Liberation Foods moves into ethical nut niche

The snack market is moving towards healthy and ethical alternatives to the traditional favourites, as consumers become more aware of the importance of diet in relation to their health, as well as the impact of their food choices on other people and the planet. Targeting the shifting market is investor and philanthropist Sir Tom Hunter who has invested in Liberation Foods, which launches its own-label peanuts, cashews and brazil nuts onto the snack market this week, the FT said. Hunter, like many other wealthy investors, is waking up to the financial potential of investing in food seen as ethically produced by consumers. The range of nuts will be sold under fair trade principles. According to the Financial Times, Liberation Foods is seeking to redress the balance of power, which in the food production line tips away from the farmers of the less developed world. The farmers in Africa and Asia who harvest the nuts have been given a seat on the board and a 42 percent share in the business, the financial magazine said. According to figures released earlier this year by the Fairtrade Foundation, Sales of certified Fairtrade​ products rose 46 per cent in the UK in 2006 to £290m. Most striking, the Foundation said, was the broadening of Fairtrade's appeal across different sectors. Coffee, tea and bananas still provided the backbone, but other products such as Fairtrade yoghurt and vanilla have helped to expand the movement's reach.