Victor Moller Schiavetti, the founder and president of Chile-headquartered berry company Hortifrut, passed away on Wednesday, Oct. 19, at the age of 79.

His contribution to the Chilean industry is incalculable, with the company he founded having been one of the pioneers that paved the way for the export of berries to global markets.

"His departure leaves a great void in the industry," said Gustavo Yentzen, president of Yentzen Group. "Personally I am very sad. Victor always provided tremendous support to all our ideas and projects.

"In fact, PortalFruticola.com (FreshFruitPortal.com's sister publication) was born in the Hortifrut offices. There, after observing how industry executives had to look for information from various sources, we realized that we were missing a site that had all the information in one place. He was my mentor and I will miss him greatly."

The beginnings: The dream of "delivering berries to everyone, every day"

In 1983 Moller founded Hortifrut, a pioneering company in the introduction of berry genetics and production and marketing of berries from Chile in the United States, Europe and Asia.

From the beginning, he had the dream of "delivering berries to the whole world, every day", which he achieved by transforming Hortifrut into the largest blueberry marketing platform in the world and the second largest company in the berry category.

Currently, Hortifrut is present in 35 countries, with offices in the U.S., Mexico, Argentina, Guatemala, Peru, Ecuador, Brazil, Spain, among others. 

The hallmark of the outstanding entrepreneur of the Chilean fruit industry was the desire to always be at the forefront, incorporating technological innovation and sustainability in the business. In 2008, Hortifrut became the largest producer of organic blueberries in the world, winning the Produce Marketing Association's (PMA) Marketer of the Year Award.

Photographs courtesy of Grupo Copesa