Sergio Nuñez de Arco: The King of Quinoa

Last year, Americans bought 57.6 million lb. (26.1 million kg) of a product that less than a decade earlier, few had heard of and fewer still could pronounce. The triumph of quinoa (kee-nwa), a grain grown primarily in Bolivia and Peru, was due largely to its gluten-free, high-protein, quick-cooking qualities. But it took Sergio Nuñez de Arco, a Bolivian-born, Berkeley-educated entrepreneur, to recognize that those qualities dovetailed neatly with his adopted country’s most acute dietary obsessions. Today, Nuñez de Arco’s company, Andean Naturals, imports a third of the quinoa sold in the U.S.

“Most quinoa is grown by small family farmers in Bolivia who may not have the infrastructure to guarantee quantities or delivery dates,” says Nuñez de Arco, who grew up in La Paz. “We were able to act as a filter between them and big North American companies.”

Bulk buyers like Kellogg’s and Eden Farms have brought Andean Naturals about $40 million in annual sales. But they have also thrust the company’s star product into the center of controversy. Land disputes are growing more frequent in Bolivia, and there are concerns that increased production is degrading the natural environment. “Sustainability is at the core of what we do,” Nuñez de Arco says, pointing to his company’s practice of sending agronomists into the field to educate farmers on maintaining a healthy crop rotation. “But unfortunately, our speeches often fall on deaf ears because prices are so high.” Farmers currently get $2.65 a pound vs. $1.20 just a year ago, bringing prosperity to many in the region but also an irony: poorer Bolivians in urban areas can no longer afford the country’s proverbial poor man’s food.

As demand grows, more countries, including the U.S. and China, are seeking to grow quinoa themselves. “Supply hasn’t caught up with demand, but it will, and will catch up massively,” Nuñez de Arco says. “Then consumers will have to choose: Do they want a commodity, or do they want a product that is not just good for them but also for the environment and the hardworking farmer who grows it?”

–LISA ABEND