Since last season, Vision Import Group of River Edge, NJ, and its partner Vision Produce Co. of Los Angeles have closed their joint Texas operation, yet the principals of the companies still expect a significant increase in their mango volume from Mexico.

Ronald Cohen, who wears the title of vice president of sales-member of the New Jersey firm, said the closing of Vision Produce Partners of Texas in October of 2013 was just a matter of reshuffling of responsibilities between the two coastal entities.

“We’ve split the duties and I expect to see a 20 to 25 percent growth in volume this year,” he said.

Bill Vogel, president of Vision Produce Co., stated that the Texas operation just wasn’t providing the efficiencies envisioned when it was started and there was a lot of duplication of effort.

He said the Vision Produce Cos. on the two coasts are continuing to operate in the same manner as before and importing from the same packers under the same Vision labels, such as Van Gogh and Mango Maniac. Vision will continue to import through Texas as well as Nogales, AZ.

Cohen said business throughout 2014 should be similar to last year with increased volume and possibly the introduction of new packs. He said the company is currently exploring opportunities with different packing options including a new flat box tray. The longtime mango industry participant is very bullish on the future of the mango in the United States but he would like to see some increased innovation.

“I think we are going to continue to experience exponential growth for at least another 10 years,” Cohen said. “Beyond that we could grow for another 10 to 15 years but we probably need to cultivate other varieties and research the added benefits of mangos,” giving marketers more things to sell and giving consumers more reasons to buy.

In addition, he said the advent of new packs and maybe a value-added offering will help increase sales. Even in the short term, Cohen hopes to see some innovations. “Value-added needs more attention and we should look at other packaging options like they have done with the Spanish Clementine to increase sales,” he said.

He added that bagged mangos that can offer a great deal to value-oriented shoppers are an excellent way to increase sales.

Cohen said mangos are the most popular fruit in the world so it makes perfect sense that they are finding favor among U.S. consumers — both with Anglos and with other ethnicities that have settled in the United States.

For this interview, Cohen was found in Florida taking a brief respite from the snow and cold that has gripped the Eastern Seaboard and the Northeast for much of the winter. But even with that less than perfect marketing condition for this tropical fruit, he said mangos have done quite well this past year. “We have seen higher averages; the price point is higher yet sales are continuing to increase.”

He predicted that March would bring lighter supplies but by April, mangos will be plentiful and retail promotions should follow suit. Cohen cautioned retailers to check current supply levels rather than their own history to determine when is best to promote the fruit. He said in 2013, there was good volume at the start of the Mexican deal and so many retailers put the fruit on ad. That is not the case this year but still several retailers looked at last year’s promotions list and plan this year’s activity based on that list.

He said that is one reason the mango market was quite strong in January and February because some of those promotions were creating increased demand for an item that was in short supply.