Calavo to put its brand on tomatoes
Calavo to put its brand on tomatoes
Calavo Growers Inc. in Santa Paula, CA, announced Aug. 13 that it has entered into a marketing and distribution agreement with Agricola Belher, a major grower of tomatoes in Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico.
The initiative will "further enhance" Calavo's "diversified fresh products business with the planned introduction of 'Calavo' brand tomatoes late this fall," the release stated. "In conjunction with the agreement, the Mexican company will be making substantial investments in infrastructure to support the new program."
Calavo is not new to tomatoes, although the company has not previously put the "Calavo" brand on tomato products. The company was already in the tomato business year round. Maui Fresh International, a wholly owned subsidiary of Calavo, has been marketing and brokering vine-ripes, Romas and cherry tomatoes from Culiacan and Baja California, Mexico, as well as from Southern California.
During the 2006-07 winter season, Maui Fresh expanded grower-shipper programs out of West Mexico that included vine-ripe tomatoes and Romas as well as a mature-green tomato program from Rosario Beltran, president of Agricola Belher in Culiacan.
Now, with the announcement of the new agreement with Agricola Belher and the "Calavo" branding program for the product, "We are just continuing to expand on what we already had in place," Javier (J.J.) Badillo, Calavo's director of diversified products, said in an Aug. 14 interview with The Produce News. "We are now considering [tomatoes] to be one of our core items. We have the grower in place. We now have the infrastructure in place. We have the packing facilities in place, and we are creating different product lines inside the tomato category. And we look to continue to expand as we go into the 2007-08 season."
The grower will be making substantial investments in infrastructure to support the new program, he said.
Agricola Belher is an "experienced and prestigious grower" and "a proven entity in quality and production," he said.
The addition of this program will expand Calavo's tomato season from December to June and will enable Calavo to focus its tomato marketing not only on foodservice and wholesale customers as in the past, but also on the retail trade, he said.
The tomatoes will be coming into the United States primarily through Nogales, but they will be distributed through Calavo's distribution facilities in Santa Paula, Los Angeles, Nogales, San Antonio, TX, and Swedesboro, NJ. "Currently, the sales are primarily out of Nogales, but we will be expanding our sales opportunity into all the different offices inside Calavo," Mr. Badillo said.
Calavo, a publicly traded company, began expanding its fresh product line in 2003 with the acquisition of Maui Fresh International.
Since that acquisition, it has focused on "further developing Maui Fresh's extensive grower relationships in order to add diversification and sales growth to Calavo's core market leadership in the avocado category," according to the press release.
Agricola Belher, which was founded in 1989 by Rosario Beltran, has become "increasingly known as a high-quality grower" of fresh vegetables, primarily tomatoes for export to the U.S. market, according to the release. "The company exports 90 percent of its production to the United States."
"We are pleased to enter this important agreement with a top-quality producer, which will enable us to begin selling 'Calavo' branded tomatoes to retail and foodservice customers in the United States," Lee Cole, Calavo's chairman, president and chief executive officer, said in the press release. "We are confident that this expansion will make a meaningful incremental contribution to the company revenues and [we] expect tomato sales in the range of $20 [million] to $25 million in fiscal 2008."
Mr. Cole emphasized that the Calavo name has achieved "tremendous consumer awareness," not only in its strong association with avocados, but also "as a trusted brand synonymous with quality," according to the release. "Since tomatoes and avocados in retail locations are traditionally merchandised in close proximity to each other, we believe that consumers will feel confident in purchasing 'Calavo' brand tomatoes."
"This has been a long time coming," and its realization is definitely a result of "a team effort," said Mr. Badillo. "I am very pleased with what has transpired. It is really a fantastic scenario," and it is "a real honor to be a part of it now and watch it grow."
He said he expects to see continued diversification in the product lines offered by Calavo. "I believe you will continue to see the 'Calavo' brand expand," he said.
The initiative will "further enhance" Calavo's "diversified fresh products business with the planned introduction of 'Calavo' brand tomatoes late this fall," the release stated. "In conjunction with the agreement, the Mexican company will be making substantial investments in infrastructure to support the new program."
Calavo is not new to tomatoes, although the company has not previously put the "Calavo" brand on tomato products. The company was already in the tomato business year round. Maui Fresh International, a wholly owned subsidiary of Calavo, has been marketing and brokering vine-ripes, Romas and cherry tomatoes from Culiacan and Baja California, Mexico, as well as from Southern California.
During the 2006-07 winter season, Maui Fresh expanded grower-shipper programs out of West Mexico that included vine-ripe tomatoes and Romas as well as a mature-green tomato program from Rosario Beltran, president of Agricola Belher in Culiacan.
Now, with the announcement of the new agreement with Agricola Belher and the "Calavo" branding program for the product, "We are just continuing to expand on what we already had in place," Javier (J.J.) Badillo, Calavo's director of diversified products, said in an Aug. 14 interview with The Produce News. "We are now considering [tomatoes] to be one of our core items. We have the grower in place. We now have the infrastructure in place. We have the packing facilities in place, and we are creating different product lines inside the tomato category. And we look to continue to expand as we go into the 2007-08 season."
The grower will be making substantial investments in infrastructure to support the new program, he said.
Agricola Belher is an "experienced and prestigious grower" and "a proven entity in quality and production," he said.
The addition of this program will expand Calavo's tomato season from December to June and will enable Calavo to focus its tomato marketing not only on foodservice and wholesale customers as in the past, but also on the retail trade, he said.
The tomatoes will be coming into the United States primarily through Nogales, but they will be distributed through Calavo's distribution facilities in Santa Paula, Los Angeles, Nogales, San Antonio, TX, and Swedesboro, NJ. "Currently, the sales are primarily out of Nogales, but we will be expanding our sales opportunity into all the different offices inside Calavo," Mr. Badillo said.
Calavo, a publicly traded company, began expanding its fresh product line in 2003 with the acquisition of Maui Fresh International.
Since that acquisition, it has focused on "further developing Maui Fresh's extensive grower relationships in order to add diversification and sales growth to Calavo's core market leadership in the avocado category," according to the press release.
Agricola Belher, which was founded in 1989 by Rosario Beltran, has become "increasingly known as a high-quality grower" of fresh vegetables, primarily tomatoes for export to the U.S. market, according to the release. "The company exports 90 percent of its production to the United States."
"We are pleased to enter this important agreement with a top-quality producer, which will enable us to begin selling 'Calavo' branded tomatoes to retail and foodservice customers in the United States," Lee Cole, Calavo's chairman, president and chief executive officer, said in the press release. "We are confident that this expansion will make a meaningful incremental contribution to the company revenues and [we] expect tomato sales in the range of $20 [million] to $25 million in fiscal 2008."
Mr. Cole emphasized that the Calavo name has achieved "tremendous consumer awareness," not only in its strong association with avocados, but also "as a trusted brand synonymous with quality," according to the release. "Since tomatoes and avocados in retail locations are traditionally merchandised in close proximity to each other, we believe that consumers will feel confident in purchasing 'Calavo' brand tomatoes."
"This has been a long time coming," and its realization is definitely a result of "a team effort," said Mr. Badillo. "I am very pleased with what has transpired. It is really a fantastic scenario," and it is "a real honor to be a part of it now and watch it grow."
He said he expects to see continued diversification in the product lines offered by Calavo. "I believe you will continue to see the 'Calavo' brand expand," he said.
