Seald Sweet's foray into grapes reflects changing times
Seald Sweet's foray into grapes reflects changing times
PHILADELPHIA -- Seald Sweet International LLC in Vero Beach, FL, began selling Brazilian grapes in December, which is a new venture for the traditionally citrus-focused operation.
"Seald Sweet," of course, is among the older and more established Florida citrus brands. It did not seem to be a huge leap in the last decade when Seald Sweet moved to marketing citrus from other countries and other states. Such progress was greatly bolstered two years ago when Uni-Veg Group in Sint- Katelijne-Waver, Belgium, became the majority owner of Seald Sweet.
Uni-Veg owns about 50 produce companies around the world, making it one of the globe's larger produce firms. In February 2006, Uni-Veg merged with The Bocchi Group in Verona, Italy. Bocchi also owns a national produce network, which is oriented to production and marketing. Among the growing operations owned by Bocchi are vineyards in Brazil.
Thus Bill Weyland, Seald Sweet's director of imports, is suddenly marketing Brazilian grapes that have arrived at Philadelphia's Tioga Marine Fruit Terminal. Mr. Weyland told The Produce News that Seald Sweet's relationship with Fresh Taste Produce U.S.A. & Associates Inc., housed across the street, was still unclear. Bocchi does not own fresh Taste, though the two operations have a very close strategic alliance. Fresh Taste is also marketing Brazilian grapes this month.
Mr. Weyland said that there are so many companies and so many opportunities involved in the Uni-Veg/Bocchi relationship that it is going to take time to sort out the best approaches.
Mr. Weyland noted that "Seald Sweet is part of a very large global organization called Uni-Veg. Uni-Veg is a global company that was started 25 years ago." Uni-Veg is owned by 44-year-old Hein Deprez, who is also Seald Sweet's president, chief executive officer and majority owner.
Uni-Veg's strengths, Mr. Weyland said, are distribution and logistics, plus convenience foods. "With the merger of Bocchi, whereby Bocchi is strong in production and packing fruit, it complements the total business plan. There is little duplication in the business plan of the two, and it strengthens each segment of the business,"_he said. "North America represents less than 10 percent of Uni-Veg's global revenue, so there is a strong effort being made as an organization to increase and take advantage of the opportunities in the North American market. Seald Sweet will continue to be a citrus specialist, but we have opportunities to bring to the marketplace many programs outside citrus, where we are vertically integrated with our own production and packinghouses."
He added, "Fresh Taste has had a very long-term relationship with Bocchi, and they will continue. Seald Sweet at this moment is working directly with Fresh Taste as well, and is discussing many ideas. Both will benefit from new positions in the marketplace."
This is "our first attempt to market Brazilian grapes from our own farms. It is the first of many new products we will have in the near future."
Next, Mr. Weyland said, will be an Argentine pear program, scheduled to come through Philadelphia in February.
"In this day and age of retail consolidation and highly competitive times, retailers are looking to be as close as possible to the source," Mr. Weyland said. This "increases efficiencies and lowers cost. So being vertically integrated addresses this need by the retail industry."
Seald Sweet has been in business for 90 years. It has sales offices in California, New Jersey, Texas and Florida.
"We have the opportunity to bring to our customer base many exciting programs that should be beneficial not only to Seald Sweet, but also to our clients," he concluded.
"Seald Sweet," of course, is among the older and more established Florida citrus brands. It did not seem to be a huge leap in the last decade when Seald Sweet moved to marketing citrus from other countries and other states. Such progress was greatly bolstered two years ago when Uni-Veg Group in Sint- Katelijne-Waver, Belgium, became the majority owner of Seald Sweet.
Uni-Veg owns about 50 produce companies around the world, making it one of the globe's larger produce firms. In February 2006, Uni-Veg merged with The Bocchi Group in Verona, Italy. Bocchi also owns a national produce network, which is oriented to production and marketing. Among the growing operations owned by Bocchi are vineyards in Brazil.
Thus Bill Weyland, Seald Sweet's director of imports, is suddenly marketing Brazilian grapes that have arrived at Philadelphia's Tioga Marine Fruit Terminal. Mr. Weyland told The Produce News that Seald Sweet's relationship with Fresh Taste Produce U.S.A. & Associates Inc., housed across the street, was still unclear. Bocchi does not own fresh Taste, though the two operations have a very close strategic alliance. Fresh Taste is also marketing Brazilian grapes this month.
Mr. Weyland said that there are so many companies and so many opportunities involved in the Uni-Veg/Bocchi relationship that it is going to take time to sort out the best approaches.
Mr. Weyland noted that "Seald Sweet is part of a very large global organization called Uni-Veg. Uni-Veg is a global company that was started 25 years ago." Uni-Veg is owned by 44-year-old Hein Deprez, who is also Seald Sweet's president, chief executive officer and majority owner.
Uni-Veg's strengths, Mr. Weyland said, are distribution and logistics, plus convenience foods. "With the merger of Bocchi, whereby Bocchi is strong in production and packing fruit, it complements the total business plan. There is little duplication in the business plan of the two, and it strengthens each segment of the business,"_he said. "North America represents less than 10 percent of Uni-Veg's global revenue, so there is a strong effort being made as an organization to increase and take advantage of the opportunities in the North American market. Seald Sweet will continue to be a citrus specialist, but we have opportunities to bring to the marketplace many programs outside citrus, where we are vertically integrated with our own production and packinghouses."
He added, "Fresh Taste has had a very long-term relationship with Bocchi, and they will continue. Seald Sweet at this moment is working directly with Fresh Taste as well, and is discussing many ideas. Both will benefit from new positions in the marketplace."
This is "our first attempt to market Brazilian grapes from our own farms. It is the first of many new products we will have in the near future."
Next, Mr. Weyland said, will be an Argentine pear program, scheduled to come through Philadelphia in February.
"In this day and age of retail consolidation and highly competitive times, retailers are looking to be as close as possible to the source," Mr. Weyland said. This "increases efficiencies and lowers cost. So being vertically integrated addresses this need by the retail industry."
Seald Sweet has been in business for 90 years. It has sales offices in California, New Jersey, Texas and Florida.
"We have the opportunity to bring to our customer base many exciting programs that should be beneficial not only to Seald Sweet, but also to our clients," he concluded.
