Idea 140 of 500. Cluster 6: Food and drink as export, not just hospitality
Curry-leaf, pandan and gotukola as frozen and dried herbs for European retail
The mechanism, from the book
Dilmah says it earns over 3 times the national average price for tea, because it does its own blending, branding and packing. The proof has been sitting inside the industry all along.
Every idea in cluster 6 uses this mechanism.
A first step
Freeze and dry small batches of curry leaf, pandan and gotukola and test which method keeps colour and scent for a month. Then email the buyer for Asian foods at five European importers, with photos, and ask what volume, packaging and certification they would require. Their requirements, and the price they name, are your plan.
- Who pays first
- An Asian food importer in Europe whose customers want these herbs and can rarely find them fresh or frozen.
- What leaves today
- These herbs grow freely here and sell for little at home, while European cooks who want them can rarely buy them at all.
The idea and the mechanism are from the book. The first step was written for this site as a suggestion; if you know a better one, say so.
The test
Does it keep value that now leaves the island, or build the proof that lets somebody else do so?
The only test any idea on this site has to pass. The four rules that go with it are here.
In the book
- Ch. ElevenThe Mechanisms
What a brand and an owned variety are worth, from the kiwifruit growers - Ch. TwoAn Island Nobody Has Counted
The island's spices: pepper, cardamom, cloves and nutmeg
More from cluster 6
Idea 140 of the 500 in the appendix of Why Not Sri Lanka? Every one can be started by one person, one family or one small firm.