The rural regions of northeast Brazil are some of the poorest in the country, with many municipalities experiencing poverty rates higher than 60%. About two-thirds of the region’s residents rely on agriculture to make money, but one of the biggest crops is cassava, a nutty, yam-like root vegetable, which is eaten widely as a staple across Brazil. Because it’s so abundant, and cheap, profit margins aren’t high. It’s hard to make a stable living cultivating cassava.
A social-impact experiment sought to see if that raw ingredient “could be leveraged in an entirely different way,” says Hannah June Lueptow, head of research, design and strategy at Questtonó—and, as a result, help alleviate poverty in the community. The global brand consultancy firm, based in São Paulo, collaborated with AmBev, the Brazilian subsidiary of beer giant Anheuser-Busch InBev, to design a new business model whereby cassava farmers would be paid to cultivate their crop to make a local beer for their region. Questtonó led the exploration of how to build a sustainable model, as well as brands that would culturally fit specific regions. “How could we translate these ingredients, and all these families that are part of this value chain, to create a cultural symbol that all people could be proud of?” asks Leo Massarelli, Questtonó’s founder and CCO...[more]
These beers made from local ingredients are helping reduce poverty in Brazil – @FastCompany
From Fast Company