Pristine about to make return engagement
Pristine about to make return engagement
Last year marked the first year that the late-season green seedless Pristine table grape was on the market in significant volume. This year's return engagement shapes up to be even more impressive.
The flavor profile for the large, crispy grape starts with a sweet vanilla streak and ends with a zesty Granny Smith apple finish. The unique Pristine variety was developed by Delano, CA-based Anton Caratan & Son after more than 20 years and more than 225,000 crossbreeds.
Anton Caratan & Son granted a license to Four Star Sales Inc. and Delano Farms -- both based in Delano -- to grow and market Pristine in the United States, and it licensed Visalia, CA-based Sun Fresh International's parent company to grow and market the variety exclusively outside the continental United States. Anton Caratan & Son continues to grow, expand and market its Pristine acreage through Sun Fresh.
Sun Fresh has a long-term agreement to market fruit grown on Caratan property. The Pristine grape harvest is scheduled to start Sept. 17 and run to around Nov. 1, said Darrel Fulmer, owner of Sun Fresh International.
Last year, Pristine met with "overwhelming success," Mr. Fulmer said. Overall production for the group is expected to be around 1.2 million boxes this year, roughly a 50 percent climb in production over last year.
"Two-thirds of the grapes are pre-sold on programs with major retailers," Mr. Fulmer said.
He added that from the group, there should be around "3 [million] to 3.5 million boxes available for trade by 2010."
Last year, the group sold to two or three major retailers; this year there are six or seven major retailers on board. Last year, Sun Fresh sold to Central America, South America and Asia. This year, the company also is opening up sales to Europe.
As to the popularity of the variety, Mr. Fulmer said that the Pristine grape takes on a life of its own.
"Our main job is to sell them the first time," Mr. Fulmer said. "Sell them once and then [Pristine] sells itself."
Mr. Fulmer pointed to the berry's shelf life and holding ability as two key selling points for retailers.
The flavor profile for the large, crispy grape starts with a sweet vanilla streak and ends with a zesty Granny Smith apple finish. The unique Pristine variety was developed by Delano, CA-based Anton Caratan & Son after more than 20 years and more than 225,000 crossbreeds.
Anton Caratan & Son granted a license to Four Star Sales Inc. and Delano Farms -- both based in Delano -- to grow and market Pristine in the United States, and it licensed Visalia, CA-based Sun Fresh International's parent company to grow and market the variety exclusively outside the continental United States. Anton Caratan & Son continues to grow, expand and market its Pristine acreage through Sun Fresh.
Sun Fresh has a long-term agreement to market fruit grown on Caratan property. The Pristine grape harvest is scheduled to start Sept. 17 and run to around Nov. 1, said Darrel Fulmer, owner of Sun Fresh International.
Last year, Pristine met with "overwhelming success," Mr. Fulmer said. Overall production for the group is expected to be around 1.2 million boxes this year, roughly a 50 percent climb in production over last year.
"Two-thirds of the grapes are pre-sold on programs with major retailers," Mr. Fulmer said.
He added that from the group, there should be around "3 [million] to 3.5 million boxes available for trade by 2010."
Last year, the group sold to two or three major retailers; this year there are six or seven major retailers on board. Last year, Sun Fresh sold to Central America, South America and Asia. This year, the company also is opening up sales to Europe.
As to the popularity of the variety, Mr. Fulmer said that the Pristine grape takes on a life of its own.
"Our main job is to sell them the first time," Mr. Fulmer said. "Sell them once and then [Pristine] sells itself."
Mr. Fulmer pointed to the berry's shelf life and holding ability as two key selling points for retailers.
