Nogales, Ariz.-based Frello Fresh expects a very good start to its Mexican winter and spring deal, said Guillermo Martinez, CEO and co-founder.
“The crop looks fantastic even though we are transitioning into a winter-like weather, we haven’t had significant issues,” Martinez said. “In our current product site, nights are becoming a little bit colder and that basically delays the maturity of product. On the other hand, we are gearing up for our winter/spring deal, which is coming along very well too; we did have quite a bit of rain in previous months but nothing that affected the crop. We are expecting a very good crop this year.”
Frello Fresh is shipper of West Mexico vegetables with a year-round operation importing product through Nogales, Ariz., and Pharr, Texas, he said. The company’s staple items are roma tomatoes, American cucumbers, grape tomatoes, mini sweet peppers, bell peppers. Additionally, Frello Fresh markets and distributes tomatoes-on-the-vine, Persian cucumbers, summer squash and others.
Expansion
Frello Fresh has grown its summer/fall deal to better serve its customer needs in those windows of opportunity, which has proven successful, Martinez said.
“Additionally, we just started a summer squash deal out of Sonora with excellent quality and a very good grower behind it; we are very excited with this new project,” he said.
In addition, Martinez said the company has expanded its sales staff to better attend its current and future customers, at the same time the company is also trying to capture a larger portion of the market share.
“As our footprint grows with our growers in Mexico, we want to be their best marketing and distribution arm to trust,” Martinez said. “We are also investing into positioning ourselves logistically in our distribution center in Texas, so we can better serve our Northeast and Midwest customers.”
Even though inflation is high, Martinez said consumers are consuming fruits and vegetables.
“One thing that we learned through this whole pandemic is that we need to stay healthy and acquire healthier habits, and eating fresh product fits right into that,” he said.
