Written on
February 27th, 2012
By: Maria Teresa Morazán 
(Version en español abajo)
Even if there is a proved supply and demand for a product, it might not be easy to find the point of equilibrium. Working on the business plan to create a commercial arm that allows ANPE’s farmers to sell their products to the urban market, we learned that first and foremost more than a brand they need to focus on building their supply chain making it strong enough to support a brand like the one we all envision. Chefs don’t really care much about the brand, they care about the quality of the product and consistency of the supply.
The first step in the operations part of our business plan and key to the success of this potential social business is to “organize the supply”. ANPE has the unique strength of associating thousands of organic farmers around Peru but when we ask for more information regarding quantity of product available per region or a list of products with their harvest seasons we never received any data regarding the rich supply of products they have. Some of the farmers are so small that so far they have only been able to sell small amounts in the regional ecoferias, not sharing those numbers with the central office of Lima.
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Written on
February 24th, 2012
By: Marcela Cubas
(Version en español abajo)
Being a consultant can be both extremely rewarding and challenging. Rewarding because you get involved in very interesting and diverse topics that you aim to solve; and challenging, because you work with the purpose of getting your ideas implemented by the client and finding sustainability in what you created with so much effort.
Both, solving a problem and finding sustainability are the two things that we, TEM LAB Peru, are trying to build now: A solid and sustainable solution.
As you have been reading in our previous blogs (right?☺), after 3 weeks ofinterviewing people, brainstorming ideas, researching, and thinking about the best way to approach our current project, we are now in the phase of finalizing the business plan for a new company that will serve as the commercial arm for ANPE.
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Written on
February 18th, 2012
By: Jacquelyn Hunter
(Version en español abajo)
This TEM lab was designed to create a direct supply chain between two very different groups: high-end restaurants in the gastronomy capital of South America and the farmers that supply those restaurants. As the team tasked with bridging this gap, we have had the luxury of interviewing chefs while dining in some of the best restaurants in Lima and the adventure of trekking high up in the Andes Mountains to share a meal with the farmers that provide the ingredients.
Although enjoying the fruits of the farmers’ labor in internationally renowned restaurants has been a culinary journey in delicious flavors and indulgence, the team’s trip to Pampacorral to visit with native potato farmers was an experience that will forever change the way we look at the produce in supermarkets or even the French fries that accompany a dish of Salchipapas.
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Written on
February 18th, 2012
By: Maria Teresa Morazan
(Version en español abajo)
Since the beginning of this journey we have known our destination: Help ANPE farmers commercialize their organic products with restaurants. As simple as having the exact address of the place where you need to go written on a paper. But to get there (specially in an new place) you might need to ask for directions from the locals, from the people who know the place better than you do. Personally, I love to drive or walk in new places but my sense of direction is not the best and I usually get lost at some point having to ask for directions. Depending on where you were raised, everyone has a preferred way of giving driving directions and receiving directions as well.
For example, Americans prefer the use of lines such as “continue 2 miles and turn Northeast side of X Ave.” My first question is “Where is North?” This style somehow seems too complex for my brain that prefers the use of references. Even the most “imperfect” reference can guide me perfectly. Like the one we got when we wanted to reach someone in the Universidad Agraria: “continue until the green bus with a missing wheel”. That funny and akward way of guiding us really helped us find our contact!
We have spent the last weeks “asking for directions” from the locals, interviewing more stakeholders than I imagined:
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Written on
February 14th, 2012
By: Kush Brahmavar
(Version en español abajo)
Being born and raised in India, and having spent most of my higher educational and professional life in the United States, I believe I have developed what one might call “Jekyll and Hyde” modes of operation. By that I mean, while visiting India, my sense of urgency, personal space, uncertainties, flexibility, attitude towards people, traffic, pollution, society, drinking water (and the list can go on) is starkly different from how I function in the US. Being in Peru now, reminds me a lot of home, and I often tell people “I’m in India mode.”
As I take a walk through the local market, I find fruits and vegetables that I recognize and smells that bring back memories of childhood. Besides the common tropical fruits such as mangoes and oranges, Peru has varieties of fruits very similar to what India has to offer. For example, Chirimoya and Lucuma are the Peruvian cousins of the Sitafal and the Chikoo! Sometimes even the names are the same: Carambola in Peru is Carambola in India. Potatoes are called papas or patatas, and in my native tongue Konkani, batatas are potatoes as well!
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Written on
February 3rd, 2012
By: Maria Teresa Morazan
(Version en español abajo)
Any T-bird who has taken Consulting Tools with Prof. Finney or anyone who has read the book FlawlessConsulting by Peter Block, may remember that one of the first phases in a consulting project is called “Discovery”. There is no better word to describe what we’ve experienced these five days since we came to Lima, Peru. So far, we’ve already had eight meetings with different stakeholders starting with our client and connecting with other people who were more than willing to share some insights to help us understand what is hampering the opportunities of thousands of organic farmers from getting more benefits from a gastronomic industry that is moving more than 4 Billion USD annually.
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Written on
January 31st, 2012
By Marcela Cubas
(Version en español abajo)
As Thunderbirds, there is always adventure in our lives. The initiation of our current TEM Lab idea emerged from one of our adventurous and exciting T-bird experiences. Here is how all the adventure started:
Back in May 2011 a group of us came to Lima to execute the “Salta Project”, a mentoring program to empower Peruvian women with business skills. In the middle of one of our free weekends, we decided to visit “La Mar”, one of the most famous seafood restaurants in Lima. With our limited “student budget” we ordered just a few dishes, we got there around 1pm but ended up staying for long hours, having a great conversation and a full tasting of many delicious plates, deserts and drinks…
But… how all this happened?
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Ranked #1 in the World
While Acurio Restaurantes has been successful in implementing and promoting social enterprise practices in its own restaurants, there is still much more that needs to be done in order to support the growth of social enterprises in Peru. The Thunderbird team is asked to promote the development of the social enterprises in the food industry of Peru by working with both sides of the supply chain: farmers and restaurants.