The changes in variety mix at Eagle Eye Grape Guys LLC in Visalia, CA, a subsidiary of Eagle Eye Produce Co. in Idaho Falls, ID, is really more of an evolution than a revolution, according to Shaun Ricks, vice president of the company.

For the 2014 season out of the San Joaquin Valley, “we’ve got more acreage coming on line of new varieties,” he said July 8. But that has been the case for several successive seasons. “Every year we get more and more.”

Among other things this year, in the red seedless category “we’ve got more Scarlet Royal” as well as more Vintage Red, he said. The company also has increases this year in a couple of new proprietary mid-season and late-season red seedless varieties that are not yet named, although “we’ve got some ideas” for names. “We are probably going to name them this year.”

There is “not a huge volume on those yet,” but there will be more than last year. They are “just now coming on line,” he said. “We didn’t have much” of those varieties last year.

The company has increases in a number of other varieties as well, including some old standards. “In our green program, we’ve got more Sugraones than ever, and we’ve got more Princess than ever,” Ricks said. “That is a variety we like and do well. And then we’ve got a lot of Autumn Kings this year as well.”

The black seedless program at The Grape Guys “is made up primarily of Summer Royals and Autumn Royals, and we have more blacks than ever,” he said. “The market has been really good” on those, “and I think it will continue to be very good because the export markets have picked up on the black seedless.” Not only are export customers “hitting us hard on Autumn Royals, which has been happening for a few years,” but they are also, now, showing increased interest in the Summer Royals.    

For the 2014 season, he expected to be exporting the first Summer Royals by the week of July 14.

“Export business in general, I think, is going to play a bigger part in our business than ever,” but that is also an evolution, Ricks said. “That is something we have been working towards every year.”

Evolving to new varieties and evolving to more export business “is part of our business plan,” he said.

Program business also continues to increase for The Grape Guys and now constitutes “the biggest single aspect of our program,” Ricks said.

From a packaging standpoint, “we are doing fixed weight containers” in two, three and four pounds. “We’ve got a lot of different outlets for those,” he said.

For bagged grapes, the high-graphics handle bag, which as recently as last year was still considered something special or unique, has now become “the default pack,” he said. “It is just mainstream.”

The Grape Guys has a long season in the San Joaquin Valley, with vineyards spread over a wide geographic area. Over the course of the season, “we will be harvesting from as far south as Arvin and as far north as Madera. I think we are … one of perhaps two or three companies” that harvest in Arvin at the start of the early deal and finish late in Madera.

Continuing on sales at The Grape Guys, along with Ricks are Eric Beno and Erasmo Marin.