Lacthosa (incorporated as Lácteos de Honduras S.A.) is a Honduran producer of food and beverage products, focusing on

dairy A dairy is a place where milk is stored and where butter, cheese, and other dairy products are made, or a place where those products are sold. It may be a room, a building, or a larger establishment. In the United States, the word may also des ...

and

fruit juice Juice is a drink made from the extraction or pressing of the natural liquid contained in fruit and vegetables. It can also refer to liquids that are flavored with concentrate or other biological food sources, such as meat or seafood, such ...

s. It leads the country in dairy production.

History

Lacthosa was established by Honduran entrepreneur

Schucry Kafie Schucry Kafie (born November 11, 1947; spelled Schucrie in some sources)Personal website of Schucry Kaf ...

in 1992. The company constructed a plant in

San Pedro Sula San Pedro Sula () is the capital of Cortés Department, Honduras. It is located in the northwest corner of the country in the Sula Valley, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) south of Puerto Cortés on the Caribbean Sea. With a population of 701, ...

, Honduras, in March 1992. In the mid-1990s, the company positioned its "Sula" brand for sales in

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

and

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

, and in September 2001, Lacthosa entered the U.S. market after receiving an export permit from the U.S.

Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respo ...

. A 1998 report from the Office of the First Lady of Honduras noted Lacthosa had donated thirty-thousand glasses worth of milk to Honduran schools that year to insure that students received adequate nutrition.Alimentación Escolar y las posibilidades de compra directa de la agricultura familiar
Estudio Nacional de Honduras (July 27, 1998), p. 54. In October 2014, Lacthosa began selling cream butter in the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

, and in January 2015, the company invested $15 million to expand juice production and enable the export of its products to a greater number of international markets. , the company has five processing plants in Honduras, producing 140 million liters of milk in 50 municipalities in 14 departments, constituting the largest milk-producing enterprise in the country. Lacthosa sells over 250 products, including a variety of milk, malt, cream, cheeses, fruit juices, nectars, ice cream, yogurt, and

purified water Purified water is water that has been mechanically filtered or processed to remove impurities and make it suitable for use. Distilled water was, formerly, the most common form of purified water, but, in recent years, water is more frequently pu ...

, distributed throughout

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

. Juice products include varieties of

orange juice Orange juice is a liquid extract of the orange (fruit), orange tree fruit, produced by squeezing or reaming oranges. It comes in several different varieties, including blood orange, navel oranges, valencia orange, clementine, and tangerine. As ...

, apple juice,

pineapple juice Pineapple juice is a juice made from pressing the natural liquid out from the pulp of the pineapple (a fruit from a tropical plant). Numerous pineapple varieties may be used to manufacture commercial pineapple juice, the most common of which ...

guava Guava ( ), also known as the 'guava-pear', is a common tropical fruit cultivated in many tropical and subtropical regions. The common guava '' Psidium guajava'' (lemon guava, apple guava) is a small tree in the myrtle family (Myrtaceae), nativ ...

tamarind Tamarind (''Tamarindus indica'') is a Legume, leguminous tree bearing edible fruit that is indigenous to tropical Africa and naturalized in Asia. The genus ''Tamarindus'' is monotypic taxon, monotypic, meaning that it contains only this spe ...

, and

peach The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and Agriculture, cultivated in China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and the glossy-skinned, non-fuzzy varieties called necta ...

pear Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in late summer into mid-autumn. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the Family (biology), family Rosaceae, bearing the Pome, po ...

, and apple nectars. The company has over 3,000 permanent employees, as well as 2,600 suppliers of fresh milk and 2,000 citrus farmers, generating 60,000 indirect farm and services jobs. In March 2017, Lacthosa was awarded the ''Orquídea Empresarial'' (Entrepreneurial Orchid Award) from the Honduran government for bringing Honduran products to international markets. Countries to which the company exports its products include

, the

, and the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

(primarily to

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

and

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

). Lacthosa markets products under several brands, including Sula, Delta, Ceteco, La Pradera, Gaymont's, Chilly Willy and Fristy. Exports, primarily under the "Sula" brand name, account for seventy percent of their export of dairy products and their derivatives from Honduras.

Brands

Sula

Sula, founded in

, in the

Sula Valley The Valley of Sula (also, Sula Valley) is the largest alluvial valley of Honduras. It is located in the northwest of the country, and within it lie several of Honduras's most important cities, such as San Pedro Sula, El Progreso, Choloma, Puer ...

of Honduras in 1960, as part of a

UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...

project, and acquired by Lacthosa in March 1992, is a subsidiary of Lacthosa which is the primary producer of

fruit juices Juice is a drink made from the extraction or pressing of the natural liquid contained in fruit and vegetables. It can also refer to liquids that are flavored with concentrate or other biological food sources, such as meat or seafood, such a ...

and nectars for Lacthosa, and the brand name under which these products are sold. The Sula brand has been described as "the flagship brand" of the company, and is the primary brand name under which exports to other countries in Central America, and to the United States, are sold. On October 19, 2016, Sula joined with other companies and organizations from various areas of Honduras in becoming incorporated with Marca País Honduras, which allows Sula to bear the stamp of the Honduras Brand as part of a national initiative to promote investment, exports, tourism, and national pride.

Ceteco

Ceteco is a Lacthosa subsidiary that is its producer of dairy products, particularly

powdered milk Powdered milk, also called milk powder, dried milk, or dry milk, is a manufactured dairy product made by evaporating milk to dryness. One purpose of drying milk is to preserve it; milk powder has a far longer shelf life than liquid milk and do ...

, and the brand name under which these products are sold. In September 2016, Ceteco launched a "Viaja como los Superhéroes Ceteco" ("Travel as the Super Heroes Ceteco") promotion, offering superhero themed prizes to consumers. Ceteco engages in regional charitable activities through which "130,000 food rations have been distributed in recent years in public schools throughout Honduras."

Other brands

Other brands under which Lacthosa products are sold include Delta (for a range of products), La Pradera (artisanal dairy products), Gaymont's (yogurt mixed with fruit or jelly), Chilly Willy, and Fristy (a vitamin-C enriched orange drink).

Charitable activities

For many years, Lacthosa has provided milk for families. In 2015, the Honduran Foundation for Corporate Responsibility awarded Lacthosa its annual recognition for most socially responsible enterprise. In May 2017, Lacthosa signed a cooperation agreement with the Zamorano Pan-American Agricultural School to allow groups of agricultural students to compete in efforts to develop new cheese, milk and yogurt products, with the winning team to receive funding to attend the International Food Technologists Fair in Las Vegas, Nevada. In October 2016, Lacthosa won its seventh consecutive FUNDAHRSE seal from the Honduran Foundation for

Corporate Social Responsibility Corporate social responsibility (CSR) or corporate social impact is a form of international private business industry self-regulation, self-regulation which aims to contribute to societal goals of a philanthropy, philanthropic, activist, or chari ...

, the only dairy company in Central America to receive this award seven consecutive times.

References

{{Commons Food and drink companies of Honduras Food and drink companies established in 1992 1992 establishments in Honduras