The launch of this product took place at the second Banana Congress organized by Asbama and will be available in Colombia and international markets, opening new culinary options.
As part of a transformation initiative and with the goal of making use of bananas that cannot be exported, Banasan, one of the leading international banana marketers in Colombia, officially launched Banavital, the country’s first certified banana flour.
“What we do is take that fruit that is not exported and transform it into a higher value-added product, which is flour, used as an ingredient in the food industry,” commented Luis Alfonso Rocha Gutiérrez, head of the Banaplus plant, where the flour production process takes place.
Rocha highlighted that the plant, located on the Troncal del Caribe, Ciénaga Road, in the Santa Marta Industrial Logistics Park (Plis), currently has a processing capacity of 4 tons of flour per week in an 8-hour shift, giving them the ability to export two 20-foot containers per month.
Additionally, regarding the production process, he commented that about 8 kilos of bananas are required to obtain 1 kilogram of flour. “When we talk about 20 tons of flour, we’re talking about 160 tons of bananas. That is, one container of flour represents 8 containers of fresh bananas.”
Banavital was introduced at Asbama’s Banana Congress
During the second Banana Congress organized by Asbama, where this banana flour was launched, Redagrícola spoke with Rocha, who mentioned that they chose this event to project Banavital in the national market and mentioned that exports are already underway to Europe and the U.S.
“Our Fasa, BPM, and Kosher certifications allow us to reach these markets as they guarantee food safety and quality, backed by an online production process that ensures freshness and consistency in each batch,” he said, adding that this flour, being gluten-free, is widely used to replace wheat flour.
A distinctive feature of Banavital banana flour is that it retains all the nutritional properties of green bananas, such as being gluten-free and having a high resistant starch content, making it a superfood and positioning it as an ideal option for health-conscious consumers and athletes seeking effective energy recovery.
“Banana flour has existed for many years, with grandmothers preparing it in an artisanal way. What Banasan did within its innovation strategy was to take that non-exportable banana and industrialize the artisanal process. Thanks to this, today we have a certified plant that allows us to offer a high-quality product with broad export projections.”
It is worth noting that, leveraging the high nutritional value of the product, Banasan plans to support vulnerable communities through supply agreements and programs aimed at combating malnutrition.
