When announcing Brown’s new position at Grapeman Farms, the company said the strategic move would open new market share opportunities. The year-round East Coast sales office allows the company to better service customers across the country, and Brown handles sales from all regions, including Peru, Mexico and California.
“This is another catalyst for growth to service our growers and customers,” Perez said.
The company has a Santiago, Chile, office that oversees quality control, logistics, production forecasting and other supply chain needs.
Grapeman Farms typically shipped just 10 percent of its Chilean grapes to the East Coast. Last season, that grew to about a third of the imports, Perez said. “We’ve always been big on the West Coast,” through the Port of Long Beach, CA, he said. “We’re excited about our growth in South America, specifically in Chile and Peru, in the near future and long-term.”
As of late October, the company’s first shipment of Peruvian grapes was on the water, and Chilean grapes are expected to see their first arrivals on time on the East Coast, the second week of December, Perez said. Chilean grapes are expected to arrive on the West Coast about 10 days later.
Grapeman Farms kicked off its Chilean stone fruit program last season, importing cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots and plums. The stone fruit imports are an important addition, Perez said, but grapes comprise the vast majority of South American imports.
Peaches will start the stone fruit season, with the first shipment expected to arrive in late December-early January, Perez said.
