Creating value for your customers, your suppliers, and you. It's possible.

Pepper.....black pepper.....

What's so special about that?

How do you deliver value with one of the most ubiquitous spices and food products in the world?

These are the types of questions I have gotten in the last few years as I started working with the great team at .pepper..field based in Prague, sourcing (black, white, red and green) pepper from Kampot, Cambodia - considered the best pepper in the world.

My answer to those questions:

With a lot of hard work, dedication and adding value to the whole lifecycle of the product, from farm to plate and in between. See how we've been doing it and how it is possible to check all these boxes, feel good about what you are doing and run a profitable business.

Kampot pepper from EU Land is grown and harvested by the 200+ small independently owned farms according to strict organic guides, ensuring sustainable land and water usage, paid for at fair trade prices, directly to the farmers themselves.

1. Add value to consumers by delivering them what they want

And what exactly are consumers asking for these days? A lot to be exact.

• organically-sourced food, free of chemicals and additives
• ethically sourced (fair trade, direct trade) products
• ecological (good for the environment) practices
• traceability / accountability
• vegetarian and vegan options
• but don't forget the carnivores either!
• something unique and unseen before
• sustainable packaging

Luckily - Kampot pepper sourced from 200+ small, independently owned and operated farms in southern Cambodia manages to check ALL THE BOXES.

When I meet our customers, I am always met with huge grins!

Some are so excited because they have discovered what true pepper can and should taste like and share what dish they last used it on.

Others go on and on about how they are so happy to be a part of a company that supports local farmers in Cambodia, paying fair trade prices, and helping them increase their standard of living.

At our yearly meeting with the 200+ independent small farmers we buy our pepper from, we presented each one with a t-shirt '.pepper..farmer' just like the ones our team sports so often and a certificate of appreciation to thank them for the hard work they put into cultivating the highly esteemed and rarest pepper in the world - Kampot pepper.

2. Add value to the suppliers by providing them with a living

• a fair living
• a sustainable living
• the ability to better their lives, their families' and their communities'
• an atmosphere which encourages and incentivizes them to continue working

In the nearly 5 years since EU Land was founded, our financial transaction with the local Kampot pepper farmers has meant huge changes in their lives.

During one meeting earlier this year, one wonderfully sweet farmer spoke up and said,

EU Land was like a heavy rain

after a long drought.

We have heard similar things from other farmers as well. They have shared their stories with us, many of which were struggles.

Our commitment to work with them year over year has meant that they have been able to keep their farms running and support their families when many of them believed that they would have to give up. They are putting their children through school and have access to medical insurance now.

Supporting small, independently run farms has kept alive a culture that was nearly overrun by larger, foreign-owned farms that give back little to the communities they operate within.

Our annual meetings give us the chance to share with them the success of our progress selling their highly-prized Kampot pepper to other parts of the world, the awards we have won due to their hard work, among other updates. It also gives them the chance to share with us their thoughts, feelings, concerns about things.

3. Add value to your company and employees

• give employees a place where they feel good about what they are working for on a daily basis
• offer them the chance to see their hard work reap the reward of making a difference in the lives of others
• provide the ability to engage with others from different parts of the world and from different walks of life.

I am very grateful that I come from a time and place where I have the ability to choose what I do with my life, how I spend my time and who I work for.

I suppose I could take those choices and find a job which pays the most, gives me the most benefits and perks, or which is quite easy and stress-free.

But I'd rather take all of these advantages and choose to work for a company which I am proud to be a part of. One which leaves me exhausted but also extremely happy.

The EU Land and .pepper..field team travel to Cambodia for several months each year to spend time with our Kampot pepper farmers. This gives us the opportunities to check in to see what we've done and what more we can do. We've opened bank accounts for them, make donations to the local food banks, donated bikes to their children, and we're always looking for new ways we can give back.