Seald-Sweet continues to look for growth opportunities
Seald-Sweet continues to look for growth opportunities
With its entry into the Texas citrus industry, Seald-Sweet International is continuing its effort to be the world's leader in the citrus industry.
If a customer defines a product as being in its citrus category, the Florida-based firm wants to be the provider of that product, no matter where the customer is and no matter where the product originates. "And more than that," said Seald-Sweet Senior Vice President David Mixon, it is not enough that we just supply it, we want to be the expert in that product.
It is with this goal in mind that the company recently formed a marketing partnership with Edinburg Citrus Association in Edinburg, TX. Under the terms of the agreement, all sales for ECA will now be handled from Seald-Sweets Vero Beach, FL, headquarters.
We will have [quality control] people on site to help with the packing of the fruit, but we will sell it from Florida, Mr. Mixon said.
He said that it is a good match for Seald-Sweet, as Texas has a unique place in the market and at certain times of the year, we have customers that want Texas fruit.
The Texas Rio Red grapefruit is noteworthy for its deep red color. While other citrus-producing areas grow red grapefruit, Texas has specialized in the redder varieties that offer customers a point of distinction.
The long-time citrus industry member, who joined Seald-Sweet in his current position just six months ago, said that the Florida firm is more global than any company I have ever worked for.
Mr. Mixon said that Seald-Sweet views the citrus category from the global perspective and has done so for many years. The company was founded in 1909 as the Florida Citrus Exchange. According to its web site, in its first year it directed the sale of 1.25 million boxes of fruit produced by its grower-members.
Over the years, the exchange grew, adding grower members, packinghouses, volume and eventually the Seald-Sweet brand name. To celebrate the grower-owned cooperatives 50th anniversary, the Florida Citrus Exchanges name became Seald-Sweet Growers Inc.
In 1998, Seald-Sweet joined with De Weide Blik, a Belgian holding company, creating Seald-Sweet LLC. De Weide Blik, which means the wider view, specializes in the processing, trading, production and distribution of a wide range of produce.
It was from this alliance that Seald-Sweet was able to leverage the connection and grow to a much more global operation.
Currently, Seald-Sweets cooperative members represent more than 600 growers, 12 packinghouses and hundreds of thousands of cultivated acres of citrus located in all three of Floridas growing regions. The company ships approximately 11 million cartons of premium-quality citrus per season all over the globe. And now it sources from all over the globe also. Mr. Mixon listed North America, Spain, Morocco, South Africa, Chile, Argentina and Uruguay as its major sources of product. The firm has ownership interests in South Africa, Uruguay and Florida, and has marketing partnerships in the other regions.
Much of our success has been inspired by the president of Seald-Sweet, Hein Deprez, said Mr. Mixon. He is a very strong visionary, but he goes beyond that. He can take an idea from conception to close and make the right decisions all along the way. The produce industry is different and you have to have somebody that knows that.
Mr. Mixon said that Mr. Deprez began as a mushroom grower, so he has that all-important grower viewpoint. It is that inherent grower knowledge that is at the core of Seald-Sweet that the firms newest senior manager credits for its strong growth in recent years. We understand what it takes to be a grower, both here and globally.
But he is just as quick to point out that Seald-Sweet also understands that the produce industry has entered a new realm and no longer can a firm afford to be production-driven. You have to develop a process to be wiser and better than you were in the past. You can no longer be competitive if you let production drive your company. You have to be market-driven.
He said that Seald-Sweet has adopted this philosophy, and so has the Edinburg Citrus Association, which drew the two groups together. ECA has a base of growers that understand that times have changed. They wanted to look at the future and see what that holds rather than looking at the past.
Mr. Mixon said that the future may mean new packaging, new products and new ways to deliver the citrus category to consumers. One area that certainly has promise is value-added. The citrus industry especially the grapefruit industry believes it can create a huge increase in demand if it could provide consumers with its fruit in some fresh-cut fashion. Mr. Mixon believes that day will come, but he said it is still on the other side of the mountain. He can see the tunnel, but it is going to take some time and some new advanced technologies for that tunnel to show some light. The bottom line is we are not there yet.
But it is this type of forward thinking that helps set Seald-Sweet apart. As the company expands both its product lines and its source of products, Mr. Mixon said that one has to remain committed to the customer and the customers needs.
To illustrate Seald-Sweets philosophy, he discussed the Seattle market. Mandarin oranges from Japan are not a big seller in North America, except in Seattle. The Seattle market buys a lot of mandarin oranges. So if our customer is in Seattle and wants to buy mandarin oranges, we want to supply it.
