Frutopia, a Peruvian mango producer owned by Spalding-based Utopia, has been named as the highest quality mango operator in the South American country.
APEM, the Peruvian Mango Producers & Exporters Association, audited all of the major national mango exporters in December and January, in order to single out the firm that was best supporting the development of Peruvian mango quality.
Frutopia, established just four years ago through the joint action of Utopia and its Latin American partner FL Perishables, came top based on criteria which took in all aspects of product quality and the infrastructure put in place to achieve it, enhanced working practices and high social and ethical standards.
Utopia now farms and manages more than 40 per cent of the fresh produce it sells to its retail customers in the UK and across Europe. Nigel West, one of two owners of the tropical fruit and veg and cherry specialist, said that transferring skills and knowledge around its expanding network of operations has paid immediate dividends.
“Our fundamental strength as a company has always been our supplier relationships,” he said. “And that is what has created these business opportunities. As well as exclusive partnerships with growers around the world, we own farms in Costa Rica, Argentina and Colombia, as well as Peru.
“I have worked with mangoes for 20 years and when I first saw production in Peru I knew I had never seen such a sleeping opportunity before. People had gone there before and made promises to growers; the difference with us is that we have honoured 100 per cent what we said we were going to do, we have shown our commitment by working in the orchards with growers and brought in outside specialist expertise to help develop techniques. We have never been interested in volumes - it is not about who’s the biggest, but purely who has the best quality consistently - who’s the best.”
He added: “That is why we have been given the award by APEM and our Peruvian operation is something that Utopia can justifiably feel very proud of. We have contributed a lot to the industry and the community in northern Peru and people believe in us and want to be part of the success.”
