Dutch cocoa pulp soft drink brand Kumasi helps Ghanaian farmers earn more

Netherlands-based start-up company Kumasi Drinks now lets Ghanaian farmers earn a bit extra by squeezing sap from fruit flesh of the previously discarded cacao fruit and turning it into soft drinks.

Kumasi Drinks co-founder Rogiér Power noted that the cocoa fruit, which is the size of a rugby ball, is a waste product.

But the cacao fruit juice is full of flavor and is similar to a mix of pear, peach, and lychee,

Power emphasized that by getting more out of the cacao fruit than just the beans, they are not only reducing food waste but also letting farmers earn 30 percent extra income per kilogram of cocoa.

Kumasi Drinks have already processed over one million cocoa pods in its soft drinks.

In Ghana, about six hundred million liters of cocoa juice flows into the soil or evaporates during the fermentation process, which could make more than ten billion bottles of Kumasi.

Kumasi Drinks started with 20 farmers who supplied us with juice when they entered the market two years ago. The number has since grown to 250.

According to Power, they hope that we will soon be able to help 3000 farmers.