Fruit Royale is all about sweetness with California table grapes

Fruit Royale’s portfolio of premium table grapes has moved into its California season. Transitioning out of its import holdings in Peru and Chile, and with the Mexican volume beginning to slow down, Fruit Royale’s San Joaquin Valley season is on the cusp of bearing fruit.

Based out of Delano, CA, Fruit Royale is a fully integrated operation, working with table grape growers in every aspect of fruit production, packing, cooling, storing, logistics and sales. “Fruit Royale has been in the grape business since 2004, our success comes down to providing a high-quality product, with great customer service, and staying ahead of the curve,” said Louie Galvan, managing partner.

With harvest on the horizon in California Galvan exuded optimism and anticipation on behalf of his team for the upcoming season, “all hands are on deck to produce a bountiful, large-berried, flavorful crop.”

Galvan said the San Joaquin season will steadily ramp up with production peaking in mid-summer. “Our promotions will kick in right around the end of July and will last us through the Thanksgiving Holiday –– at the very least,” he said. Fruit Royale takes pride in having a promotable volume that retailers can rely on, twelve months out of the year. “Our claim to fame is we’ve got grapes every day of the year,” said Galvan.

Fruit Royale’s California season will feature all three colors: red, green, and black. Regarding specific varieties, Galvan said, “there’s almost too many to list, our focus simply has been drawing in consumers and retailers with eye-catching size and hooking them with outstanding flavor.

Galvan did emphasize Fruit Royale’s commitment to staying up on the latest designer varietals and industry trends and reiterated “we believe the key to profitability will rest on providing premium table grapes that are huge and sweet, and dependably available.”

Keeping retailers and consumers happy is Fruit Royale’s mark of success.

Every season has its unique challenges. In California, the consistent themes are access to water, along with the fluctuating costs of labor and logistics. “It’s a constantly evolving cost in our industry, we’re not unaware, and we’re not overly concerned — the market always finds a way,” said Galvan.

Price optimization for any fresh produce in today’s market is a careful balancing act for growers and retailers. However, demand for table grapes is consistently strong, particularly during the summer months, where table grapes are a sought-after treat for consumers, holding a consistently strong position in retail produce departments.

Industry chatter in the early spring centered on the large volume of grapes currently in storage on the East Coast, largely due to shipments arriving late from the southern hemisphere. “We were very fortunate in that we expected this heavy late production and planned for it. Our transition, in turn, has been very smooth,” said Galvan.

Attention will now turn to the California season, where Galvan in one word summarized his leading pitch for Fruit Royale’s premium table grapes, “Sweetness.”