by 50 peasant and indigenous families in Colombia ends up on the table of Germans and Americans as a result of the adventure undertaken five years ago by two young people from Medellín interested in transforming this native product to take it to other audiences.

Andrés Mesa and Daniel López, founders of the BLACKMILL companymade a tour of the country in 2017 to delve into the traditional trapiches, learn some secrets and stories and develop an organic panela powder that opened international doors with its presentation in sachets (small hermetic bags) of this sweetener made from of ground sugar cane.

Impact the Colombian countryside

The journey of these entrepreneurs began in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta to meet the Arhuaco indigenous people who process the cane from which panela is extracted. The tour continued in the Hoya del Río Suáreza panela area between the departments of Santander and Boyacá, and had the department of Antioquia as its last station.

“We consolidated a series of sugar mills working for them as an anchor company. We began working with families that did not have the reach to reach formal markets, we guaranteed them a fair price and a sustainable chain,” Mesa explained to EFE.

After verifying that in the country, where according to the National Federation of Panela Producers (Fedepanela) more than 350,000 families depend on this activity, “Almost 80% live in poverty”the initial purpose of the company was “Impact the Colombian countryside” in a different way and encourage sustainable practices for farmers and paneleros to add value.

López, in charge of the financial and operational part of the company, told EFE that the operation began in the house of his partner in the Conquistadores neighborhood of Medellín with barely 500 kilos of panela and a third maquiladora small production while they knocked on the doors of hotels, restaurants and cafes in the city.

“We realized that the product worked,” said the co-founder, who remembers that they started “with their nails: basically the company was created with two million pesos ($435).”

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During the process, important entities such as the Interactuar Corporation appeared, which “promoted” them with a loan of 50 million pesos (about 11,000 dollars) and business orientation to start scaling, make international connections and obtain the necessary certifications to export.