A successful coconut farming program

Each year, we use around 150 000 coconuts in order to create the iconic flavor of Malibu. A majority of them are grown in the Philippines, the world’s second-largest producer and exporter. The supply chain is both complex and labor-intensive, and farming and processing are resource-intensive.

In 2018, a team from Malibu went to the Philippines to set up a program that empowers small-scale farmers and help them adopt more sustainable farming practices (much like the Coffee for Good project for Kahlúa). Together with coconut processor Franklin Baker Company, flavor producer Symrise and GIZ, a global service provider in the field of international cooperation for sustainable development and international education work, Malibu provides ongoing agricultural education and training that directly benefits 500 coconut farmers and their families.

If we reach our goal, the program will have helped increase the farmers’ income by 15 percent, increased their annual farm yield by 20 percent and helped up to 75 percent of farmers adopt more sustainable practices (guided by the Farm Sustainability Assessment tool developed by Sustainable Agriculture Initiative Platform) when it concludes in 2024.