In a move to expand and diversify its fruit offerings, sales and marketing platform Frutura acquired Chilean company Giddings Fruit and berry giant Sun Belle. FreshFruitPortal.com spoke to Frutura CEO David Krause, who discussed the firm’s strategic dual acquisition and Chile’s role in the expansion.

It seems that you're picking up the pace of these acquisitions by announcing two at once. Would you say that your acquisition strategy is accelerating?

This is sort of very strategic for us all along. We knew we wanted to be in the berry space in a meaningful way, and when the opportunity presented itself to be able to put both of these companies together, you know, sort of once and for all, that for us was like a perfect scenario and almost like a unicorn event, if you would want, where we have the unique opportunity to negotiate with both of them and put them together. 

And that fulfills the strategy that we've had all along on being in the berry space. This is a high growth, increase in consumption category that we felt was really important for our customers and for us to be able to deliver quality products 52 weeks a year. And again, it's just a perfect fit for Frutura.

Photo courtesy of Sun Belle.

For how long have you had these companies in your sights?

Well, I hate to even admit, but it's been well over a year. We've been in discussions with both of them for a while. But as they say, good things are worth waiting for.

This seems like a very unique situation. Here you've got two companies that already had a strong relationship, what do you think that will bode for the future for these acquisitions?

They've been working together for over 10 years already in various different forms. So they know each other extremely well, which makes it a very unique opportunity for a buyer to be able to acquire both and be able to even further put the two companies together. And so it's not like you have to sort of do a heavy lift on the integration. 

They've been operating together, they work together, they're still working together. So from one day to the next, management teams stay in place, they continue to do what they've been doing, and Frutura tries to help them grow and improve by becoming part of a bigger platform and a bigger family of companies.

Like you said, some of the heavy work has already been done, but do you have a timeline to get things started with these integrations?

Surprisingly, we've been already working behind the scenes as you can imagine, trying to work out some details, although it's not much, because they're already been operating together. I think for us, it's going to be more about how we promote businesses and optimize, filling in perhaps gaps in supply and different varieties from crop to different regions. I think that's the advantage that Frutura brings to these two great businesses. 

I can give you an example. In one of our other divisions, we're currently growing blueberries in Agricola Don Ricardo. So those blueberries now will be able to go through this platform and have an excellent relationship with our customers that'll help further the value that we present to customers and consumers alike. 

So those are just some examples of what will happen post-closing, but it's again, not a heavy lift, which makes it really nice. We'll focus on growth and optimization.

Related articles: Frutura to acquire Giddings Fruit and Sun Belle

You have been largely focused on table grapes so far. But both Giddings and Sun Belle are major players in the berry market. Does this mark a deliberate bid to diversify your product offering?

Yes, it does and it's been part of our strategy all along to get into the berry space. We're very keen on it and these two acquisitions allow us to really sort of scale to be able to sell and satisfy our customer and consumer needs on a 52-week basis around the globe. And that's in global markets as well, not just in the U.S. 

So for us, it's been on our target. And the fact that we've got these two just really rounds out. It's sort of almost like a pinnacle moment for Frutura as a platform, in that we've really reached scale and we've filled out our product mix to what we originally set out to do. So kind of a crowning achievement for us and I hate to crow about it, but we're again very excited about it as you can imagine.

What are the key crops you are currently working on?

We've really been focused on six different crops. Yes, perhaps table grapes was our first and bigger move, but since then we've been very busy. We added a fairly significant citrus portfolio, our Uruguay division, and some of the other divisions that we already grow citrus in. 

Then we've really been working on building out our avocado program recently. That's been going very well. And cherries have been a key target for us. And that's another element of this Giddings transaction with Cerasus, the cherry division in Chile, along with our Subsole Chile (table grapes) position is really going to complement our portfolio offerings in that area. 

So to us, it's more of a bigger picture. This is really the last place where we didn't have a good solid product mix and we wanted berries and so they provide that, whereas the other crops are really kind of already in our portfolio.

Photo courtesy of Sun Belle.

How would you describe Chile’s role and importance in this new chapter?

Chile has had some tougher times in the recent couple years whether that's weather events or market driven events, and there's a little bit of stress but we as Frutura are quite bullish on Chile. 

You can see this is our second major acquisition of a Chile-based business. We think that there's a really strong need for Chile-produced crops, the right qualities, the right crops and at the right timing to satisfy the global markets. We're leaning right into these headwinds and believe big in Chile and its role in the global supply of fresh fruits. It's just a high-quality producer and a great country and great people so I really enjoy the place and I think it's a very key strategic fit to our portfolio.