Sourcing a “global supply of avocados” from the regions that supply the U.S. market “is one of our organization’s top priorities,” said Doug Meyer, vice president of sales and marketing at West Pak Avocado Inc. in Murrieta, CA, in an interview with The Produce News.

Doug Meyer, vice president of sales and marketing at West Pak Avocado Inc. in Murrieta, CA, said the company is sourcing its avocados from four major regions — California, Mexico, Chile and Peru. (Photo courtesy of West Pak)“We are, of course, sourcing from the four major regions” that supply avocados to the United States, those being California, Mexico, Chile and Peru, Meyer continued. “We are very focused” on that global sourcing, “and we are very comfortable securing year-over-year increasing supplies from all the regions. That is critical for the success and growth of our company with key customers. As they grow, they are looking for that reassurance from us that we will continue to meet their supply needs, and at this point we feel very confident that we can do that.”

In Mexico, for example, West Pak has “increased capacity in both packingline capacity and raw and finished product storage capacity” in its packing facility, he said. “We felt that move was necessary to keep up with the growth of our Mexico program.”

While sourcing is “a top priority,” Meyer continued, “we have to have the ability” to sell the product and to distribute the product.”

In the United States, “we have clearly established channels of distribution for our import programs,” he said.

For Chile and Peru, those channels of distribution include the recent opening of a ripening and distribution center in Philadelphia to service customers in the Northeast, establishing “that channel of distribution from the port all the way through our facility and then out to our customers,” he said.

West Pak’s sales team was recently expanded with the hiring of Kevin Leap, who was previously director of sales at Dulcinea Farms LLC in Ladera Ranch, CA. Leap joins Meyer, Dave Culpeper, Heath Shoup, Jaime Ramirez, Matt Smith, Javier Garcia and Dayna Brown on sales and Dan Acevedo on Business Development. The addition of Leap to the sales staff will help “meet our customer service requirements” both with existing customers who are increasing in volume and “new customers that we are developing,” Meyer said.

In addition, with an eye to future growth of the sales department, West Pak “established this summer a sales department internship program, and we do have that position filled this summer with a college student,” Meyer said.

When The Produce News talked to West Pak, the company was shipping fruit from California, Mexico and Peru. The California harvest was at peak season, and Meyer expected good supplies “through August and September and well into October.”

Distribution of new crop Mexican fruit had begun, and volume was currently light but would be building in coming weeks. “September will be the time that we see increasing supply from Mexico,” Meyer said. The Peruvian fruit “will be out of the equation by then,” and the Chilean crop will be starting.

He expected to see Chilean arrivals late September or early October “with increasing supplies each week as we move through October and then on into the winter months.”

U.S. consumption rates are “very promising,” Meyer said. “We are seeing very good support of all fruit that is coming into the U.S. It is all finding good homes, and we are seeing growth in all areas, so that is very encouraging.”

The depth of West Pak’s avocado program provides customers with “many options depending on their geographic region and preferences,” Meyer said. “And we have the service and the category management support to help them drive their avocado sales.”