Q’omer: a Valencian, Peruvian Project
Juan David Escobar and Alicia Carpio are two Valencians who worked in Peru for two years, where they had many contacts with the indigenous populations both in the Amazon and in the Andes.
Their stay would later give rise to the creation of Q’omer B.I, a Social & Technological Based Company committed to Responsible Sourcing for BioActives, focused on the locating and bringing to Europe products in the fields of food, beverages, dietary supplements, animal nutrition and personal care.
Their products derive from various types of ingredients such as prebiotics, peptides and proteins, omega 3, phytochemicals and plant extracts, minerals, vitamins, fibres, carotenoids and antioxidants, and others whose origin is both native to Peru and biodiverse.
They specialise in BioActive Ingredients, health products and food supplements, food Ingredients, fruits and vegetables, organic products and natural cosmetics
From their base in the Parc Científic de la Universitat de València in Paterna, since 2013 they have been importing and commercialising these products and their raw materials, in line with the philosophy revealed in the name of their company, which means ‘Green’ in the Quechua language of South America, and adhering to the principals of Fair Trade.
After seeing the unfair working conditions of the native peoples, they decided to find a way to allow local people to work in decent conditions independently, while offering their European customers products that would be beneficial to their health and welfare, through the identification of bioactive ingredients in indigenous raw materials such as antioxidants.
Their products are mainly aimed at companies that produce products or retail consumption, such as pharmaceutical, agricultural, food, beverage and cosmetic companies.
One clear example of their originality and usefulness is the location of important non-animal sources of Omega 3, which would normally be obtained from meat and fish, which would make it unacceptable to vegetarians.
They are introducing all kinds of products to Europe with tantalizingly fascinating names such as ‘jojoba’, which I’m told can be translated as ‘goat nut, deer nut, pignut, wild hazel, quinine nut, coffeeberry or gray box bush’; none of which clarifies what it is for me, although my research has led me to understand that it has great potential, being odourless and working both as an engine oil or biodiesel fuel and cooking oil.
Jojoba wax can be used for pharmaceutical compounds and skin products. You can even make rubber with it; and if nothing else tempts you, it is also a pretty good laxative; apparently.
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