Dulcinea increases winter production of ‘PureHeart’
Dulcinea increases winter production of ‘PureHeart’
Dulcinea Farms LLC in Ladera Ranch, CA, a subsidiary of Syngenta Seeds Inc. in Boise, ID, has a year-round program with its “PureHeart” brand mini-seedless watermelons, a proprietary Syngenta variety.
“For 2012, we have increased our acreage for the winter months because we see a trend where consumers and retailers are shifting a little bit more towards the mini watermelons as opposed to the full size,” Director of Sales Kevin Leap told The Produce News Jan. 26.
There are several reasons for the increasing popularity of the mini melons during the winter season, Mr. Leap said. “One is you can usually achieve a better price point during the winter months” for a mini than for a full-sized melon. Another is that “the quality tends to fare very well for the ‘PureHearts’ during the winter months compared to full-size, and that is important to keep that customer confidence at the store level. In order to build the momentum for the early summer, and even during peak production, you want to get consumer confidence going in the late winter and early spring.”
For those and other reasons, “we are trying to stay consistent with all of our key account customers with good quality ‘PureHearts’ during the winter months. And to do small promotions throughout the winter months and early spring in order to keep that momentum going,” he said.
“Right now our production is out of southern Mexico,” the northern Mexico fall production finished up about a month earlier, said Monique McLaws, director of marketing. “The quality of our product is strong, despite cooler weather than normal in southern Mexico. The weather has affected the timing of the harvest and, to some degree, the volume. But the quality has remained strong.”
Providing consistent winter quality takes “planning and dedication,” she said. The company’s focus for its winter program is “mainly on making sure we get the right product, at the right flavor, at the right time.”
Dulcinea will continue to bring melons out of southern Mexico through about the end of April and then move back up into northern Mexico for the May-through-June period, Ms. McLaws said. “Then we will start our domestic production in the summer months.”
While Dulcinea has year-round production of its “PureHeart” mini-seedless watermelons, the company’s full-sized melon program is seasonal and will start in late March or early April, she said. “Our full-sized seedless product is a Ruby Bliss,” also a proprietary Syngenta variety. “It has been on the market about three years. We are coming up on our fourth year of commercialization.”
The company’s Ruby Bliss production tripled from 2009 to 2010 and had a more modest increase in 2011. For 2012, “I think we will have a slight increase, but we will stay somewhere around the same volume,” Ms. McLaws said.
The sales team at Dulcinea remains the same as in past seasons. “I think we have an excellent team that has been pretty steady and solid for the last two to three years, and it is the same team we would like to move forward with in 2012,” she said.
John McGuigan, who was previously vice president of sales and marketing, was named general manager of Dulcinea Farms in June and continues in that position.
Dulcinea will be represented at the National Watermelon Association Convention in Amelia Island, FL, Feb. 22-26 by its parent company, Ms. McLaws said, adding that Syngenta Seeds “has some sponsorships” at the event.
