GoodSam unveils latest impact report highlighting ethical snack ingredient sourcing

Ethically-founded GoodSAM Foods, which produces a broad range of sustainably sourced products including for confectionery and snacks, has released its latest impact report, highlighting key growth gains and extension of farming partnerships, writes Neill Barston.

The US-based company founded by CEO Heather K. Terry (pictured main image) has placed ensuring a fair price paid within its agricultural supply chains remains a founding principle of the business, and has led to its achieving coveted B Corp status recognising its environmental focus.

Its latest recently released report showcases its focus on regenerative agriculture that it aims to have a direct positive result on the environment and communities in which it operates around the world, through devising a business model that places equitable trading at its heart.

As the company noted, it has long  been dedicated to sustainability and adheres to the idea that food should be good for consumers, farmers, and the planet. It has also created a direct trade model that cuts out the middle man by paying regenerative agriculture-focused farmers directly, ensuring a fair price and allowing consumers more access to high-quality organic and regenerative products.

Some of its key sourcing gains include the use of organic pecans – through its venture with over 200 producers in Chihuahua, New Mexico, and Sonora, México, which will begin later this year.

Among its core achievements, its direct trade model has helped it achieve 156% growth in 2022, showcasing potential and commitment to transforming farmer lives globally. The snack business is also projecting +1215% growth in farmer partnerships by 2025.

Within cocoa and coffee, in 2023, GoodSAM’s partnerships with cocoa farmers grew from 68 to 166. This increase is mirrored in GoodSAM’s purchasing volumes, which saw a substantial rise from 154,323 lb to 330,693 lb for cocoa, and a remarkable increase from 20,000 lb to 60,000 lb for coffee. These farmers, integrating both cocoa and coffee crops within their regenerative farming systems, demonstrate the economic advantages of regenerative agriculture: enhanced economic stability and increased income opportunities.

Furthermore, its network of  368 macadamia farmers has strived to be innovative in diversifying by introducing mango cultivation, yielding an initial volume of 35,000 lb. This strategic move enhances sustainability and ensures stable, diversified income streams for farmers.

As the business explained, it has also evolved its key operating SOMOS Principal, with SOMA meaning “we are” in Spanish and rooted deeply in the Ubuntu philosophy, an African concept that translates to “I am because we are ” has become the guiding principle behind GoodSAM in terms of driving mutually beneficial collaborations and value chains.

“At GoodSAM, our bottom-up approach to sustainability has continued to create a positive impact for the farmers we work with and the communities in which we do business,” says GoodSAM Founder & CEO, Heather K. Terry.

“As the food industry as a whole continues to navigate through inflations and other challenges, our team is consistently building relationships with our farmers, providing vital resources to those farmer communities, and creating delicious snacks that make a sustainable food system more accessible to the average consumer worldwide.”