There’s a lot going on this season at McAllen, Texas-based Santis Produce LLC, said Sebastian Sanchez Jr., director of sales.
For one thing, the company has acquired a mango packinghouse in south Mexico in Chahuites. The new facility will enable Santis Produce to increase its mango volume and allow the firm to grow its presence in the U.S. and Canada, Sanchez said.
This year, the company expects to bring 50% more volume into the U.S. and Canadian markets and start building a presence in Europe as well, he said.
The company also has a partnership in the Sinaloa region of Mexico and has begun construction of a new packinghouse for product that will be shipped to Canada and Europe.
“We also incorporated a new design to our mango box, which now includes bilingual information in French and English to reach further markets,” Sanchez explained.
Santis Produce ships mangoes year-round, sourcing from Ecuador and Peru as well as Mexico.
The company grows tommy atkins, kent and ataulfo varieties in Michoacan and kent and keitt mangoes in Sinaloa.
The ataulfo, or honey, variety is the most popular among consumers, Sanchez said, because of its sweet flavor, eye-catching yellow color, small seed and the fact that it’s easy to peel.
As of mid-April, eight-, nine- and 10-count packages were the most prominent sizing.
“Quality has not been a problem for us,” Sanchez said. “We have a great field team that carefully selects the best mangoes, and we work with growers that follow all ethical growing practices.”
Sanchez said the mango sector continues to grow with more consumers joining the mango wave every year. The company also has an organic program in Sinaloa.
“This year, we’re launching our Organic Mango by Santis label in late April,” he said. “We originally started in the organic sector with our Persian lime division, and many of our customers asked if we could procure organic mangoes as well.”
