PHARR, TX - London Fruit, a year-round provider of tropical fruit from Mexico, including mangos, has a wide array of resources for retailers under its belt. From unique packing options, to ripeness graphics, to a prime shipping location, London Fruit’s Vice President, Jerry Garcia, and Project Manager, Kalani Jaime, shared with me all the details.
“For years, London Fruit has been ripening, and custom packing mangos for our customers,” explains Jerry Garcia, London Fruit’s Vice-President. “Because of our efforts, we have seen steady growth in mango sales, to and for our customers.”
This is something that London Fruit’s customers have been aware of for some time now. Kalani adds, “One of the many things that we try communicate to our buyers is the different stages of ripeness for the fruit, particularly the Atualfo mango.”
From the graphic that London Fruit provides above, you can see exactly what the brix count is for each stage of ripeness—something that retailers say is an important factor in which companies they purchase from. According to extensive research from the National Mango Board, approximately 81 percent of current mango purchasers stated they would definitely/probably consider future purchases if the mangos were “ripe and ready,” while nearly half (48 percent) of past purchasers also expressed the same interest.
“We work directly with our customers, to understand their requirements, and how to schedule shipments based on their locations and distance of travel. We pack our RPCs (like these graphics show) so that our customers can know that when we ship our mangos at breaking, they will arrive at the perfect point of ripeness,” Kalani adds. “London Fruit is not only a provider of mangos from Mexico but a resource for our customers. We want to ensure that our customers know about our value added services”
London Fruit ships out of a 45,000-square-foot facility just one mile north of the Pharr International Bridge into Mexico, where the company provides inspection, grading, custom packing, value-added services, cold storage, natural ripening services, as well as automated sorting, grading, and sizing of limes.
“Having our facility just one mile from the Mexican border gives our customers a definite advantage,” Kalani says. “We take the time to double check orders again before they go out to ensure meeting our customers’ needs and requirements.”
For more on the advantages of London Fruit’s value-added mango program, visit LondonFruit.com.
