Yerba mate Playadito

Playadito Yerba Mate

Among the several yerba mate brands in the market, Playadito is one of the most popular in the Argentine market. Besides, Playadito is also sold and consumed in another 12 countries worldwide. The product has been in the yerba mate business for more than 90 years, and it currently leads the market with a yearly production of 36 million kilos of processed product.

Liebig Cooperative

Playadito yerba mate is produced, processed, and distributed by a cooperative called Cooperativa Agrícola de la Colonia Liebig (Colonia Liebig's Agricultural Cooperative). The cooperative was founded on February 19th, 1926, by a group of immigrants of German origin, most of whom were agricultural producers, and who settled in northeastern Corrientes Province, Northern Argentina, in what is now known as Colonia Liebig. The cooperative, first run by Walter Ostermann, and also joined by Ukrainian and Polish immigrants, had as its first purpose the growth and commercialization of rice, yerba mate, corn, among other products.

During the cooperative’s first decades, the yerba mate was grown, grinded, and sold to producers in the region. That is, Cooperativa Liebig first produced raw material, which was then purchased, processed and commercialized by already established yerba mate businesses in the region. Around the middle of the XX century, the cooperative installed its first own mill, but it was not until the late 70s, when industrialization began, that the brand Playadito, made its first appearance in the market.

Nowadays, the cooperative is made up of 130 associated agricultural producers, and, since the beginning of its industrialization, Playadito has become one of the most important Argentine yerba mate brands, which currently leads the market with a yearly production of 36 million kilos of processed product.

Not only does the cooperative have a solid position in the local market, it also exports its product to 12 different countries worldwide. Playadito is exported to Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom, France, Chile, the United States, India, and China, among other foreign markets.

Brief History of Liebig Cooperative

Since the end of the 19th century, many immigrants have arrived in Argentina to seek peace and work that they could not find in their countries of origin. Among them, a group of Germans, including agricultural producers, settled in the northeast of the Province of Corrientes. From there, the Ukrainian and Polish immigrants who were already established in the south of the Province of Misiones were settled in the City of Apóstoles. Along with their capacity for work and sacrifice, this group of people brought the model of Cooperative Societies as a form of organization of the solidarity economy. This is how the Cooperativa Agrícola de la Colonia Liebig Ltda. is founded. Today it is made up of 126 associated producers, who have fulfilled the dream of those immigrants.

The management of its first days was headed by its first President Walter Orstermann, currently being chaired by Ricardo Daniel Handziak.

Yerba Mate, the product that identifies this Cooperative, with its Playadito brand, leads the Argentine market, and is present in 12 countries on all continents, with an annual production of 36 million kilos of processed product. It also develops production activities in Livestock, Forestry, Sawmill and Beekeeping. To which are added service activities for producers, staff and the community.

The Liebig Cooperative has its doors open for everybody to get to know it, it has a thematic room where its history is reflected, it also invites people to learn about the industrial process and taste its products, it is a free service that the Cooperative has for anyone who wants to know it.

Playadito’s Introduction into The National And International Market

Playadito was first packaged and commercialized as a brand itself in 1979. It was first advertised in folklore festivals throughout Argentina, in regional festivities and in “La Rural de Palermo” Livestock Exposition. The brand started to be known word of mouth by customers who visited the fairs, until 2015, the year in which there was a sales explosion thanks to the agreements with large supermarket chains in Buenos Aires such as Carrefour, Coto, Jumbo and Disco. That very same year, Playadito started to officially export yerba to China. Today, China is one of its main markets, along with Chile and Siria, a place in which it is the main importer of Argentinean yerba mate. It also exports to Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom, France and the United States.

Playadito Production Process

1. The yerba mate leaves that are used in the production of Playadito have an approximate length of 10cm, slightly jagged edges, and a dark green coloration. When harvesting time comes, that is, from December to September, the yerba mate is harvested manually or mechanically.
2. Once gathered, the leaves are transported to drying facilities, where a three-part heating process takes place:
   1. First, the leaves are exposed to temperatures up to 600°C, to prevent the fermentation process from happening. This first heat shock is locally called “sapecado”.
   2. Then, the leaves are exposed to temperatures of around 200°C, in a process called “presecado” or “pre drying”.
   3. Finally, the “drying process” per se takes place, when the yerba mate is exposed to constant temperatures of around 100°C for three hours.
3. Following the drying process, the product undergoes a milling process called “canchado”, through which the leaves are crushed into pieces of 1cm, which facilitates the packing of the yerba mate for further storage.
4. Then, the leaves are kept in humidity-free warehouses for a period that goes from nine months to two years, until features such as flavour, color, and smell are fully enhanced.
5. After that, the yerba mate undergoes further grinding and mixing processes, until it is ready for packaging in bags carefully designed to keep the product free from moisture and odors.
6. Finally, yerba mate Playadito is ready for commercialization and consumption.

References

This article "Yerba mate Playadito" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Yerba mate Playadito. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

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