ProducePay and Four Star Fruit have launched a direct-to-retail supply chain program. Leveraging the ProducePay platform and Four Star Fruit’s work in table grapes, this initiative helps U.S. retailers solve two challenges: how to meet year-round demand for fresh produce while also keeping prices stable.
In addition to creating quality, supply and pricing assurance for retailers, this approach offers growers greater long-term financial sustainability. Also, eliminating the intermediaries in the supply chain helps to reduce economic and food waste.
Starting with table grapes and the Four Star Fruit partnership, ProducePay is improving on the traditional distribution model where produce has multiple touch points from the moment it leaves a farm to landing on store shelves.
Leveraging the ProducePay platform and Four Star Fruit’s work in table grapes, this initiative helps U.S. retailers solve two challenges: how to meet year-round demand for fresh produce while also keeping prices stable.
“Starting with grapes, our partnership with ProducePay ushers in a new era that will better serve retailers by creating a more stable and sustainable supply chain. We look forward to expanding this model and partnership to other fresh produce commodities,” said Jack Campbell, chief executive officer for Four Star Fruit.
With operations in California and parts of Mexico, Four Star Fruit is able to meet demand during peak grape production in late spring, summer and early fall. Through this partnership, it is leveraging ProducePay’s network of Mexican and South American growers, thereby expanding its production capacity into the late fall and winter.
ProducePay will also provide quality enforcement, order tracking and trade mediation to ensure prompt delivery from its network of growers, as well as give retailers price stability through multi-year fixed pricing contracts. The program also uses ProducePay’s Quick-Pay solution to pay participating growers immediately following the quality acceptance of their shipment.
“We’re improving on the antiquated way in which the fresh produce supply chain has been structured for decades,” said Patrick McCullough, ProducePay CEO. “By directly connecting retailers with growers, this initiative is creating the stability required throughout the supply chain to reduce economic and food waste, while improving overall quality experience for consumers.”
As part of this partnership, the companies will co-invest in Latin American growing communities to support the adoption of sustainable farming practices and innovative grape breeds, as well as develop educational programs in underserved rural areas across the region.
Investment impacts include:
- Increased acreage and acquisition of new technologies to expand production
- Access to scarce breeds of table grapes in demand by U.S. consumers
- Cutting-edge sustainability practices that reduce carbon emissions, enrich soil health, conserve water and improve overall farm efficiency
- Educational farming programs including technical and financial literacy training, business planning and conservation
- Competitive wages
For more information:
Nadia Jamshidi
ProducePay
[email protected]
https://producepay.com/
