Demand for dragon fruit has shown consistent growth in recent years. To encourage repeat purchases, dragon fruit specialist Freshway Produce only works with growers who are able to ensure top quality. “Ecuador is a key supplier for us, and we work with growers who are Global GAP and PrimusGFS certified,” says Jose Roggiero, Freshway’s CEO. Roggiero has witnessed Ecuador gaining momentum in recent years due to the high-quality product growers are able to provide. In addition to Ecuador, the company sources dragon fruit in Florida and between the two growing regions, the country offers a year-round program.
Vertical integration
How does Freshway’s dragon fruit program differentiate from others? “We pack the fruit at our own packing facilities in Ecuador and Florida and distribute it from our Florida warehouse,” commented Roggiero. “Integration is fundamental.” During the entire process of packing, importing, and distributing, strict food safety protocols are followed. “The emphasis on food safety is paramount and by being vertically integrated gives us better control.” Although dragon fruit is the company’s core product, other exotic fruits like rambutan, and Florida tropicals (passion fruit, longan, guava) are part of the company’s offering as well.
White variety available now
South Florida is a key supplier of dragon fruit during the summer, but last quarter, production transitioned to Ecuador. “We started with a nice harvest of yellow dragon fruit in October and November,” said Roggiero. Traditionally, the yellow variety sees a production gap with low volumes in December until the new harvest starts in January. This year however, the season already ended mid-November due to quality concerns. “Towards the end of harvest, there was a lot of overripe fruit on the plants, affecting the quality and we were forced to end the season early.” However, at the end of October, small shipments of white dragon fruit were added to the mix and volumes picked up in November. Steady supplies of the white variety are expected until the end of the year.
The white variety is the most mainstream, but the yellow variety has really made it into the market in the past two to three years. “It has an amazing, sweet taste and is delicious. It almost tastes like a sweet kiwi.” The yellow variety is a superfruit that can be combined with less sweet food options while the white variety does really well in smoothies. Roggiero notes that pockets of different demographics have different preferences. “Some prefer yellow, and others prefer white.” And there is also the red variety, but this variety is available only during the Florida growing season. “We are looking to expand our growing areas for red dragon fruit to increase availability throughout the year.”
White dragon fruit.
Logistics
From Ecuador, dragon fruit is brought into the US by air as well as by vessel. Like many other companies, Freshway has been dealing with delays. Flight delays and container inspection delays are common, but even after a container has been released, sometimes no drivers are available to truck the container to the distribution center. “Although we always put extra cushion and try to make the process as seamless as possible, all the things do add up,” shared Roggiero. “Dealing with logistics has become first nature now and fortunately, we’ve been able to work with all our customers. We continue trying to be the best at what we do.”
From the company’s warehouse in South Florida, trucks leave twice a week for delivery in the entire United States as well as Canada. With Ecuador dragon fruit being in good supply, Freshway is looking for motivated customers to consider dragon fruit in their promotions for the first quarter of 2022.
For more information:
Jose Roggiero
Freshway Produce Inc.
Email: jose@freshwayusa.com
www.freshwayusa.com