Realizing that the greatest success occurs when all facets of the industry are in synch, Richard Ruiz wants to work with his retail clients to offer the best possible product at an affordable price.

Mr. Ruiz, president of Ruiz Sales, an Edinburg, TX-based distributor of tropical items from Mexico, with an emphasis on Persian limes, said that quality, food safety and traceability are the key elements to any successful produce program. And he is eager to do his part to make At the Ruiz Sales packinghouse in Pharr, TX, a labeling machine affixes a traceability sticker on each individual lime. The company is committed to providing the best quality and safest fruit, at an affordable price. (Photo by John Groh)sure the products he supplies to his retail clients have all three.

“Retailers are looking for help from their vendors, and we have gone the extra mile and are spending the money to make sure only the best and safest products make it to the retail shelves,” he said.

Part of the commitment to supplying the best product is in the form of PTI compliance.

“PTI compliance is no longer a choice — it’s a way of life,” he said. “We need to do what is best for our ultimate consumer — the moms and kids. As a father and a grandfather, I am passionate about maintaining a safe food supply. That is why we have a stickering program where each lime we sell has a traceability number. Having a PLU sticker is not in compliance with PTI. There needs to be a traceability number to best serve the customer.”

Mr. Ruiz also believes that vendors should provide more training and merchandising advice to their retail partners as a way to sell more product.

“Retailers are a source of information and community for their customers, and we want to make sure we are sending the right message,” he said. “We try to work hand-in-hand with both our retail partners to make sure only the best product is sold. If we do this right, we can dramatically increase produce sales. Our main goals are to make the retailers we work with the best in the nation and to supply premium quality, safe and affordable produce for a healthier America.”

With regard to quality, Mr. Ruiz said that while the best fruit will cost a retailer more money, it is actually more affordable than buying fruit of marginal quality at a lower price.

“Even though they might pay less, bad-quality fruit is actually more expensive,” said Mr. Ruiz. “When a consumer gets home and has to throw half the bag away because of quality issues, then it is costing the consumer more money and the retailer will lose repeat sales. Additionally, the industry suffers because the consumer might turn to other snack foods, which are not healthy. It’s a competitive environment at retail, and we don’t want to lose market share to other snack foods.”

Mr. Ruiz said he believes that retailers are starting to catch on and are putting more emphasis on traceability, but he will not rest until there is 100 percent compliance.

“I think [PTI] is very important, and I will continue to be vocal about it until it is adopted across the industry,” he said. “We invest a lot of time and money into out products, and in fact we just received the results of our Primus Labs audit and we received a score of 100 percent, so we are trying to lead by example.”

For 2013, Mr. Ruiz said the goal at Ruiz Sales is to sell more bagged limes, and to make sure that every last lime in the bag is a high-quality piece of fruit.

“I think 2013 is the year of the moms and kids,” he said. “We want to make sure they have the safest, best-quality fruit there is, and we want to increase produce consumption and make America the best and healthiest nation on the Earth.”