Growers Express and Capurro enter partnership
Growers Express and Capurro enter partnership
Salinas, CA-based Growers Express and nearby Moss Landing, CA-based Capurro Farms have reached an agreement on a partnership, according to Woody Johnson, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Growers Express LLC.
The partnership agreement, which was reached on Christmas Eve, forms a strong company with wide market reach, innovative products and a diverse farming base. Under the agreement, Capurro Farms will continue to grow its usual range of products, and Growers Express will continue in its selling, marketing and distributing capacity.
The Capurro sales and marketing team moved into Growers Express' headquarters Friday, Dec. 28, and will continue to focus primarily on selling its own products, such as artichokes, Brussels sprouts and leafy greens. However, there will be a lot of inter- sales between Capurro and Growers Express. "We'll [Growers Express] sell back to Capurro and vice versa," Mr. Johnson said.
Growers Express President and Chief Executive Officer Jamie Strachan said in a statement that in "today's rapidly changing produce marketplace, growers and shippers need to have significant production and shipping resources, a diverse line of products and an ability to innovate." He added that the expansion of Growers Express' partnership "gives our members the scale and expertise to be market leaders."
Capurro Farms joins Mission Ranches, Gill Ranch and Mesa Packing as partners in Growers Express. The degree of partnership depends on the number of products each runs through the company. These companies -- including Capurro -- each are separate entities from Growers Express. Mr. Johnson said he didn't know what percentage of ownership Capurro would take in Growers Express but that Capurro would have "clearly much more than a token percentage."
The partners in Growers Express don't have a contract on how much they'll sell through Growers Express, but it's "in their best interests" to sell product through Growers Express, Mr. Johnson said.
The combined entity of Growers Express and Capurro will operate more than 50,000 acres, stretching from Santa Cruz and San Benito counties to southern Monterey County, as well as in Imperial County, Riverside County, Arizona and Mexico. The partnership puts all production under a united system of food safety.
Capurro's artichokes will be a brand new addition to the Growers Express line of products, Mr. Johnson said.
In evaluating a partnership between Growers Express and Capurro, it was evident looking at each other's customer lists that there were a lot of opportunities for growth, according to Mr. Johnson. "Capurro has done an excellent job on sleeved leaf items," he said, adding that Capurro had more market penetration with retailers in the Northeast and in eastern Canada.
Conventional produce grown by Capurro Farms will be marketed and distributed through Growers Express. Capurro will market its organic products through its own business separate from Growers Express. Mr. Johnson said that over the next three months, Growers Express and Capurro would decide which labels to use on the various products that Capurro will move through Growers Express.
Capurro Farms brings to the partnership a family of brand names including the "Topless" brand that is well known to wholesalers, Mr. Johnson said. Capurro also brings industry-leading expertise in products that will expand Growers Express' offerings that are marketed principally under the "Green Giant Fresh" brand.
In addition to growing artichokes and Brussels sprouts, Capurro offers innovative value-added consumer packs it recently brought to the marketplace.
Mr. Johnson said that plans call for integrating Capurro into Growers Express' operation in Yuma, AZ, and for Capurro to discontinue shipping from its cooler in Coachella, CA. In season, Capurro will ship from Growers Express cooler in Salinas.
Growers Express will integrate Capurro into its Enterprise Resource Planning computer system unified database.
The partnership agreement, which was reached on Christmas Eve, forms a strong company with wide market reach, innovative products and a diverse farming base. Under the agreement, Capurro Farms will continue to grow its usual range of products, and Growers Express will continue in its selling, marketing and distributing capacity.
The Capurro sales and marketing team moved into Growers Express' headquarters Friday, Dec. 28, and will continue to focus primarily on selling its own products, such as artichokes, Brussels sprouts and leafy greens. However, there will be a lot of inter- sales between Capurro and Growers Express. "We'll [Growers Express] sell back to Capurro and vice versa," Mr. Johnson said.
Growers Express President and Chief Executive Officer Jamie Strachan said in a statement that in "today's rapidly changing produce marketplace, growers and shippers need to have significant production and shipping resources, a diverse line of products and an ability to innovate." He added that the expansion of Growers Express' partnership "gives our members the scale and expertise to be market leaders."
Capurro Farms joins Mission Ranches, Gill Ranch and Mesa Packing as partners in Growers Express. The degree of partnership depends on the number of products each runs through the company. These companies -- including Capurro -- each are separate entities from Growers Express. Mr. Johnson said he didn't know what percentage of ownership Capurro would take in Growers Express but that Capurro would have "clearly much more than a token percentage."
The partners in Growers Express don't have a contract on how much they'll sell through Growers Express, but it's "in their best interests" to sell product through Growers Express, Mr. Johnson said.
The combined entity of Growers Express and Capurro will operate more than 50,000 acres, stretching from Santa Cruz and San Benito counties to southern Monterey County, as well as in Imperial County, Riverside County, Arizona and Mexico. The partnership puts all production under a united system of food safety.
Capurro's artichokes will be a brand new addition to the Growers Express line of products, Mr. Johnson said.
In evaluating a partnership between Growers Express and Capurro, it was evident looking at each other's customer lists that there were a lot of opportunities for growth, according to Mr. Johnson. "Capurro has done an excellent job on sleeved leaf items," he said, adding that Capurro had more market penetration with retailers in the Northeast and in eastern Canada.
Conventional produce grown by Capurro Farms will be marketed and distributed through Growers Express. Capurro will market its organic products through its own business separate from Growers Express. Mr. Johnson said that over the next three months, Growers Express and Capurro would decide which labels to use on the various products that Capurro will move through Growers Express.
Capurro Farms brings to the partnership a family of brand names including the "Topless" brand that is well known to wholesalers, Mr. Johnson said. Capurro also brings industry-leading expertise in products that will expand Growers Express' offerings that are marketed principally under the "Green Giant Fresh" brand.
In addition to growing artichokes and Brussels sprouts, Capurro offers innovative value-added consumer packs it recently brought to the marketplace.
Mr. Johnson said that plans call for integrating Capurro into Growers Express' operation in Yuma, AZ, and for Capurro to discontinue shipping from its cooler in Coachella, CA. In season, Capurro will ship from Growers Express cooler in Salinas.
Growers Express will integrate Capurro into its Enterprise Resource Planning computer system unified database.