If a customer defines a product as being in its citrus category, the Florida-based firm wants to be the provider of that product, no matter where the customer is and no matter where the product originates. "And more than that," said Seald-Sweet Senior Vice President David Mixon, it is not enough that we just supply it, we want to be the expert in that product.
It is with this goal in mind that the company recently formed a marketing partnership with Edinburg Citrus Association in Edinburg, TX. Under the terms of the agreement, all sales for ECA will now be handled from Seald-Sweets Vero Beach, FL, headquarters.
We will have [quality control] people on site to help with the packing of the fruit, but we will sell it from Florida, Mr. Mixon said.
He said that it is a good match for Seald-Sweet, as Texas has a unique place in the market and at certain times of the year, we have customers that want Texas fruit.
The Texas Rio Red grapefruit is noteworthy for its deep red color. While other citrus-producing areas grow red grapefruit, Texas has specialized in the redder varieties that offer customers a point of distinction.
The long-time citrus industry member, who joined Seald-Sweet in his current position just six months ago, said that the Florida firm is more global than any company I have ever worked for.
Mr. Mixon said that Seald-Sweet views the citrus category from the global perspective and has done so for many years. The company was founded in 1909 as the Florida Citrus Exchange. According to its web site, in its first year it directed the sale of 1.25 million boxes of fruit produced by its grower-members.
Over the years, the exchange grew, adding grower members, packinghouses, volume and eventually the Seald-Sweet brand name. To celebrate the grower-owned cooperatives 50th anniversary, the Florida Citrus Exchanges name became Seald-Sweet Growers Inc.
In 1998, Seald-Sweet joined with De Weide Blik, a Belgian holding company, creating Seald-Sweet LLC. De Weide Blik, which means the wider view, specializes in the processing, trading, production and distribution of a wide range of produce.
It was from this alliance that Seald-Sweet was able to leverage the connection and grow to a much more global operation.
Currently, Seald-Sweets cooperative members represent more than 600 growers, 12 packinghouses and hundreds of thousands of cultivated acres of citrus located in all three of Floridas growing regions. The company ships approximately 11 million cartons of premium-quality citrus per season all over the globe. And now it sources from all over the globe also. Mr. Mixon listed North America, Spain, Morocco, South Africa, Chile, Argentina and Uruguay as its major sources of product. The firm has ownership interests in South Africa, Uruguay and Florida, and has marketing partnerships in the other regions.
Much of our success has been inspired by the president of Seald-Sweet, Hein Deprez, said Mr. Mixon. He is a very strong visionary, but he goes beyond that. He can take an idea from conception to close and make the right decisions all along the way. The produce industry is different and you have to have somebody that knows that.
Mr. Mixon said that Mr. Deprez began as a mushroom grower, so he has that all-important grower viewpoint. It is that inherent grower knowledge that is at the core of Seald-Sweet that the firms newest senior manager credits for its strong growth in recent years. We understand what it takes to be a grower, both here and globally.
But he is just as quick to point out that Seald-Sweet also understands that the produce industry has entered a new realm and no longer can a firm afford to be production-driven. You have to develop a process to be wiser and better than you were in the past. You can no longer be competitive if you let production drive your company. You have to be market-driven.
He said that Seald-Sweet has adopted this philosophy, and so has the Edinburg Citrus Association, which drew the two groups together. ECA has a base of growers that understand that times have changed. They wanted to look at the future and see what that holds rather than looking at the past.
Mr. Mixon said that the future may mean new packaging, new products and new ways to deliver the citrus category to consumers. One area that certainly has promise is value-added. The citrus industry especially the grapefruit industry believes it can create a huge increase in demand if it could provide consumers with its fruit in some fresh-cut fashion. Mr. Mixon believes that day will come, but he said it is still on the other side of the mountain. He can see the tunnel, but it is going to take some time and some new advanced technologies for that tunnel to show some light. The bottom line is we are not there yet.
But it is this type of forward thinking that helps set Seald-Sweet apart. As the company expands both its product lines and its source of products, Mr. Mixon said that one has to remain committed to the customer and the customers needs.
To illustrate Seald-Sweets philosophy, he discussed the Seattle market. Mandarin oranges from Japan are not a big seller in North America, except in Seattle. The Seattle market buys a lot of mandarin oranges. So if our customer is in Seattle and wants to buy mandarin oranges, we want to supply it.
