CULIACAN, SONORA, MEXICO – Grupo Alta, one of the larger produce growers in Mexico, announced to The Produce News the creation of a new organic vegetable subsidiary, Viva Organica, which includes all of the firm’s organic greenhouse vegetable farms.

Grupo Alta also owns Divine Flavor LLC, its marketing arm, based in Nogales, AZ. Divine Flavor is the operation’s brand.Carlos Bon, sales manager of Divine Flavor, and Pedro Batiz, the firm’s vice president of sales, holding beefsteak tomatoes.

The Viva Organica concept is to serve consumer demands, human needs and respect of the planet. Respecting worker dignity is a very important component.

On March 9, The Produce News toured the Viva Organica operation west of Culiacan with Divine Flavor’s Pedro Batiz, vice president of sales, and Carlos Bon Jr., sales manager. There are 500 acres on this farm, much of which remains available for future development.

Batiz declared that Viva Organica was operating “starting now.”

A new grape tomato variety
An example of Viva Organica’s flavor emphasis is a new Magnifico brand grape tomato. Bon said that he and Batiz were considering the best name for the tomato as Batiz got a call from Bon, who was standing before the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris. “Magnifico!" was Batiz’ observation and suggestion for the grape tomato. The name stuck to the sweet little tomato.

Bon said this particular grape tomato variety was chosen after a number of focus groups that tested different varieties. The Magnifico was chosen by every group.

In the first week of October, Magnifico, and its new packaging will be formally introduced.

Beyond Culiacan, Viva Organica also has a facility in Jalisco and a third site near Ensenada, which is 92 miles south of San Diego.

Bon noted that production in the three locations will overlap “so, we are never without product. You could say we ship 395 days a year, because we overlap.”The grading and packing facility at Viva Organica in Culiacan uses the most modern European packing equipment.

Batiz drew on a white board a list of the firm’s eight philosophical pillars. Viva Organica expresses all those pillars, which are flavor, organic, social responsibility, sustainability, quality, food safety, innovation, traceability and employee services.

Batiz said the creation of Viva Organica operations starts with the construction of facilities to accommodate its farm workers.

At the two-year-old Culiacan operation, which houses 400, is construction that resembles college dormitories. This will expand to accommodate 582 workers for 2019.

Bon notes the quality of living space is very high by Mexican standards. He added that comfortable living conditions lead to “happy faces” when workers appear for work each morning. “If people are happy, they will be better workers.” They are also more likely to remain loyal to Viva Organica and return as trained and experienced workers from year to year.

Workers win awards in company-wide contests to have the cleanest living quarters.

Worker training includes counseling on health, cleanliness and money management. “When people go home after the season, they not only have money, but go home a better person,” Bon said.

The roofline of the modern, clean Viva Organica cafeteria from the outside has high spikes resembling the shape of the greenhouses that have become the icon of modern Mexican horticulture.

The shape has a practical purpose in a cafeteria and greenhouse, which is cooling the facility. Furthermore, solar panels are utilized on the cafeteria roof.

Cafeteria serving lines start with fingerprint readers, which workers touch to access their meals each day, priced at one dollar. There are two adjacent kitchens, giving employees a wider food selection. Viva Organica hosts workers who mostly arrive from three different southern Mexico states. Varying cultural tastes are incorporated into food plan options for three meals a day.

On weekends, the cafeteria converts into a movie theater.

All Viva Organica structures are designed for cooling air flow.

In the housing area, there is a park planted with tropical fruit trees. As the trees mature, employees will be welcome to enjoy fresh fruit straight from the tree.At Viva Organica, select pickers are permitted to extend their reach and effectiveness by training plants with stilts.

This social area includes a computer lab for education and training. To access free wifi, employees must first watch short Viva Organica advertisements, which review some aspect of their work or health responsibilities. There is a convenience store, “Vivamart,” offering goods virtually at cost.

Viva Organica has a doctor on site and a laundry service, as well as a non-denominational house of worship.

There is a regulation soccer field between the housing and the farm’s greenhouses. Baseball, volleyball and basketball courts, as well as new foosball tables, are on site, and no one under 18 is allowed on the farm.

In the greenhouses
This farm has greenhouses for grape tomatoes, beefsteak tomatoes, sweet mini-peppers and European cucumbers. There is also a greenhouse to produce vegetable seedlings for transport.

This Culiacan farm involves 180 acres of greenhouses for European cucumber production.