El Salinerito, an Ecudadoran experience of family farmers accessing the market

In Ecuador, supermarket penetration has reached 40% of the retailing market for food, beverages and consumer package goods. Moreover, one supermarket chain called “Supermaxi” is the market leader and the principal retail point for Ecuadorian consumers. Given the competition level and the market power of this supermarket chain, finding a good market for agricultural products from family farmers is quite a challenge.

But there is one brand that has positioned in the cheese market and almost every Ecuadorian is aware of. “El Salinerito” is a commercial brand owned by a national consortium of small cheese factories in the country that has made its way to supermarket stands and reaching consumers nationwide.

Behind the brand there is a rural development process of three decades with many people and organizations involved. This experience started in a small town of the Sierra and nowadays is recognized in Ecuador and abroad as a successful experience.

Twenty years ago, Salinas was an unknown town, economically and socially excluded from the market and from the rest of the country. As most of the sierra towns, Salinas suffered from high rates of illiteracy (85%) and child mortality (45%), not to mention that was one of the poorest rural towns. At that altitude agriculture capabilities were limited and the only profitable business was working at the salt mines, where the town takes its name (Salinas comes from the Spanish “sal” = “salt”). The future seemed to be the same as the rest of the Sierra, migrating to the urban centers was the only feasible solution for a family to be sustained. But, a mission of two Italian priests changed the history of this colorful town.
 

You can download the full story of El Salinerito here...