On a quiet morning in southern Palawan, the first coconut flower sap of the day begins to flow. It moves from the hands of trained harvesters into stainless steel tanks, through carefully controlled processing lines, and eventually into bottles of coconut syrup, aminos, vinegar, and beverages that travel to homes and restaurants around the world.
For years, Lionheart Farms has described this journey as “our farm to you”, which is a disciplined chain of steps designed to keep every drop safe, traceable, and consistent. When the team received the results of the latest BRCGS Global Standard for Food Safety audit, that discipline was put to the test.
Lionheart Farms earned Grade AA, the highest grade a company can achieve in an announced BRCGS audit, confirming that the food safety systems behind our coconut sap products don’t just meet global expectations; they stand at the top of them.
“We always believed our systems could stand side by side with the best in the world,” says CEO and Co Founder Christian Eyde Moeller. “This Grade AA is more than a certification of compliance. We treat this as a recognition of the daily discipline of our teams, and of our commitment to the people who trust our products with their families’ food.”
Behind the Grade: What BRCGS AA Really Means
BRCGS (Brand Reputation through Compliance Global Standards) is one of the world’s most respected food safety benchmarks, recognized by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI). It doesn’t look only at final products; it examines how a company works, from raw material handling and facility hygiene to staff training, traceability, and how potential problems are identified and solved before they reach the customer.
In an announced audit, Grade AA is the highest classification possible. To earn it, a facility must show:
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Only minor findings, with zero major or critical non conformities.
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Food safety and quality management systems performing exactly as designed.
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No shortcuts and no gaps that could put products or consumers at risk.
For Lionheart, those systems are not abstract checklists. They are the routines and habits that shape every production day. This is from how coconut flower sap is collected to how finished syrup, aminos, and vinegar are sealed, labelled, and stored.
“We ensured compliance by strengthening our processes, empowering our people, and making sure food safety remained a shared responsibility across the organization,” says the Group Quality Assurance Manager Nikki Lacubtan. She oversees the Food Safety and Quality Management Systems, including the compliance with BRCGS and other certification requirements of Lionheart. “For our customers, this grade means confidence and trust. It assures them that food safety, quality, and integrity are built into every step of our process,” she also added.
From Standards to Trust: What It Means for Customers and Partners
Choosing a supplier for coconut sap, aminos, or vinegar is ultimately an act of trust. You may be a chef looking for consistent flavor, a retailer searching for safe, traceable products, or a brand owner building your own reputation on the ingredients you choose.
A BRCGS Grade AA certification turns that trust into something visible and verifiable. For Lionheart’s customers and partners, it means:
- Consistent quality in every batch - whether it’s coconut flower sap syrup, coconut aminos, or coconut flower vinegar, each product follows the same audited food safety and quality standards.
- Reliable systems, not spot checks – processes are designed to produce safe, high quality products every time, not just when auditors are present.
- A trusted long term partner – the company did not settle for “good enough”; it aimed for and achieved the highest grade available in its audit category.
- Global market confidence – BRCGS Grade AA reflects food safety practices recognized by demanding markets worldwide, supporting export readiness and international partnerships.
“Our partners in the US, Europe, Asia, and here at home need to know that our promises are backed by systems they can rely on,” Moeller adds. “This certification is one of the ways we show them that their brands, and their consumers, are protected.”
The People Behind the Score
Earning a Grade AA did not happen in a single audit week. It was built over years of investment in training, procedures, and a culture where food safety is everyone’s responsibility.
On the farm, harvesters follow strict guidelines on hygiene and sap handling, knowing that their decisions at dawn affect the quality and safety of a product that might be opened in a kitchen thousands of kilometers away. In the processing facility, operators and QA staff work with documented controls for temperature, filtration, and packaging and clear steps for what to do if something falls outside the allowed range.
The company has consistently framed its work as a combination of sustainable agriculture, rural development, and world class food production. Achieving the highest BRCGS grade reinforces that those goals are integrated, not competing
Food Safety and Sustainability, Hand in Hand
Lionheart’s operations in Palawan are built around regenerative organic practices, a long term commitment to soil health, biodiversity, and community livelihoods. For the team, food safety is a non-negotiable part of that picture.
“At Lionheart, sustainability guides us toward a holistic approach for the benefit of people and the planet,” Moeller has said in earlier remarks. “There is both a need and an opportunity in transforming agriculture, but that transformation must be built on safety, reliability, and trust.”
In practical terms, that means farm to production discipline: keeping sap collection areas clean, maintaining equipment proactively, ensuring full traceability from plot to pallet, and training staff not just to follow procedures but to understand why they matter.
A Milestone, Not a Finish Line
Grade AA is a milestone the team is proud of but they are already thinking about what comes next. Food safety standards evolve, and so do the expectations of customers, regulators, and markets.
“We see this as a benchmark we need to live up to every day, not a trophy we put away,” says Moeller. “Our goal is to keep improving, to keep investing in our people and systems, and to ensure that every product leaving our farms reflects the quality, safety, and care our customers deserve.”
Lionheart is continuing to refine its processes, expand training, and strengthen documentation and digital traceability, so that future audits — announced or unannounced — can see the same level of consistency and commitment.
For customers and partners, that means one simple assurance: whether you are opening a bottle of coconut flower sap syrup in Manila, a pouch of coconut aminos in Hong Kong, or a drum of vinegar in an industrial kitchen in Europe, you can trust that it was produced under the highest internationally recognized food safety standards.
“We are grateful to everyone who has trusted Lionheart Farms as a partner in quality, food safety, and sustainability,” the QA Manager says. “Grade AA is a shared achievement and a commitment we renew with every batch we produce.”
