For Divine Flavor, nothing says fresh more than a sweet and mildly spiced bell pepper, a juicy rich tomato or a fresh crisp cucumber coming from Sinaloa, Mexico. During the winter and early spring months, the Culiacán region is the heart of Divine Flavor’s vegetable program producing a variety of products such as its organic-colored bell peppers, Roma and beefsteak tomatoes, Magnífico grape tomatoes or the long English and Persian cucumbers.
Divine Flavor's (left to right) Carlos Bon and Ernesto Urtusastegui.
Divine Flavor’s veg program has expanded past its growing locations in Sonora, and, Sinaloa has become a solid growing location for their hothouse commodities. Part of this growth is due to strong partnerships, but the company believes its close relationships with family-oriented companies who share the same corporate values are the main reason Sinaloa has become a prime location.
“Our partners in Sinaloa are expert growers and share the values our farms have across Mexico,” says Carlos Bon, Divine Flavor’s vice-president of sales. “Our growth is not just from planting more hectares across more land. It’s specializing in the products we have and becoming experts in that commodity.”
Culiacán is the heart of Divine Flavor’s vegetable program producing products such as organic-colored bell peppers and more.
Just outside Culiacán is the town of Navolato, and there lies Divine Flavor’s bell pepper farm, Hortifresh. With more than 15 years of working with Divine Flavor, Hortifresh has emerged as one of the largest pepper growers in Mexico.
Ernesto Urtusastegui, owner and CEO of Hortifresh, says trust and continuous improvement are core areas bonding the farmer and brand. “We have a common goal of supplying the best quality product with added value”, says Urtusastegui. “As farmers, it is important to have visibility, clarity, and to know how to supply the markets we grow for.”
Cid Fuentes, operations manager of Hortifresh with Bon and Urtusastegui.
Around 20 years ago, Hortifresh started growing conventional bell peppers in shade houses, and soon after, specialized in the pepper category-growing all four colors of bell peppers organically. Over the last decade, it has invested more in greenhouse technology and packing sheds capable of packing an array of colored bell pepper and mini pepper presentations.
Aside from Hortifresh, the company also has close working relations with Grupo Agricola Chaparral & Tombell. The company also has a strong history with the veteran grower, Agricola Campaña who produces its long English cucumbers. Also in Sinaloa is Divine Flavor’s organic specialty grower and sister company, Viva Orgánica, who grows the brand’s Magnífico grape tomatoes.
“Our distribution company is an alliance of some of the best growers in Mexico,” says Bon. “Sinaloa is an important region for growing produce and our partners here are very family oriented. They are very much an extension of our Divine Flavor family”.
For more information:
Michael DuPuis
Divine Flavor
Tel: +1 (520) 281-8328
mdupuis@divineflavor.com
https://divineflavor.com/