El origen means the origin and ours is in Latin America. We work closely with local farmers to produce tasty organic snacks, which we offer in Europe.
Latin America is rich in history, culture and tradition. Some of it has already reached us over here but there is still a lot to discover. And here we are to help you out with exactly this! We offer great snacks that have been popular in Latin America for years and these do not only taste good, they can do a lot of good things too. With our local production we support organic agriculture and help to improve the living standard of local farmers in the region.
We are a small start-up from Hamburg, work closely with our producer in Ecuador and distribute our organic chips in Europe. Because of our global approach, we pronounce our company name like the English word origin [ˈɔ:rədʒən].
We are a young, highly motivated, small team with many ideas and ambitions to make the world a better place, especially in Latin America.
Our founders are Gordon and Mathyas, who have known each other for many years and have already implemented various projects in the areas of sustainability, social commitment and vegan nutrition.
You probably know Gordon from his Youtube or Instagram channel vegan ist ungesund, with which he has already done a lot of educational work on animal welfare and vegan nutrition.
Just like Gordon, our complete team is convinced that every individual can make a difference with his or her actions and consumption. And that’s exactly what we would like to do with el origen. Improve the world with tasty organic chips. Sounds simple? It is.
We can achieve a lot there with our (still) small product range. With our organic cultivation of manioc and plantains in Ecuador we can expand the organic agriculture locally, help the local farmers to a higher income and help to protect the Amazon region - the lungs of our world. Latin America is also deep in our hearts: we have our roots there, we have lived there for a long time or fell in love with this region in other ways.
We have a lot of great ideas and are highly motivated to add more delicious products to our product range. But as a small team we first have to bundle our capacities and concentrate on our plantain and manioc chips in the first step. If you have any suggestions as to what we should include in our product range, please feel free to send us an e-mail to hi@elorigenfood.com.
Our products only have 3 ingredients: Organic plantains or organic manioc roots, organic sunflower oil and spices. The chips are vegan and gluten-free. You can find more information about the ingredients and nutritional values on the product pages or on the back of the packaging. If you have any questions, feel free to email us or contact us.
Currently, our packaging is made of plastic, because we have not yet found a sustainable alternative that works. The challenge is to make sure that air does not leave the bag or comes in. Since our chips are made with oil, it makes the situation even more complex. We are already in talks with packaging manufacturers and are looking for alternatives. This topic is at the top of our sustainability agenda. If you have any ideas, please email us at hi@elorigenfood.com.
We buy our products from direct trade in Latin America, for which we cooperate directly with a local producer who employs small cooperatives of farmers. In Latin America there are unfortunately still fewer jobs for women in comparison to Europe, therefore women often live in dependence of their husbands as a result. The cooperatives are a great way to help create secure jobs for them.
Through direct trade, we also create long-term partnerships and the local small farmers can earn a higher wage and achieve a higher living standard.
All ingredients from our chips are from organic agriculture. We would like to increase the share of organic agriculture in Latin America and help to protect the Amazonas region.
Auch in unserem Büroalltag tun wir alles, was möglich ist. Wir drucken so gut wie nichts aus und versuchen generell so wenig Büromaterial wie möglich zu benutzen. Wir ernähren uns alle vegan und laufen mittags immer mit unseren Brotdosen los, wenn wir uns Essen holen. Wenn ihr mittags in der Schanze (in Hamburg) unterwegs seid, könnt ihr uns also gut erkennen.
Here in Europe, manioc roots are still relatively unknown, although they are among the most important food plants in the world. Manioc is starchy and contains some vitamins like iron and potassium. It is widely used in South America and can also be found in India, Asia, Africa and the Caribbean. It is also known as yuca and can be prepared like a potato: cooked, baked, deep-fried or fried, and it tastes good to (almost) everyone. Dried & ground, manioc flour is a gluten-free alternative to wheat flour.
Manioc is a very climate-resistant plant and very undemanding to grow. Therefore, it copes with long dry periods.
Manioc naturally tastes best from el origen - processed into delicious chips
Plantains are the big cousins of our well-known bananas. They are not yet very widespread in Europe. In many Latin American and South African countries they are among the staple foods.
No wonder: They are rich in carbohydrates, fibre, potassium and magnesium and at the same time low in sugar, fat and sodium. You can recognize ripe plantains by their almost complete black skin. They can be cooked or sliced, deep-fried or fried.
Of course, they taste best processed into the delicious chips from el origen
