Melones splits from Chiquita, will market under 'Plain Jane' label
Melones splits from Chiquita, will market under 'Plain Jane' label
Melones Internacional, whose greenhouse vegetables from Sinaloa, Mexico, were formerly packed in the "Chiquita/ABC" brand and marketed through Chiquita Frupac Inc., are now being packed in a new label, "Plain Jane," just launched by the company.
Melones Internacional, whose founder and chief operating officer is Alejandro Canelos, has corporate headquarters in Culiacan, Sinaloa, and in Phoenix, AZ. Distribution of the products is handled through Apache Produce Co. Inc. in Nogales, AZ, according to a company fact sheet.
Melones was started in 1994 and expanded into cucumbers. "The success of the cucumbers prompted the company to shift its focus to vegetables," now including tomatoes and colored bell peppers, according to company literature.
The partnership with Chiquita began in 1996 and continued through the 2006 season. For 2007, Melones "took the next step and created its own label," according to a company statement.
The statement quoted Alejandro Canelos Jr., a principal in the company, as saying that during the years that Melones marketed its produce through Chiquita, "we ... enjoyed a solid partnership with them. We feel that we're at a point where our interests have diverged, and our focus is to take our products to the next level by creating our own signature label."
The parting of ways with Chiquita was "amicable and not unexpected," he said. "We discovered that in order to reach our full potential, we needed to create our own brand."
The name "Plane Jane" is "not such a 'serious' name" but rather "more of a 'wink,'" Mr. Canelos said. "The idea is that Plain Jane's beauty is in its uncomplicated, healthy character." The name is intended to "capture a wholesome simplicity and innocence."
Melones Internacional, whose founder and chief operating officer is Alejandro Canelos, has corporate headquarters in Culiacan, Sinaloa, and in Phoenix, AZ. Distribution of the products is handled through Apache Produce Co. Inc. in Nogales, AZ, according to a company fact sheet.
Melones was started in 1994 and expanded into cucumbers. "The success of the cucumbers prompted the company to shift its focus to vegetables," now including tomatoes and colored bell peppers, according to company literature.
The partnership with Chiquita began in 1996 and continued through the 2006 season. For 2007, Melones "took the next step and created its own label," according to a company statement.
The statement quoted Alejandro Canelos Jr., a principal in the company, as saying that during the years that Melones marketed its produce through Chiquita, "we ... enjoyed a solid partnership with them. We feel that we're at a point where our interests have diverged, and our focus is to take our products to the next level by creating our own signature label."
The parting of ways with Chiquita was "amicable and not unexpected," he said. "We discovered that in order to reach our full potential, we needed to create our own brand."
The name "Plane Jane" is "not such a 'serious' name" but rather "more of a 'wink,'" Mr. Canelos said. "The idea is that Plain Jane's beauty is in its uncomplicated, healthy character." The name is intended to "capture a wholesome simplicity and innocence."
