Mashamba's committement to make produces arrive in 36 h. maximum.
Mashamba’s continuous refrigeration system, in place during the entire distribution process, guarantees that its fruits and vegetables conserve their freshness, flavor, and high quality until they reach their final destinations and consumers.
Once the fruits and vegetables are purchased from affiliated local farmers at Mashamba’s central offices, a refrigeration chain begins and does not end until the produce reaches the final consumers. From Mashamba’s central offices, the fruits and vegetables are transported in refrigerated compartments to the Kampala airport, where they remain refrigerated in special facilities, until they can be loaded into refrigerated cargo planes for transport to Europe.
The air transport of Mashamba’s products is done via refrigerated compartments aboard Boeing 747 airplanes, operated by the MK Company, a world leader in the transport of commodities. During each trip, of which there are three per week, the airplanes carry some 60 tons of fruits and vegetables from Uganda to Ostend, Belgium. From there, they are distributed to the main centers of Europe, mainly to the United Kingdom, France, Switzerland and the Netherlands.
All the fruits and vegetables that Mashamba offers have been classified according to their potential freshness and flavor even before they are planted. Mashamba acquires only the best seeds in Kenya and India and guarantees their high quality.
Quality controls during the cultivation process are vital for obtaining a product of excellent freshness and flavor. The harvesters at Mashamba’s fields apply rigorous selection criteria when picking the fruits and culling the vegetables. Selection is based on the texture, color, and appearance of each individual fruit and vegetable. The small, independent farmers who cultivate produce in their own fields are also trained and adhered to Mashamba’s high cultivation standards.
The rapid transportation and distribution of the products to international markets allows Mashamba’s produce to be fully cultivated in the fields where they are grown. This is in sharp contrast to other companies that transport fruits and vegetables; many of these harvest their produce early and treat them with chemicals so that they ripen during transportation and distribution. Mashamba believes it should only sell the highest quality products: fruits and vegetables that mature naturally in the fields and are transported quickly to consumers to assure freshness, flavor, and quality.
Mashamba’s fruits and vegetables are selected and classified according to their size, texture, and type of produce. This classification process is done by hand, guaranteeing greater reliability and quality in selection. Depending on their characteristics, the fruits and vegetables are packaged in boxes of 2 to 20 kilograms.
Since mid-2007, Mashamba has full control of the distribution of its products, with the creation of the company Mashamba Foods in Europe, dedicated to monitoring and controlling the quality of the products that arrive by airplane from Uganda. Mashamba Foods is responsible for the distribution of Mashamba fruits and vegetables throughout all of Europe and for managing the relationship with European clients.