Exclusive Brands

Algamar

Founded in 1996 by the Fernandez Saa brothers, Clemente and Fermin, Algamar is the leading Spanish firm specialising in dried sea vegetables.  As consumers and producers of organic foods since the 1970s, their aim is to endorse the marvellous nutritional properties of Galicia's native sea vegetables, a region with a wide diversity and abundance of marine species and a deep-rooted maritime tradition

Algamar’s headquarters are in the Bay of Vigo, 18 km from the city of Vigo and 30 km north of the Portuguese border.  Most of the company's sea vegetables are harvested on the southern coast of Galicia, a designated part of the European Union's Natura 2000 network and very close to the Atlantic Islands Natural Reserve.

Ecology and the environment

As some of the oldest living beings on the planet, sea vegetables are also one of the world’s few wild vegetables and represent a true luxury.  They constitute a natural resource that renews itself every year in the sea, making them a stable and sustainable food source.

One of Algamar's objectives is to run its production facilities completely on renewable energy. Algamar is also participating in a programme to plant 100 million trees in Spain to help combat climate change.

Social concerns

The business is based in a rural area categorised as being at risk of depopulation.  Algamar provides jobs for local people, allowing them to stay in their place of origin and help to keep their social and cultural values alive.

Since it was founded, the business has cooperated closely with the local fishermen's guilds, offering them an innovative alternative to their traditional fishing activities.  It is also currently participating in a Spanish ethical business initiative.

Scientific aspect

Since 1998, Algamar has cooperated with the prestigious Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) (Department of Metabolism and Nutrition), the University of Santiago de Compostela (Food Sciences) and the Complutense University of Madrid (Pharmacy) in various studies relating to the potential of native edible sea vegetables.

The CSIC is currently working on a "new foods" project based on Algamar's sea vegetables.

Café Rebelde

Café Rebelde coffee is supplied to us by the Café Libertad Kollectiv based in Hamburg. It is the result of a whole story of courage, fair trading and sheer faith in the power of good people making a difference. The Zapatista group of autonomous indigenous people in Southern Mexico reclaimed 50,000 hectares of land in eastern Chiapas and set about farming it. Around 200,000 people from 1,000 villages are gainfully employed now and 100's of new Zapatista communities have been set up on these lands. They created their own autonomous government system, health, education, water and food production infrastructure. Funds from the sale of Café Rebelde Zapatista coffee have been used directly to help Zapatista communities build a number of clean water projects.

Happy Reindeer

Maku Laku have been developing liquorice products in Finland since 1994. Happy Reindeer is their organic range, fully vegan without artificial colours or flavourings. The taste has always been the guiding light of their product development, which has resulted in a happy and colourful world of flavours. A new range of flavour combinations besides the traditional black liquorice have proved to be a hit with fans new and old.

La Terra e il Cielo

Founded in 1980 in Italy’s Marche Region, La Terra e il Cielo can be considered as one of the pioneer companies to invest in the field of Italian agricultural organic production.  The co-operative incorporates 100 associate farms that contribute raw materials. Many of them are located in the Marche Region and play a vital role in environmental protection and rural development.

La Terra e il Cielo has an ethical structure based on:

• Ecological approach
• Anti-GMO actions
• Democratic management
• Co-operative work
• Profits used for social purposes
• Support for small organic producers
• Fairtrade
• Social economy network promotion

Key La Terra e il Cielo products

La Terra e il Cielo markets a wide range of certified products, such as pasta (spelt, wheat, kamut, corn, buckwheat), cereals, puffed spelt, extra virgin olive oil, tomato sauces and our fairly-traded Caffe della Pace.  This is directly imported from a Guatemalan co-operative of small-scale Mayan producers and made in collaboration with Nobel Peace Prize winner, Rigoberta Menchu.

Among many other international awards, in 2009 La Terra e il Cielo received the Silver Medal for the best durum wheat semolina pasta and wholewheat pasta from the Testzentrum Lebensmittel of Deutsche Landwirtschafts-Gesellschaft (DLG).