Divine Flavor kicks off spring melon deal

The spring season and warmer weather is underway in the Southwest, and Nogales, Ariz.-based grower-shipper Divine Flavor forecasts that its melon program will be in full swing for the next 50 days, according to a news release.

With offerings of watermelon (regular seedless and mini seedless), cantaloupe and honey dew melons — both organic and conventional — the grower anticipates a strong month of May in terms of volume and promotion for its expanded Mexico melon program.

“The season started now, and quality looks good and promising,” Elizabeth Smart, melon category manager for Divine Flavor, said in the release. She added that buyers could expect continue availability and dependability throughout the next month.

Related news: Good melon quality expected after late start

Divine Flavor’s melon program, based in the northern Mexican state of Sonora on the outskirts of Hermosillo, typically starts around the first weeks of April, but the season was delayed this year by a few weeks due to cooler weather in the late winter. Although the programs were pushed back slightly, the company anticipates rebounding quickly to set up a strong month of May for volume and promotion.

“We’ve added to all sides of our melon deal expanding our organic and conventional melon commodities which will be essential for breaking new ground with our customers and their needs,” Smart said in the release. “Each season we continue to grow with this commodity, and this adds to our ability to be a dependable source of quality melons of each variety all in one shot.”

Building a solid melon program in Mexico

The company, whose melon program originated with principal grower Grupo Alta, has shifted to another strategic partner, Grupo Bay, a Sonoran farmer who’s been producing for more than 30 years. Led by Alejo Bay, the melon veteran mentions the season will get back on track starting the first week of May and will have a positive outlook until production concludes in mid-June.

“Sonora is a prime location for growing melons because of the weather and most of all, because of the soils we have here,” Bay said in the release.

“This season, we’ve bolstered our melon offerings with increased acreage with each of our melon commodities including our organic and conventional mini seedless watermelons, our regular seedless, and cantaloupes and honeydews," he continued. "To help us be more efficient with our expanded production, we built a new packing facility which will help with all aspects of the supply chain including quality, sizing, packaging, and food safety areas."

Bay’s company and Divine Flavor have been partners the past few seasons since they took over Grupo Alta’s melon production, but the two produce companies have history that dates to when Bay and Carlos Bon, Divine Flavor’s vice president of sales, were kids.

“There’s a lot of history between Carlos and I, as we grew up together as children in Hermosillo,” Bay said in the release. “We’ve known the Grupo Alta and Divine Flavor family for quite some time, and vice versa. Our partnership continues to develop, and we are very excited to see the growth both on our side, and the distribution side with Divine Flavor’s client base.”

Smart stated having a veteran grower who specializes in the melon commodity has been a key to expanding the program.

“Alejo is as professional as it gets in this business,” Smart said.

“He’s awesome to work with and his grower team does a fantastic job producing top-notch melon products from seed to shelf," she continued. "He sees the bigger picture when it comes to innovation and helping grow our melon program, and his commitment to the commodity falls in line with what we seek with all our growers.”

Divine Flavor started its program earlier last week, and the company expects to see peak production starting the first week of May. Though Smart will oversee the category this season, she will be adding two Divine Flavor sales veterans, Alan Morfin and Luis Rodriguez, to assist with the expanded volume. Expect to see melons from Divine Flavor until June.