Edinburg Citrus Association touts its longevity
Edinburg Citrus Association touts its longevity
For more than 80 years Edinburg Citrus Association has specialized in the Rio Star variety and its “Tropic Moon” label has been in the forefront of the Texas citrus market since 1932. In all its years of existence, ECA has tested its red grapefruit to be certain it meets its standards of sweetness before it’s packed in the recognizable “Tropic Moon” carton.
“We leave it on the tree until it is ordered to ensure the freshest fruit for our customer,” said Jeff Arnold, general manager of ECA. “It’s our goal to make sure the consumer gets the best quality pack every time you open up your order.”
In order to exceed customer expectations and continue to ship a high-quality pack, ECA has improved its production by replacing the entire packingline with one of the most innovative complete packing systems in the world from MAF Industries.
The new state-of-the-art packingline creates a modernized process along with smart system solutions that packs more efficiently and maintains the highest standards of quality fruit possible to satisfy their customers.
“One example of how this advanced technology is beneficial to our customers is how it reduces the variations and costs that occur from grading by hand,” said Arnold.
The new packingline has meticulous grading techniques, accurate sizing features and is gentle on the citrus, ensuring that the fruit arrives to its destination as fresh and as flawless as possible.
“We offer a variety of options to fit the customers’ wants and needs,” Ashlynn Elliff, who is in sales and marketing at ECA. “Grapefruit can be packed a variety of different ways including 40-pound cartons, five- and eight-pound bags, as well as RPC cartons.”
While ECA has plans to unveil a new label in the coming months, Elliff said, “The label is not what really sells our citrus because you don’t really need a fancy box or fancy packaging to sell delicious and sweet Texas grapefruit but by branding the citrus it makes it relatable to the consumers and we wanted to add another Texas grapefruit option for our consumers to identify with.”
Edinburg Citrus currently ships “Tropic Moon,” “Edinburg’s Best” and “Tropic Valley” grapefruit and oranges.
“One of the best ways for retailers to sell Texas citrus is to allow the consumer to taste it, and they’ll keep coming back for more,” Elliff said.
