U.S.-based sales and marketing company Forever Fresh is growing with an expanded offering of South American fruit, as Chilean-based Provex comes on board as a new partner.

General manager for Forever Fresh Evan Myers told FreshFruitPortal.com about its plans for the new relationship and how it will create growth in upcoming years.

With the projected growth of Provex in mind, in the next three years the relationship should "position Forever Fresh as one of the top Chilean citrus importers in the U.S.", Myers explained.

In the short-term, the companies see the new partnership as a way to make their business even stronger in the U.S. market by adding a full line of Citrus during the summer and fall seasons.

Based in the central area of Chile, Provex is a grower that focuses its production in a full citrus program - producing clementines, mandarins, Navel oranges, Cara Cara oranges, lemons, table grapes and cherries.

Myers said that "all parties are very excited about the new partnership" as it "made perfect sense" for all aspects of the business.

Making both businesses stronger, the partnership will allow Forever Fresh to "continue with the strong grower direct model" that it has built over years of in cherries, stone fruit, grapes and kiwifruit product lines.

With the new addition of Provex, Myers said that their "mix of products complements and grows the Forever Fresh offerings in terms of commodities and timing".

Forever Fresh - an importer and distributor established in the U.S. in 2009 by Hernan Garces - is owned by three well-known grower exporters - Garces, Verfrut and now, Provex. The owning companies own the land, packing houses and Forever Fresh itself. 

Verfrut is one of Peru and Chile's biggest fruit growers and exporters. Garces is also a Chilean grower and exporter that is known for its cherries, stone fruit and kiwis. Provex, the new partner for the group, has a strong focus on citrus and new varieties of grapes out of Chile. 

When asked about how its model is particular and attractive to consumers in the U.S., Juan Gabriel Perez of Provex said: “We know that the customer or client is the consumer and we need to work side by side with retailers to grow and bring to the market what those consumers want."

"This is a service business, and quality is a must if you want to succeed in the long term. You can’t project this business focusing only on one of them," he added.

In addition to the full citrus line that Provex provides to Forever Fresh, its propriety grape varieties out of  Chilean will boost Forever Fresh’s volumes and variety mix which will make a good complement to its already strong grape supplies.

Ignacio Donoso of Verfrut told us that the team is "extremely excited" about Provex joining Forever Fresh as a partner.

"This partnership is perfect not only from the complementary nature of the production of the three growers and partners, but also for their level of market and product knowledge and the philosophies and values they share," he said. "We see Forever Fresh becoming significant grower-owned importer/marketer in North America in the short term."

Donoso adds: "Forever Fresh’s volumes will be increasing significantly over the next three years and we are aiming at 4m cases during this time frame."

The Forever Fresh team has accomplished a lot in recent years and we will see the company continue to expand in years to come. With aggressive goals and new partnerships, Forever Fresh and its owners are confident of its model and is poised to see steady growth for the future.    

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