Brief History
Ecoco began in 2009, it was the idea of one of the current partners, Leonidas Arellano. Leonidas earned a degree in Industrial Engineering from University of Costa Rica and shortly after graduating he went to live on the beach to start a tourism business. However, after trying to keep it going for a few years it didn't work out. Leonidas returned to San Jose and seeing the need to create a project that would give him passion, economic support and professional satisfaction, he decided to start producing coconut oil. It came up as a vision after seeing how many coconuts were thrown on the beach that were not used.
With the help of a former partner and his brother, they began to collect coconuts on a beach in the Central Pacific to bring them to San José and thus begin to extract the oil on a very small scale. They devised how to make the first machines and were loaned a small room in San Pedro de Montes de Oca (east of San José) to begin production. At the same time, Leonidas began to take courses in organic farming at the INA school (National Institute of Learning) in Cartago.
At that time in Costa Rica many people still thought that coconut oil was bad, because of the bad reputation that had been made in the 80's, mainly due to the soybean oil producers in the United States. In 2010 the Feria Verde de Aranjuez (one of the first organic farmers markets in Costa Rica) starts and they are part of it since its opening. This helped them to make their product known and to inform people about its multiple health benefits.
Before they started producing the oil raw, in Costa Rica coconut oil was mainly obtained in the traditional way by cooking, which is how the typical yellow oil is extracted. This type is still found in Limón (a Caribbean province to the east). With time the company grew, so they moved the production to Playa Bandera in the area of Parrita (Central Pacific) where they met many families of coconut collectors, who would eventually become part of the company. Later their product line was expanded taking full advantage of the coconut by-products, which allowed the company to increase profits. They also opened an office in Barrio Escalante in San José that operates as a warehouse and customer service center. They then created a parallel company called Helados del Cocal with 2 additional partners, which produces vegan ice cream and coconut milk yogurt.
Our Vision
To be the leading company in the processing of the best natural coconut-based products in the market at a national level and with projection at an international level, while making the most of resources in an environmentally sustainable manner and helping the communities involved in the process.
Mission Statement
We are a Costa Rican company and we produce high-quality natural products derived from coconut which are beneficial to health, because we are always thinking about the well-being of our clients. Our manufacturing processes are innovative and sustainable with the environment. In addition, we support the local economies of coastal areas of our country, and we always seek the personal development of our collaborators and suppliers, while providing excellent service to our customers.
Values
The values defined for ECOCO S.A. and under which our daily work is governed are the following:
Loyalty: We understand it as a feeling of respect and mutual loyalty between our company and our "stakeholders" (third parties involved in the process), including customers, suppliers, collaborators, distributors and the community, among others).
Responsibility: We understand it as the fulfillment of obligations, or the care when making decisions or performing actions. We believe that people are capable of committing themselves and acting correctly and we promote that fact.
Development and Innovation: We believe that the acquisition of new knowledge and the use of existing knowledge and techniques, whether scientific, technological, business or otherwise, are necessary for creating new processes and products or improving existing ones.
Customer service: Our customers are our reward. Hence, we try to offer them high quality healthy products accompanied by the service they deserve, while meeting their needs in a timely manner and providing them with information necessary for the proper use of our products.
Sustainability: We believe in economic, social and environmental balance, so all our manufacturing processes are carried out with love and thinking of a fair and equitable balance between these three pillars.
Teamwork: Our collaborators are part of the ECOCO family. We believe that joining forces generates synergies that allow the achievement of a common goal for the benefit of all.
Environmental Policy
We at ECOCO S.A. are committed to these principles of sustainable development: preservation and care of the environment, proper use of natural resources and pollution control.
In this Environmental Policy statement, we commit ourselves to:
- Use available resources and raw materials in an efficient way.
- Apply the principles of circular economy, by innovating products made from the waste generated in our manufacturing activities for a more efficient cycle.
- Comply with applicable environmental legislation in Costa Rica, as well as other laws and/or environmental requirements when relevant.
- Implement environmental impact management measures and ensure that they are always in place.
- Apply mitigation, prevention or reduction measures through environmental resource management programs or operational control.
- Keep a record of indicators that show our environmental performance.
- Always seek to improve our processes and use the best technology available to reduce our environmental impact.
- Promote communication, awareness and environmental training among all stakeholders related to ECOCO, including our employees, contractors, suppliers, customers and the community.
- Use packaging materials that have the lowest impact during their entire life cycle (recycled, recyclable or reusable)
- Promote respect, interest and awareness for the environment.
Solar Panels: With the implementation of 32 solar panels we achieved an energy saving of 43%, which means that we reduced our CO2 footprint by 1.51 tons.
Our Products
Cold-pressed Virgin Coconut Oil
It is produced by natural fermentation at room temperature. By means of this method, a crystalline oil of high nutritional value is obtained, which has a soft aroma and the highest concentration of antioxidants.
Coconut Milk
Our coconut milk is 100% pure and contains no preservatives or additives. It is pressed from high-quality wild coastal coconuts, is creamy and has a delicious taste, making it ideal for smoothies, Caribbean or Asian recipes, or as a substitute for cow's milk. Our coconut milk is lactose free and has no added sugar.
Coconut Vinegar
We make it from the coconut water remaining from the oil and milk extraction process. It is ideal for salads, pickles or as a food supplement. It is rich in minerals and amino acids.
Coconut Charcoal
We use the "coconut shell" or hard shell, to produce coconut charcoal briquettes. It is the ideal type of charcoal, because it burns slowly but at high temperature. Here, we managed to transform what was once discarded material into a high-quality sustainable product.
Find our Products
Points of Sale
Other Proyects
Due to an increase in the demand for our products and the demand for coconuts in general, we began to create a coconut palm nursery in order to increase production and supply seeds to people interested in planting, as well as to low-income coastal associations that wish to grow coconuts to sell in the future.
Hand in hand with this project, we will produce organic fertilizers from the waste resulting from our production for use in the nursery and planting.
We also plan to process the coconut fiber we obtain from harvests in the plantations to market it as another product.
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