Trinity and Fazio join forces
Trinity and Fazio join forces
FRESNO, CA -- Fazio Marketing Inc. and Trinity Fruit Sales Co., both here, have entered into an agreement to create a strategic marketing alliance for the two companies' California table grapes and other products, the two companies announced jointly Wednesday, March 26.
"This new alliance will bring together over 50 years and four generations of grape-growing experience from Fazio Marketing with the diverse marketing programs currently being offered by Trinity Fruit Sales," according to a joint press release announcing the new alliance.
Trinity Fruit Sales, formed in 1999, is a year-round shipper and marketer of assorted fresh fruits, nuts and vegetables from California and Chile.
Fazio Marketing, together with its sister company, Tri-Boro Fruit Co., is a full-service grower, packer and shipper of California table and wine grapes. Fazio Marketing was formed in 1984 by Don Fazio and his son Tony Fazio, but the family's grape business goes back four generations. The initial phase of the company's state-of-the-art packing facility was built in 1961.
"We are two strong companies working well together," said Tony Fazio, who is now president of Fazio Marketing. The companies have been doing business with each other for many years, and "this is an opportunity to expand on that relationship to provide a wider range of products and services to our customers and to our growers."
"I have known and respected Don Fazio and the Fazio family operations my whole career," said David White, president of Trinity. "We share the common values of providing superior products with superior service to our customers. This new alliance is a partnership of like minds with a common goal of succeeding in an ever-changing business climate."
"We have been working on this project for quite a while," said Don Fazio, who continues on the sales desk at Fazio Marketing. The two companies "have been dealing over the last few years and doing well with our dealings," and the relationship "got even closer to the point where we decided ... [to] put a marketing agreement together. We call it an alliance," he said, but "we are considering it our new marketing arm."
The nature of the alliance will continue to evolve, Mr. White stated. "For right now, we are keeping our own names, but we are taking it in stages to transition over to where we will have a different name."
The alliance will also, eventually, have its own label, he said. "It is going to take time and energy to figure out how everything is best going to fit, so that is why we thought this would be a great first step."
"We are working toward that, but this, we felt, was the first step in that process," added Tony Fazio.
The grape deal "is evolving rapidly in a lot of different directions," he continued. "This alliance between the two companies ... gives us the ability to meet the needs of our customers, which are rapidly changing and evolving."
The present arrangement "allows both companies to maintain their autonomy," said John Hein, who joined Trinity earlier this year and is working in sales and marketing. "I feel this is just the start of the future for our industry."
The coming together of companies such as Tri-Boro/Fazio and Trinity Fruit benefits the buyers and the consumers, Mr. Hein said. "We fortify each other's programs. We are able to work together on current accounts. We are able to have meetings together to develop existing accounts to take it up to the next level."
Trinity already had a grape program, but now Fazio is fortifying that program, Mr. Hein said, and Trinity is "bringing tree fruit, cherries, apples, citrus and pears to the Fazio team, so we are bringing a lot of horsepower" to customers.
"I agree with John completely," added Don Fazio. "As the chainstores get bigger and bigger, fewer buying entities are around, and our company has to get bigger and bigger to match all the things that they might need. That is what we are doing, basically."
The sales teams from each company will be able to sell all the items from both companies, said Don Fazio. Fazio Marketing will continue "concentrating on grapes," he said, "but that is the ultimate goal." So all the products offered by Trinity Fruit will now be available to Fazio's customers.
Members of the sales staff from both companies will be "readily available to travel, to come out and see the buyers and sit down and work on programs that they want to put together," said Mr. Hein.
"This new alliance will bring together over 50 years and four generations of grape-growing experience from Fazio Marketing with the diverse marketing programs currently being offered by Trinity Fruit Sales," according to a joint press release announcing the new alliance.
Trinity Fruit Sales, formed in 1999, is a year-round shipper and marketer of assorted fresh fruits, nuts and vegetables from California and Chile.
Fazio Marketing, together with its sister company, Tri-Boro Fruit Co., is a full-service grower, packer and shipper of California table and wine grapes. Fazio Marketing was formed in 1984 by Don Fazio and his son Tony Fazio, but the family's grape business goes back four generations. The initial phase of the company's state-of-the-art packing facility was built in 1961.
"We are two strong companies working well together," said Tony Fazio, who is now president of Fazio Marketing. The companies have been doing business with each other for many years, and "this is an opportunity to expand on that relationship to provide a wider range of products and services to our customers and to our growers."
"I have known and respected Don Fazio and the Fazio family operations my whole career," said David White, president of Trinity. "We share the common values of providing superior products with superior service to our customers. This new alliance is a partnership of like minds with a common goal of succeeding in an ever-changing business climate."
"We have been working on this project for quite a while," said Don Fazio, who continues on the sales desk at Fazio Marketing. The two companies "have been dealing over the last few years and doing well with our dealings," and the relationship "got even closer to the point where we decided ... [to] put a marketing agreement together. We call it an alliance," he said, but "we are considering it our new marketing arm."
The nature of the alliance will continue to evolve, Mr. White stated. "For right now, we are keeping our own names, but we are taking it in stages to transition over to where we will have a different name."
The alliance will also, eventually, have its own label, he said. "It is going to take time and energy to figure out how everything is best going to fit, so that is why we thought this would be a great first step."
"We are working toward that, but this, we felt, was the first step in that process," added Tony Fazio.
The grape deal "is evolving rapidly in a lot of different directions," he continued. "This alliance between the two companies ... gives us the ability to meet the needs of our customers, which are rapidly changing and evolving."
The present arrangement "allows both companies to maintain their autonomy," said John Hein, who joined Trinity earlier this year and is working in sales and marketing. "I feel this is just the start of the future for our industry."
The coming together of companies such as Tri-Boro/Fazio and Trinity Fruit benefits the buyers and the consumers, Mr. Hein said. "We fortify each other's programs. We are able to work together on current accounts. We are able to have meetings together to develop existing accounts to take it up to the next level."
Trinity already had a grape program, but now Fazio is fortifying that program, Mr. Hein said, and Trinity is "bringing tree fruit, cherries, apples, citrus and pears to the Fazio team, so we are bringing a lot of horsepower" to customers.
"I agree with John completely," added Don Fazio. "As the chainstores get bigger and bigger, fewer buying entities are around, and our company has to get bigger and bigger to match all the things that they might need. That is what we are doing, basically."
The sales teams from each company will be able to sell all the items from both companies, said Don Fazio. Fazio Marketing will continue "concentrating on grapes," he said, "but that is the ultimate goal." So all the products offered by Trinity Fruit will now be available to Fazio's customers.
Members of the sales staff from both companies will be "readily available to travel, to come out and see the buyers and sit down and work on programs that they want to put together," said Mr. Hein.
