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Sambazon wins Secretary of State’s 2006 Corporate Excellence award

FoodProcessing.com
11/07/2006

Sambazon, a leading supplier of the Amazon superfood Açaí berry, has been named a winner in the small-medium business category for the Secretary of State’s 2006 Award for Corporate Excellence (ACE). The 2006 ACE Winners were announced by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on November 6 at an awards ceremony at the State Department in Washington, D.C. U.S. companies were chosen from 55 nominations submitted by American Ambassadors around the world. The other two A.C.E. winners named were General Motors for their work in Columbia and Goldman Sachs for their work in Chile.

“Sambazon is an outstanding example of the positive impact that a small company can make to the economy, the environment and the society of its host country,” said Condoleezza Rice, U.S. Secretary of State at the 2006 A.C.E. Ceremony. “Sambazon was selected for efforts to promote sustainable development in the Brazilian Rainforest, while improving the conditions of indigenous people through creative marketing of the açaí fruit.”

With the opening of the world’s largest proprietary acai manufacturing facility in the Amazon last month, Sambazon is now a vertically integrated supplier and marketer of Açaí products, controlling every step of the manufacturing process to ensure sustainable and organic origin of the fruit as well as the quality, nutrition and taste. The efforts have created sustainable employment for thousands of small family farmers and help protect biodiversity of the Amazon Rainforest by making the forest more valuable standing than being cut down.

“We are deeply honored to win this very meaningful award. The definition of success in business has evolved. The future is based on the principles of a triple bottom line which promotes social, environmental and economic success. More directly, triple bottom line businesses promote economic efficiency, ecological conservation, and social equality,” said Ryan Black, Founder/CEO, Sambazon. “The mission of a social entrepreneur is to use business to create positive social change. We are proud to represent sustainable agriculture and socially responsible business in this forum.”