Sula is the largest Honduran

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...

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, and one of the few Honduran brands to sell products internationally, including in 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 ...

History

Sula was founded 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, ...

, 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 a social project in alliance with

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 ...

. The objective of the project was the installation of a

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 ...

production plant in northern Honduras. After a privatization process, the brand was acquired by Lacthosa in March 1992, shortly after Lacthosa had been established by Honduran entrepreneur Schucry Kafie. Lacthosa revitalized the Sula brand through the introduction of new products, particularly orange and fruit juices, cream, malts, and investment in modern technology.

Products and exporting

Juice products now 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,

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. , Sula remains a subsidiary of Lacthosa, and is the primary producer of fruit juices 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 Lacthosa, and is also the brand name under which products are

export An export in international trade is a good produced in one country that is sold into another country or a service provided in one country for a national or resident of another country. The seller of such goods or the service provider is a ...

ed to other countries in Central America, and to the United States. In the mid-1990s, the Sula brand was positioned 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 ...

. In January 2015, Lacthosa invested $15 million to expand juice production and enable the export its products to a greater number of international markets. Countries to which the company exports products now include

, 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 the

(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 exports, primarily under the "Sula" brand name, account for seventy percent of the export of dairy products and their derivatives from Honduras. It distributes its products in the United States under Sula Food & Beverage Corporation. In October, 2016, Sula joined with a number of 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.

References

{{reflist

External links

Sula.hn
(Spanish homepage) Honduran brands Juice brands