Ryan Black, 32; Ed Nichols, 32; and Jeremy Black, 34
Sambazon,San Clemente, California
Projected 2007 Sales: $15 million to $20 million
Description: Manufacturer of Brazilian açaí berry products

Jungle Fever: When Ed Nichols and Ryan Black took a surf trip to Brazil, they never expected to end up far from the water’s edge and deep in the Amazon. Through the country’s surf culture, the friends discovered açaí (pronounced “ah-sigh-ee”), a Brazilian berry popular for its unique flavor and nutritional properties. “We fell in love with it,” says Nichols. “We didn’t want to leave Brazil without it.” So they teamed up with Ryan’s brother, Jeremy, to become the United States’ first supplier of açaí.

Through extensive research, they learned about the berry’s other benefits. “The native people make more money selling açaí than they do selling nonrenewable resources,” explains Nichols. “We [realized we] could drive preservation by employing the people to harvest the fruit instead of wood.”

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If you think your boss is paying attention in everything you do in the office I think this is the solution for you.

If for no reason other than the scantily-clad revelers adorning the floats in its Carnival parades, Brazil is certain to gain some investor attention now that its annual pre-Lenten festivities are at hand.

But aside from the images permeating TV and computer screens this time of year, how about the investment climate in Brazil?For someone not already invested in Brazil, there doesn’t currently seem to be any compelling need to immediately get into the marketWorldwide, current markets generally present above-average risks to any stock investor, and extreme caution is needed to navigate through these uncharted waters. The depth and duration of any impending U.S. or worldwide economic downturn is still largely unknown. Hence, a prudent investor is most likely to remain on the sidelines at least until the end of the first quarter of 2008 and let the market go through its gyrations.

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The Brazilian Federation is based on the indissoluble association of three autonomous political entities: the States, the Municipalities and the Federal District.^[3] A fourth entity originated in the aforementioned association: the Union.^[3] There is no hierarchy among the political entities. The Federation is set on six fundamental principles:^[3] sovereignty, citizenship, dignity of the people, social value of labor, freedom of enterprise, and political pluralism. The classic tripartite division of power, encompassing the Executive, Legislative and Judiciary branches under the checks and balances system, is formally established by the Constitution.^[3] The Executive and Legislative are organized independently in all four political entities, while the Judiciary is organized only in the Federal and State levels.

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Brazil is the world’s top beef, coffee, and orange juice exporter and is racing to surpass US farmers in overseas soy markets. But the clear-cutting and tree-burning to make way for huge farms threaten the planet’s ability to resist global warming and has turned the Amazon into a massive carbon-emitting polluter. Brazil is now the world’s fifth-worst producer of greenhouse gases.