Yukon Pty Ltd supplies baby vegetables, edible flowers, and a select range of exotic fruit to premium markets, including fine dining, cruise liners, and hotel groups (HoReCa). The majority of its products are airfreighted, ensuring freshness and consistency, all year round.
At this time of year, Yukon exports products such as passion fruit, prickly pears, dragon fruit, figs, and raspberries, alongside the baby vegetables and edible flowers for which it is well known. These include baby carrots, leeks, fennel, pumpkins, and turnips, produced through a strong network of growers across South Africa.
© YukonYukon made its name with baby vegetables and edible flowers
"The Middle East accounts for roughly 15 to 20% of our business," says senior manager Danwille September. "It's a region where we continue to see steady interest and opportunity."
He continues: "We are currently experiencing various disruptions on traditional airfreight routes into the global market, mainly due to the continuous tension in Iran. This has placed major strain on airfreight routes, with Middle Eastern carriers being affected as a direct result of the tension. Various airlines have already increased their fuel surcharges and have implemented war risk charges and added base charges."
They monitor the situation daily, he says, and adjust their planning continuously to ensure their customers and growers are protected.
© YukonBaby carrots and figs
South Africa important to maintain diversity on the EU & UK shelves
Yukon also maintains a strong presence in Western Europe, particularly in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. "Availability is key," September explains. "We support our clients by ensuring consistent supply, which in turn drives consumption. South Africa plays an important role in maintaining year-round availability and diversity on shelves. Seeing South African dragon fruit in major retailers today is a reflection of how far the tropical/exotic fruit category has come."
In the Far East, Yukon's footprint remains more focused, with regular shipments of specialty products such as edible flowers to Hong Kong.
Over recent years, Yukon has expanded into niche and underutilised fruit categories. "We've always worked with products that are more challenging from a shelf-life and market perspective," he says. "That positions us well to introduce lesser-known fruit lines to the right clients."
© Yukon
Starting with figs, the range has grown to include items such as dragon fruit, berries (raspberries, kiwi berries, strawberries, and blackberries), passionfruit, and prickly pears, with further opportunities under evaluation. "Sustainability, compliance, and responsible production are central to everything we do. Building on our experience in baby vegetables, it made sense to extend this approach into selected fruit categories."
Yukon works with a diverse group of farmers, many of whom have been partners for years. These farms range in size but share a common focus on quality and consistency. "A core part of our model is supporting growers and connecting them to export markets that matter," he notes.
The geographic spread of production across different regions allows Yukon to manage risk and maintain a reliable supply throughout the year, and has added production capability from Spain, Kenya, and Rwanda.
© Yukon"A core part of our model is supporting growers and connecting them to export markets that matter."
Driving sustainability in packaging
"We've taken out a lot of packaging of the system," he remarks. "Our product is a lot more sustainable than it was a decade ago, when the movement towards reducing plastic packaging started. Since 2019, we have done a lot of work on sustainable packaging. By removing the plastic punnet from our baby veg, we reduced our plastic packaging by 90%."
On the exotics, Dragon fruit is packed in boxes without plastic, but certain sensitive fruits still require some plastic, for example, raspberries, which are still pre-packed in RPET trays.
"Edible flowers are another of our specialty lines that are too sensitive to be packed without plastic. We continue to work on packaging improvements throughout our group as new developments and requirements emerge," says Julia Delport, the company's technical manager and packaging materials specialist. "Our focus remains on delivering the best possible quality products to our customers while avoiding food waste."
© Yukon
For more information:
Danwille September
Yukon
Tel: +27 21 860 1800
Email: [email protected]
https://www.yukon.co.za/
