Mashamba was born from the merger of two companies: Farm Fresh Products Ltd, dedicated to cultivation, and Icemark Africa, dedicated to produce distribution to European markets.
Mashamba, the leading brand of fruits and vegetables of Uganda, was born from the merger of two companies: Farm Fresh Products Ltd, dedicated to cultivation, and Icemark Africa, dedicated to produce distribution to European markets.
Icemark Africa was founded in Uganda with Icelandic investment in October 2000 by European fresh fish importers to provide logistic operations from Uganda to the European markets. In a management takeover in late 2004, the company become a general cargo forwarder, and as a consequence of their experience in the fresh and frozen food markets, as well as their strong roots and knowledge of African business, Icemark Africa has become the leading air cargo company in Uganda with currently 50% of the market share for perishable cargo like fresh fruits and vegetables, flowers, and fish, with scheduled air cargo operations between South Africa, Uganda, and Europe.
Since its foundation, Icemark Africa has been trading in fresh fruits and vegetables, mainly through small indigenous growers around Kampala, but during the last few years the company has been developing two commercial farms of its own. To expand and improve its supply network, Icemark Africa championed the creation of Farm Fresh Produces, a company dedicated to creating and maintaining relationships with small, local farmers in Uganda who provide fresh fruits and vegetables. Farm Fresh Produces, managed by local Ugandans, currently has two commercial farms of its own, with plans for expansion into a third. A large share of its produce is also purchased directly from local farmers.
Presently, Mashamba is concentrating on expanding its exports to Europe and as such, is investing in increasing the production of fruits and vegetables form its Ugandan farms and local suppliers.