Merger of Dutch exporter and Colombian importer results in successful organic pumpkins project

In 2016, OTC Organics was exploring the possibilities to grow organic pumpkins in Colombia. The sunny climate, the rainfall during growing periods and good transportation options proved Colombia to be a perfect place for the project.

Today, OTC Organics counts with not only orange pumpkins from Israel, Argentina, and South Africa, but also expands its assortment with Colombian organic pumpkins.

At week 17, the first supplies arrived in the Netherlands, and OTC Organics is satisfied with the quality and appearance of the product.

In 2016 OTC Organics launched a pilot in three various zones under supervision of Alexander Restrepo, Product Development Manager. The growers were using highly selected pumpkin seeds on different small surfaces. 

Due to his agricultural background, Alexander succeeded to teach the growers different techniques of cultivation. 

The quality of the first harvest of pumpkins was good and this was the main factor to continue the project. 

In March 2018, the first container of organic pumpkins arrived in OTC Organics warehouse in Poeldijk, The Netherlands. The first containers were utilized for semi-commercial trials. The next step is commercial supplies for a wider audience. 

OTC Organics relies on the potential and advantages of Colombian pumpkins. Stable quality, favorable weather conditions for the cultivation, and a lower food-print of the product than of other origins impulsed them to establish a joint venture with Equilibria, in order to develop the production, and to export and distribute the product in Europe. 

Equilibria is a Colombian agricultural producer which aims to target international markets by utilizing a 100 percent vertically integrated business model, in this way transforming lives with sustainable agriculture. 

Both Equilibria and OTC Organics saw potential in the organic pumpkins. Besides, their vision of the way of approaching business coincided, which made it easy to cooperate. 

Juan Pablo Duque, CEO of Equilibria commented that the most significant aspect of their first exercise is that the quality and appearance of the pumpkins are excellent. Next year they will be back with more volumes to win their place on the market.

Alexander Restrepo thinks they still have some points to be improved but those are already determined and a strategy is being developed to solve these for the next campaign. 

Executive Representative of ProColombia in the Netherlands, Javier Pinzon, has also been involved in the partnership development and had a look to Colombian organic pumpkins that arrived last week. He reckons that Colombia has a new supplier of organic pumpkins. 

In the future, OTC Organics and Equilibria plan to increase areas for the new campaign, and to continue conquering customers with Colombian organic pumpkins. 

For more information about OTC Organics, visit their website

For contact: Alexander Restrepo 

Product Development Manager 

alexanderrestrepo@otcorganics.com