Why did you establish the Jacky F. brand?
“Between 2013 and 2016 I worked as a sustainable strategies consultant in Sri Lanka. Sustainability, food, and farming belong to my passions,” says Julia. “In combination with a bit of luck to be at the right place in the right moment, the idea of founding a company occurred to me. I sat in a small roadside restaurant and ordered a vegetarian curry meal. The food on my plate resembled chicken. I couldn’t help it and headed to the kitchen to complain. The cook looked at me in slight disbelief and told me that it was jackfruit. And that was when I started to think about offering this juicy fruit to the European market.”
When did you actually start your business?
“In February 2016, I established Api Jamu GmbH in northern Germany. The name was inspired by “yammu”, the Sinhalese (official language in Sri Lanka) word for “let’s go”.
What’s the fundamental vision of the Jacky F. brand?
“The aim is to emphasize sustainable management of our supply chain by doing business directly with the farmers, vertical integration, and environmental as well as social standards. That’s why ecological farming is the main requirement of Jacky F. Thanks to the ever-growing demand for healthy foods from ecological farming; the prices have been dropping for consumers while the number of opportunities for certified growers and producers has been rising. I’d like to show that a sustainable solution can actually work in real life. My business partners and I believe that we can jointly achieve a sustainable business model in international trade and fight food waste at the same time.”