A venture that began as a cottage industry to produce healthy food products using locally-produced palm sugar and pepper to help improve farmers’ income has now snowballed into an export-oriented manufacturing company.

After almost two decades, home-grown Confirel Co. Ltd, has made a mark in the global healthy and well-being products industry and successfully traversed beyond its commercial success - created jobs for farmers, revived sugar palm tree as an important natural resource and managed to produce supplements to treat over a dozen ailments.

“The idea is to create and promote Khmer identity [and] to create a long-term economy for us, as 80 per cent of our population are farmers. That’s why all Confirel projects are related to rural development because they are made from raw materials such as palm sugar, pepper, fruits and herbal,” said Confirel’s founder and CEO Dr Hay Ly Eang.

Eang, a trained French pharmacist, built his business from a modest start into a reputable company that produces products in Cambodia and exported to Asia, Africa, Europe and the US.

“Our goal is to show that we have products that can compete with other products. Our products are unique, especially KEM which is only produced in our country, as well pepper herbal tea, which is only manufactured in Cambodia and patented in more than 50 countries.

“Internationally our pepper herbal tea and KEM are recognized not because people want to help us, but because our products have the best quality and sold at affordable price,” said Eang.

KEM Probiotics is a dietary supplement made from fermented juice of Morinda Citrifolia.

It has several health benefits such as treating stomach ulcers, an anti-bacterial agent and a powerful antioxidant, among others.

Most of the raw materials such as pepper and sugar come from Kampot and Kampong Speu provinces respectively. And are all are organic products.

“All Confirel’s products focus on quality and safety. Our products are organic, we use all means to stay healthy. Our products do not use chemical fertilizers or pesticides,” he added.

Some of the company’s top selling products are Jaya (spirit made from natural palm sap), Thnot (organic sugar), Kirum (pepper), and Kem (supplement) - all in high demand.

“Last year, KEM export growth was 300 percent. For example, we export almost 95 per cent of KEM to Africa because they found that our KEM has health benefits, affordable price and it is an organic product.

“This product is not exported thanks to preferential tariff but based on its quality. Thus, the well-known institutions like EcoCert has offered us organic accreditation,” he added.