Weather conditions have helped to launch an earlier start to “miniature” (dwarf mango) from Colombia’s Caribbean Coast.  Production season is typically from early March until June, with exports beginning after the second week’s harvest.

Goldenberry Farms has branded its Sugar Mango brand of miniature mangoes since 2021. The brand has grown in popularity with more than 20 large retailers in the US, Canada, and Europe. This year, the brand's focus is traceability and improved product differentiation.

Miniature mangos are sourced from small family mango farms on the Caribbean Coast. In 2024, Goldenberry began a pilot of digital tools for small farmers in the region to help improve traceability, harvest output, and food safety. The tools used a Whatsapp chat combined with AI and modeling to help accurately track and predict yields and fruit quality. 

The easy-to-implement tools can transform a farm's performance, helping digitize manual records and help growers easily understand and improve their key metrics. Features such as dashboards, easily tracked on cellphones, are being developed under the project name “Digital Toolkit for Farmers.”

Opportunities are understood and identified by analyzing variables such as yield per tree and the fertilization-to-production ratio. If a specific technique increases volume or improves the quality of one field, the data is mapped and considered for a more global application in the other fields.

“A simple interface such as Whatsapp, combined with AI and blockchain, can help growers tremendously enhance their field production. By analyzing production per field or section and the field conditions, areas for improvement are detected. Adjusting the dosage or changing cultivation techniques can increase yields and profits, all tracked graphically,” comments Michelle Anders, communications director for Goldenberry Farms.

“Small producers are responsible for 40% of the agricultural yield in counties such as Ecuador and Colombia; however, they generally do not have access to export markets. Technology such as AI and blockchain can be an ally to understanding, improving, and ensuring prosperous harvests, food safety, and a more sustainable future. Still, it takes investment, leadership, and training. Programs like this are a win for everyone – the farmers, grocers, exporters, and consumers.”

Goldenberry Farms SA exports “Sugar Mango” branded mini mangoes to the United States, Canada, Europe, the Caribbean, and Hong Kong. The brand includes unique presentations, and only first-quality fruit can be included in the branded export programs.

The miniature mangos are offered commercially in 2 kilos (4.45 pound) cases, which hold between 17 and 22 mangos and are also available in consumer retail packs, allowing grocers the merchandising option. Specially branded retail kits, POS signage, digital tools, and a social media campaign are all available to help merchandise and sell Sugar Mango-branded miniature mangos in-store.

In 2024, Goldenberry Farms expanded the Sugar Mango IP & brand to include powdered and pulp “sweet sugar mango” as a food ingredient and even a branded scent, allowing the company to use nearly the entirety of a farm’s harvest.