Now, award-winning fair trade dried fruit company Tropical Wholefoods is introducing the first apricot kernels to the UK market in three flavours: natural, chilli roast and tamari soya roast. (Tamari is a wheat free, traditionally brewed soy sauce).

The kernels are small, almond-shaped and taste like almonds with hints of amaretti. They are rich in mono and polyunsaturated fats and fibre and are widely eaten by the
famously long-lived mountain people of northern Pakistan.

Tropical Wholefoods Marketing Director Kate Sebag says: “Apricot kernels are great as  a snack or scattered on salads. They are also lovely to cook with. Ground up they make wonderful ingredients for cakes and biscuits, and are traditionally used in the Italian amaretti biscuits.

The kernels come in 50g packs and sell for a suggested retail price of 99p. They are available from health food stores nationwide and from Tropical Wholefoods and other online stockists. The products are savoury and so mark a change in direction from the fruit snacks and cereal bars for which Tropical Wholefoods is already well known.

The kernels carry the FAIRTRADE Mark. This means farmers receive extra income from their fruit and can invest more in their villages, schools and land.

In an added twist, Tropical Wholefoods is also exploring using the apricot stone itself for use in cosmetics as an exfolliant, so every single part of the fruit will be consumed or used in a useful way.

Kate adds: “We’re always looking for ways of increasing dividends to our farmer partners, and we are all aware now that the world has limited resources, so how wonderful it will be to find three ways of generating income - from a single fruit - the apricot.”
 
 The apricot kernels will be sold in the company’s striking new packaging. The new look, which will also be used for its dried fruit and dried mushroom ranges, involves bold, black and white imagery with an African and Asian feel and incorporating strong splashes of colour.
 
The company’s new logo is a lino-cut type impression of the sun. Using this logo, Tropical Wholefoods aims to reinforce the positive environmental impact of its products which are dried in the villages where they are picked using solar energy. They are also economical on food miles as they are transported by sea in non chilled container ships.
 
Kate Sebag adds: “We felt it was time for a new look. We wanted our packaging to show the spirit of the communities we are working with in Africa and Pakistan.
 
“The packaging now shows African and Pakistani village life,” adds Kate. “We see gardens being tended, fresh fruit sliced, children learning their lessons and playing sports - games of football for Africa and cricket for Pakistan . We didn't want to idealise rural life but we did want to convey the beauty and positive spirit of the communities we work with.

“The sporting images are intended to suggest the energy that eating dried fruits gives you - as well as the health of the communities which Tropical Wholefoods trades with. These are products which really do ‘keep you going’.  We also see images of people enjoying fruity refreshments which we hope will give people a taste for snacking on the products and also cooking with them.”
 
Tropical Wholefoods new neater packs also use less film than before and take up less shelf and storage space in shops and warehouses so reducing transport costs.