The History of EU Land and .pepper..field

In 2018, David Pavel and Klára Dohnalová traveled to Cambodia in search of a meaningful and sustainable way to help the Khmer people with whom they had fallen in love during their travels there.?

After doing some investigation about the local economic situation in Cambodia and learning more about the uniqueness of Kampot pepper, they decided THIS was the way to:

• Bring sustainable change to the region
• Increase the financial and economic situations of hundreds of local families directly and even more indirectly
• Expand the market which has access to this premium and unique product?
• Introduce Kampot pepper to their local (Czech) market and eventually the larger European and international markets?

In 2018, we realized that something as premium as Kampot pepper was completely missing here in the Czech Republic. We decided to use this potential and now we see that it was the right decision

David Pavel

Motivation to make a change

Not only is the product something unique, heavily sought after by some of the world's most well- known chefs and gourmets, and difficult to find outside of Cambodia but there were many also some intrinsic motivations as well.

1. Most Kampot pepper farmers have owned and worked the land for generations and were only just returning to their lands after decades removed due to a bloody regime and civil war.
2. Many of the local lands were getting bought up by foreign-owned large plantations.
3. Due to a lack of volume nor knowledge of the foreign market, most of the small and mid-size farmers had no power in the selling process and were forced to sell to local markets at a much reduced price.
4. These prices were below the normal standard of living.

The formation of EU Land

He and Klara were soon joined by Luká? Hejtmánek and Lenka Trchalíková and they established EU Land - a Cambodian based company which is a member of the KPPA (Kampot Pepper Promotions Association) which has done on to become of the largest processors of Kampot pepper in the world

Learn more about our team here.

Enter .pepper..field

Following the creation of EU Land, the team headed to the Czech Republic where they set to work on building a brand that consumers could get behind:

• sustainable
• ethically motivated
• offering innovative products
• providing the opportunity to affect others across the world

And so a love brand was born: .pepper..field !

EU Land started importing this “black gold” of Kampot from Cambodia to the Czech Republic, with initially only 250 kilograms.?

After slightly more than 4 years on the market, the company already has a large team working on a project that supports traditional family farmers of Kampot pepper by purchasing from them directly, and always at fair trade prices.?

This was a conscious and deliberate decision from the start. EU Land the first and only company to take it upon itself to work in a fair, transparent, and sustainable way. This commitment to the farmers has had rippling effects, encouraging other Kampot pepper producers to do the same.?

It started with just a handful of farmers the first year and now in 2022 EU Land works directly with over 200 small, independent farmers who work to support themselves and their large, extended families.?

Photo from the 2022 EU Land meeting with all 200+ farmers who produce the finest Kampot pepper!

Since 2018 we have significantly increased the amount of pepper that we buy from our farmers, from the initial 250 kgs to 5 tons to 10 tons to 20 tons in 2021. This final number accounts for about 50% of the production of all of our farmers in Kampot, Cambodia.?

In 2022 we have pledged to buy 100% of the production of our farmers, which gives them greater financial security throughout the year.?

Not only have we increased the amount of pepper that we are buying but we’ve had a few rather large successes along the way.?

SDG’s Awards

We won 2nd place in the Business category in the SDG's Awards for fulfilling the UN's sustainable development goals. Now the brand has presented its next milestone and is expanding its pepper into the European market.?

Learn more about it here.

Great Taste Awards

What are the Great Taste Awards?

Great Taste is the world’s largest and most trusted food and drink accreditation organization.?

Recognised as a reliable stamp of excellence among consumers, retailers and major food buyers alike, Great Taste success can be the gateway to exciting opportunities for food and drink producers.

The judges focus on superbly great taste, disregarding branding or packaging. Some factors they take into account include: texture, appearance and of course the quality of the ingredients.?

They also note the aroma, texture (smooth or crunchy), and how the experience of eating that particular food is. But above all else the question remains – does the product taste truly great?

2021 Great Taste Results

In 2021, 14,113 different products from 108 countries were entered into the "Culinary Oscars”. Then 355 judges including former MasterChef champion Kenny Tutt and buyers from Selfridges, Fortnum & Mason, and Partridges, blind tasted all of the products across 86 days at four London venues.?

In 2021 we only entered 2 products, and we won!

The Dark Red Kampot Pepper won 2 stars and the Freeze-dried Green Kampot Pepper won 3 stars!

Golden Fork “the crème de la crème in the food and drink industry”

The Golden Fork is considered by those in the food and gastronomy industries to be the pinnacle of success and quality and therefore deserves its own explanation.?

The 218 Great Taste 3-star award-winning products were rejudged, and only 14 received a Great Taste Golden Fork Trophy.?

And in 2021 our team brought home a Golden Fork for our truly innovative Freeze-Dried Green Kampot Pepper!!!!

2022 Great Taste Results

In 2022, we decided to test our innovation and entered 12 products. All 10 of our pepper products and one salt product WON!

To check out these and all of our products, you can visit our .pepper..field e-shop here.

Why it’s working

We are helping the poorest farmers in Cambodia, improving their pay conditions and motivating others to change.

Klára Dohnalová??

Since the original idea for EU Land and .pepper..field occurred to the initial founders the entire team has been dedicated to their work?

The goal of EU Land is to ensure the long term and sustainable development of these farmers as we will continually buy 100% of their produce under fair trade conditions so that their children can carry on the family legacy.

Above - a visit to the Kampot pepper plantations in Kampot, Cambodia where we work with 200+ small, independent farming families.

With the supply side taken care of, the .pepper..field brand grants us the opportunity to build a direct relationship with the consumers, thereby offering them the chance to participate in conscious consumerism.?

To learn more about how we build value for the whole supply chain starting with our farmers, including ourselves and finishing with the end customers, check out this article here.