Valentyn Shabanov
Maksym Hutsuliuk
Mencía Dolado Asanza
Mizanur Rahman
Ragildan Sahayaseelan
MacEwan University
University Of South Wales
Universidad de Navarra
Yang Hoong
Isabel Rodriguez Tejedo
Ruben Burga
Liam Newton
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El Ordeño’s biggest innovation is the TRÜgether ecosystem and the TRÜ brand, which bring farmers, consumers, and employees together around one shared goal — sustainability. Instead of following the usual dairy model with middlemen taking the profits, El Ordeño connects directly with small and medium producers through collection centers they co-own. This means farmers get fair prices for their milk and a real say in how things run.
What makes TRÜgether special is how it links everyone in the process through transparency and technology. With the company’s SACTA traceability system, every step — from milk collection to store shelves — is tracked digitally, so people know exactly where their food comes from. At the same time, El Ordeño is pushing sustainability in products, offering both traditional dairy and plant-based options under the TRÜ brand. These products are made with the planet in mind, using renewable energy like solar panels and systems that reduce waste and emissions. This innovation goes beyond products — it tackles real social and environmental challenges in Ecuador. By supporting rural development, promoting clean energy, and encouraging conscious consumption, El Ordeño shows that a company can care for people, the planet, and profits all at once — truly living up to its name: TRÜgether.
El Ordeño’s decision to innovate through its TRÜgether strategy emerged from a deep commitment to correct long-standing inequalities within Ecuador’s dairy sector. For decades, small and medium producers were dependent on intermediaries who controlled prices and limited farmers’ income. Recognizing this social injustice, El Ordeño created a collaborative and inclusive model where producers became co-owners of collection centers, ensuring fair payment, transparency, and shared prosperity. This inclusive approach directly reflects the company’s core values of collaboration, inclusion, and transparency. Through TRÜgether, sustainability became more than a concept — it transformed into a measurable framework connecting people, environment, and future. As Sofía Vélez, sustainability coordinator, explained: “The biggest challenge was ensuring that a broad, popular concept like ‘sustainability’ translates into roles, tasks, and measurable outcomes across the entire value chain.”
Sustainability is the core of El Ordeño’s business model, which provides not only profit but positive social and environmental impact as well. At this point, the company successfully supports more than 6,000 small and medium farmers with the help of an associative network of 101 milk-collection centers located in nine provinces across Ecuador. The purpose of those centres is to remove the presence of intermediaries and to ensure fair trade among producers… As a result, they have a more powerful rural economy and long-term community development. On environment, the solar energy project prevents around 370 tons of CO₂ emissions annually (2024). The company uses water recirculation and waste management systems, optimized logistics, and climate smart livestock practices to reduce emissions and resource use.
Direct sourcing via co-owned collection centers eliminates costly intermediaries and builds long-term supplier loyalty without exclusivity contracts; SACTA digital traceability reduces errors and increases process efficiency; energy transition (diesel→LPG; solar) lowers operating costs and Scope 1/2 emissions; logistics optimization improves throughput and reduces waste; B Corp practices and TRÜ brand strengthen trust with consumers and partners. These elements together enhance resilience, operational efficiency, and brand equity while aligning profitability with sustainability.
The social priority of El Ordeño is inclusion and equality. “Escuelas de Campo” provides free training in financial literacy, nutrition, and gender equality, and partners with public institutions to deliver healthcare and education in remote areas. “El Círculo del Progreso” promotes women’s entrepreneurship through mentorship and resources. These initiatives help reduce rural migration and empower local communities. On environmental matters, El Ordeño’s solar energy project prevents ~370 tons of CO₂ annually (2024). The company uses water reuse and waste management systems, climate-smart farming, and renewable energy to ensure efficient resource use. El Ordeño proved that business can exist successfully while having a model where sustainability is structured, combining financial, human, and environmental well-being.
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Sofía Vélez, Sustainability Coordinator (Coordinadora de Sostenibilidad)
In Ecuador, for many years, small dairy farmers had no choice but to sell their milk to middlemen who kept most of the profit. El Ordeño was born to change that story — by creating collection centers where small and mid-size producers become partners, receive fair prices, and work without restrictive contracts. That simple yet courageous decision didn’t become just a project — it became their business model. More than twenty years later, El Ordeño stands as Ecuador’s first B Corp in the dairy industry, proving that purpose and profit can grow together.