RIO RICO, AZ — Given consumer interest in nutritious, healthy eating and meat substitutes, these are good days for eggplant.

Malena Produce Inc. claims to be North America’s largest-volume eggplant grower and shipper.

Gonzalo Avila, the vice president and general manager of Malena, said the strongest demographic segment for consuming eggplant are older consumers, well-educated and higher-income households.

“Our job is to educate consumers,” Avila continued. “People say: ‘It looks nice. How do I eat it?’ “

To answer those questions, Malena works on consumer education through retailers, with Veronica Kraushaar running those programs.

One of the challenges in marketing eggplant is to educate wholesalers, retailers and consumers on the proper ways to handle the purple vegetable. “That makes a big difference to what they see on the shelves. First, we’ve got to educate the retailers and wholesalers to handle eggplant and to have the right temperatures and humidity.” He added, “Eggplant is like a sponge” so it is susceptible to its environment.

“Most of our sales are f.o.b.,” Avila said of Malena, which also sells bell peppers grown by the family in Mexico. The company also markets other products grown by independent Mexican growers.

Avila’s grandfather started growing vegetables in Culiacan in the 1950s. In 2002, the company opened the distribution warehouse in Rio Rico. “Malena” was the name of Avila’s aunt.

Avila attended the University of Arizona and graduated in international business from a university in Monterey, Mexico.

Going into the early weeks of 2014, the Mexican vegetable deal had a slow start because Hurricane Manuel badly flooded Culiacan fields in September. “That set everyone back to the second half of January,” Avila said.

In late January the high populations in the northeastern United States were discouraged from food shopping because of constant winter storms. So, it was a tough start on the season, but he noted, “Volume will remain up to promotable levels. We’ll have volume from March into May or June.”

In 2014, with expanded growing areas, Malena will be offering its “Malena” brand 12 months a year for the first time.

He said the company has typically been in the market for eight or nine months a year. Now the firm is working to increase consumption and market share. “We need to be in it 52 weeks a year, so our clients and their customers have access 52 weeks.”

Avila said Malena has the ability to provide consistency and quality for the duration. The firm also has all of the requisite food safety practices in hand.

Effective late January, Malena was beginning to be a direct importer of Dominican Republic Roma tomatoes, receiving them in Miami and Philadelphia.