Blue Skies is an award winning fresh-cut fruit company with factories in Ghana, Egypt, South Africa and Brazil. The company sells prepared fruit products to retailers throughout Europe and is passionate about creating opportunities for sustainable development by adding value to raw materials within the country of origin. Their factory in Ghana employs 1,500 people and is responsible for 5% of Ghanaian non-traditional exports. The site has a clinic, library, internet café and subsidised canteen and the business contributes £2.5 million in to the local economy through salaries. In 2008 the company received a Queens Award for Enterprise for its contribution to Sustainable Development.
With support from the project, Blue Skies developed and tested a new technological process to manufacture premium quality, fresh tasting juice that can be sea-freighted to the UK. A number of tests have been undertaken assessing the consumers’ response to the pineapple and tropical mix juices in comparison with their expectations and with other brands. In parallel, work has been ongoing to re-brand the Company to ensure that its values are understood by the consumer as well as the products’ story from farm to shelf. By processing the drinks in the same country the raw material is sourced and using sea freight rather than air. Blue Skies will create more employment, which will further contribute to local economic development on an environmentally and economically sustainable basis.
Due to a combination of developments in the market place, Blue Skies have put on hold the investment in a production line using the new techology. Instead they are re-focusing on pure fresh juice, rapidly developing sales within Ghana, looking at the regional market and also air freighting to the UK with improved cool chain logistsice. All their products – juice and cut fruit are using the new brand.
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