Arcadia Farms, a cut flower producer based in Bogota, Colombia, for almost two decades, has launched its own sales and marketing operation, with logistics being handled in Miami and sales headquartered in Texas.

Texas-based fresh produce and floral industry veteran Rob Ybarra is co-owner of the reconfigured company along with grower Augusto Avila in Colombia and logistics expert Roly Martinez in Florida. All three partners share the title of co-owner with Avila being head of production, Martinez is chief operating officer and Ybarra is head of sales.

“Augusto Avila has over 30 years of experience in the floral industry,” Ybarra said. “He started Arcadia Farms in Colombia 18 years ago and has been selling through other companies to all the U.S. retailers for many years. But now he decided to go independent and eventually leave the business to his daughter Tania Avila who is Arcadia’s COO.” 

As such, the three partners developed Arcadia Farms to be a grower-shipper selling in competition with these very large floral distributors, which Ybarra describes as a David vs. Goliath scenario.  The biggest floral companies have more than 2000 hectares. “We have much less volume, but it’s also a good thing because we can be meticulous with what we do grow and in doing so can provide a better flower to the customer,” he said. “Sometimes being bigger is not always better!” 

Nonetheless, Arcadia Farms is a fully vertically integrated company, keeping direct control of the product from the farm in Colombia through the transportation to Miami and the delivery to customers wherever they can be found throughout the United States. Avila is handling the growing operation in Colombia with Martinez dealing with logistics in and out of Miami and Ybarra charged with selling the weekly production. The cut flowers – mostly a plethora of rose and alstroemeria varieties – are shipped to Miami in dry packs and then crafted into whatever configuration or packaging the customer wants. Ybarra said direct dry pack shipments to retailers is the company’s value offering but many, many different bouquets complete with vases are also available. 

Ybarra points to the wording in the company’s extensive catalog to describe what they have to offer. “At Arcadia Farms, every stem tells a story of passion, precision and purpose,” notes the informational material. “Our core lineup features premium roses, vibrant alstroemerias and mixed bouquets designed to delight consumers and enhance retail presentation. Each combination is carefully crafted with fillers, basics, focals, semi-focals and greens to create visually rich and high-quality arrangements tailored for consumer bunches and retail-ready programs (RRP, DRC or special bouquet assemblies).”

Ybarra said that throughout the evolution from grower to full-service company, Arcadia Farms has refined each step of the way from production to post-harvest care to logistics to in-store presentation. Freshness, reliability and value are its focal points. 

He said the company officially launched on Labor Day 2025 (Sept. 1) and he is hard at work introducing the operation to retailers across the country — though his most recent career stops have been in the wholesale produce business. This includes serving as executive vice president for Villita Avocados and having served on the Hass Avocado Board.  Most of his career has been in the retail sector, including more than 30 years at the H-E-B supermarket chain headquartered in San Antonio. He rose to director of produce at H-E-B, which included being in charge of the floral department. “I have always loved flowers and this brings me full circle,” he said.

Though Arcadia Farms might seem like a small player compared to some much larger floral operations, Ybarra noted that they produce 250,000 roses a week throughout the year, with peak volume greater than that. “We have a lot of work to do,” he quipped.

Ybarra would not limit himself to a particular customer type, noting that he is pursuing mass marketers as well as the retailer sector. “We’ve had some great conversations with lots of potential customers,” he said. “We have a great product and we have a great story to tell. We can do everything the big guys can do but we do it on a smaller scale and less expensive since we have less administrative costs and are more efficient.” 

He revealed that 60 percent of mass market wholesale floral sales occur in the February through May window, which includes Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day.  

Earlier this fall, this produce veteran announced on LinkedIn that his current career path is being driven by a “renewed sense of life, energy and vigor” because of his two-year-old grandson. Besides joining forces with Avila and Martinez in the Arcadia Farms marketing effort, he also launched Chico Produce, a new wholesale produce operation in San Antonio.  In 20 years, when his grandson is ready to launch his own career, Ybarra plans to leave the "keys" to Chico Produce, and any other company he is involved with, to his grandson Perry to continue the produce/floral legacy began by his own father.  

“The ‘circle of life’ continues and I could not be more grateful,” Ybarra said.