April figures to be a big month for Nogales, Ariz.-based Divine Flavor LLC.
Early grapes from Jalisco, the start of a Fair Trade melon deal and good volumes of West Mexico vegetables will highlight the month, said Michael DuPuis, quality assurance and public relations coordinator for the company.
“We specialize in an array of different products and all of them are unique in their own way,” he said.
Divine Flavor is one of the largest importers of Mexican table grapes, he said, and 2021 will be the second commercial season the company will bring premium table grape varieties from Jalisco, which is about 800 miles south of the Sonora grape region. The Jalisco grapes will start by the end of March and continue for about a month.
Divine Flavor is a “one-stop-shop” for core vegetables and has a large organic bell pepper program out of Mexico with its supplier Hortifresh, he said.
Divine Flavor is based on the six pillars of quality, food safety, social responsibility, traceability, organics and sustainability, DuPuis said, and the company recently became one of the first produce distributors in Arizona to achieve the Occupational Safety & Health Administration Safety & Health Achievement Recognition Program certified, he said. “It is definitely something that we are very proud of and something that’s going to keep us in good shape as we approach our busy months here in March, April, May, and June,” he said.
Despite earlier cold weather, DuPuis said retailers should expect West Mexico vegetable volume to be “right on target” for April and beyond.
