From orange and clementine producers and marketers to an international group specializing in food products with more than 1,000 references. GFUnion continues on the path of product, sales channel and market diversification, both for fresh fruit and vegetables from its company Gustavo Ferrada, and for pre-prepared and pre-cooked convenience foods and juices from Gufresco, and with its own national logistics, RapidFresh. It's also expecting to grow by 20-25% this year and reach a turnover of around 100-105 million euros in the current financial year.
© GFunion
"We have been citrus growers since our origins with our company Gustavo Ferrada and this remains one of the group's key activities. Citrus are giving us further opportunities for market and product diversification," says Alberto Ramírez, CEO of GFUnion, who describes the current orange and mandarin season as challenging, with ups and downs due to bad weather and a second half with slower demand in the European market.
"In spite of it being a season with a smaller production in Spain, various other suppliers are also present in Europe at very competitive prices. It's also worth recalling that increasingly more products stay on the shelves all year round at the request of large-scale retailers and this is also taking space away from citrus. In any case, we are still expecting our citrus sales volume to increase by 5% this year," says Alberto Ramírez.
GFUnion's citrus fruits are present in both European and third markets such as Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Colombia, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica and the Middle East. "We are seeking opportunities in Asian markets and in Central and South America, Asia and Africa, where citrus consumption continues to rise and there is a growing interest in premium products. Our strategy of opening up new markets is key to our continued growth and we have our sights set on emerging markets and regions where demand for European products has the potential to grow."
The group works with all kinds of fruit all year round. After citrus, its most important product in terms of volume is pineapple, of which they are major importers. Other remarkable products are melon, watermelon, kiwifruit, mango, and table grapes, as well as vegetables, whose sales volume is recording significant growth.
Juices, cut fruit and salads in the pre-prepared convenience food range, as well as other products, such as sandwiches, are produced and marketed by Gufresco, a company which already accounts for 44% of the group's turnover. Even though it's still "low" season at the moment, the upcoming spring and Easter celebrations are already starting to give a boost to the sale of pre-prepared convenience food products, partly due to the gradual increase in tourism from that time onwards.
© GFunion
"Gufresco was born out of the idea of supplying orange juice directly to clients who bought oranges from us for their squeezing machines. We decided to invest in squeezing machinery and this was also the starting point for the project to start supplying cut fruit in different formats," says Alberto Ramírez.
Supermarkets, the Horeca channel, airports, train stations, gas stations... these are the channels where Gufresco's products are sold across Spain, and where the company continues to grow every year. "We are investing in gradually increasing our capacity and process efficiency, although we believe that manual work cannot yet be completely replaced by machines when it comes to cutting," says the CEO of GFUnion.
The company uses a High Hydrostatic Pressure (HPP) system, a non-invasive technology that allows juice to be preserved without changes in its natural properties such as color, taste and freshness. This process facilitates international marketing and the company has already started to export its juices to France and Germany.
The citrus sector has undergone a major restructuring process in the last 7 years, with companies coming together to form groups backed by large funds. This has resulted in a rapid concentration of the supply and vertical integration, and the disappearance of smaller companies and cooperatives.
"I don't know where we would be now if we had remained a citrus trading company and had not diversified our business. At this point, we are not yet open to working with investment funds, but we will continue trying to improve, to offer more products and to become an increasingly global food supplier," says Alberto Ramírez.
For more information:
GF Union
Tel.: +34 650969645
Tel.: +34 964 577130
[email protected]
www.gfuniongrupo.com
