ProducePay, Four Star Fruit partner with Mexican growers to supply table grapes

Los Angeles-based ProducePay and grape grower-shipper Four Star Fruit have joined with leading Mexican growers to provide 4 million cases of table grapes during May and early June.

That period is traditionally the lowest volume period of the year, according to a news release. As an extension of the companies' partnership announced in July 2023, the program enables grocers and foodservice providers to offer consumers high-quality table grapes at stable pricing.

“With committed demand and pricing, ProducePay’s Predictable Commerce Program provides us the stability we need to grow and invest in our business,” Gilberto Salazar, general director of Videxport, said in the release. “And by providing visibility from farm to final destination, we have full line of sight into where our produce is shipped and reduces the risk of rejection upon delivery.”

“This program has the potential to fundamentally transform the table grape supply chain to be more efficient with great financial benefits to growers, marketers and retailers,” Campo Borquez CEO Pablo Borquez said in the release. “And with greater financial stability, we’re able to invest more into sustainable practices, our people and the communities where we operate.”

“Partnering with these growers to provide the majority of the May and early June fruit from historically inefficient distribution methods like open markets is a huge win for retailers, growers, grocery shoppers and our planet,” ProducePay CEO Patrick McCullough said in the release. “Each year — and especially during May and early June — retailers are forced to navigate unpredictable supply, quality and pricing of table grapes. Together, we set out to combat this volatility while dramatically reducing food waste. This program will create greater predictability that is welcomed by all supply chain stakeholders.” 

Made possible as a result of ProducePay’s Predictable Commerce Program, the offering aims to help national retailers solve the problem of how to meet year-round demand for high-quality fresh produce with stable pricing, the release said.

Last year, ProducePay and Four Star Fruit launched the Predictable Commerce Program solution as a way to address the increasing volatility and unpredictability in the table grape supply chain caused by extreme weather events, global pandemics and civil unrest. Initially envisioned as a proof of concept, Four Star Fruit and ProducePay sourced 430,000 cases of Mexican table grapes during the 2023 season, the release said.

The company said results of this model include:

• 31% fewer days in transit for produce.
• 50% fewer stops along the delivery pathway to retail.
• 80% less volume rejected upon retail arrival (less than a 1% rejection rate).
• 41% fewer days in cold storage, all contributing to a more efficient and sustainable produce supply chain and reducing nearly 1.7 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per ton of produce waste avoided.
   

“We’ve demonstrated the advantages of our Predictable Commerce Program for table grapes, and we hope this will pave the way for other commodities to adopt this procurement strategy, benefitting the whole fresh produce vertical,”  McCullough said.

“Consistent, quality table grapes can be difficult to procure throughout the year, but we’re changing that,” Four Star Fruit CEO Jack Campbell said in the release. “With this partnership, we can now offer a solution to help retailers meet consumer demand during low availability months, creating a more predictable way of doing business for stakeholders in the fresh supply chain — for table grapes and beyond.”