Continuity of supply drives Divine Flavor
Continuity of supply drives Divine Flavor
As Nogales, AZ-based Divine Flavor Inc. kicks off its 2025-26 winter vegetable season from Mexico, its main goal is to have a seamless transition from its fall production on the front end and to its spring supply on the back end. In fact, that is the same philosophy that cuts across all of its fruit and vegetable production.
Speaking to The Produce News in late November, Chief Marketing Officer Alan Aguirre Camou noted that production from its three different locations in Mexico would overlap in December as the Sinaloa shade houses begin to produce peppers and tomatoes, adding to the company’s supplies from Sonora and Guaymas.
Divine Flavor has a full compliment of colored peppers in both standard size and mini-peppers. Aguirre said they also have a robust lineup of tomatoes anchored by its Magnifico snacking tomato offering. Beefsteak, roma and tomatoes on the vine (TOV) are also part of the distributors tomato program. Almost all of its vegetable lineup is available in both organic and conventional SKUs. Its cucumber options include slicing and Long English varieties.
The longtime Divine Flavor executive said Mexico’s growing conditions have been very good this fall, unlike a year ago when rain fueled by tropical storms caused some supply issues at the front end of the deal.
Aguirre said that while Divine Flavor will be announcing some exciting product line expansions in 2026, its focus continues to be on becoming better and better partners for its customers on all its core commodities throughout its supply chain. A key part of becoming better is surety of supply, eliminating supply gaps between the various districts from which it sources.
Aguirre said its current table grape program is a perfect example. Shipments from Peru to DF’s U.S. customers began in November with a full complement of the newer, more popular varieties, such as Cotton Candy. DF’s table grape supplies will begin arriving from Chile in December, ramp up in volume in January and be in peak supplies through February and March. That timeline dovetails perfectly with Divine Flavor’s program in Mexico. DF’s parent company is one of the few Mexico-based growers with an expanding grape program in the state of Jalisco. Those grape vineyards will be pruned in January to facilitate the beginning of the Jalisco grape program in the latter half of March, a full month before picking begins in Sonora. Aguirre said grapes from Mexico, including from its vineyards in the Hermosillo district, will fill the pipeline for DF until its transitions to its California San Joaquin Valley program in July. Divine Flavor launched that program several years ago and it has increased each year, performing beyond expectations.
Though there is typically much less volume during the late fall as California program concludes and the supply from Peru ramp up in November, you can be sure Divine Flavor is working diligently to close that gap as well.
“These year-round programs allow us to make stronger commitment to our retailers, and allow for long term contracts,” Aguirre said. “We have excellent ties with our grower community to produce full-year programs with almost all of our commodities.”
And Divine Flavor continues to strengthen those grower connections with two major grower conferences each year – one for its vegetable growers and another for those farmers who produce its supply of grapes. Each of the conferences continue to expand in scope and participation, bringing the community of growers from all production areas together to discuss challenges and opportunities. The 2026 grape conference will be held in Hermosillo on May 4-5, while the vegetable conference will be held in Ensenada Sept. 28-29. During those conferences, Divine Flavor also includes some of its customers to help articulate what happening at the end of the supply chain.
