NOGALES, AZ - Food safety. Social responsibility. Traceability. These are just a few of the hallmarks that make Divine Flavor’s Better Grower Program one of the best in the business. In this article, two of the company’s leaders share insights on this one-of-a-kind operation.

“The Better Grower Program is not just about quality and flavor—which are first and foremost and forever the main focuses—but there's a lot to do with food safety, which has become crucial in securing a consumer purchase. Food safety requires a lot of detailed work and making sure the thousands of people handling products throughout the supply chain uphold our standards,” Alán Aguirre Camou, Chief Marketing Officer, started off.

Social responsibility is another key factor in Divine Flavor’s Better Grower Program.

“It comes from our parent company, Grupo Alta. They provided the know-how and the ability to educate growers on having top-notch facilities to improve the quality of life for our workers that come from the southern states, mostly from the southeast states of Mexico,” Alán continued. “They have health benefits, so they have an additional reason for leaving their homes for the season besides earning money for their families.”

Traceability, he added, plays another major role.

“Being fully transparent in information and organics is not a trending fashion for us. We started doing it in the '90s with Grupo Alta,” Alán imparted. “Sustainability is also playing a bigger role in every platform, whether it’s media, consumers, or retailers.”

It is these six pillars—quality, flavor, food safety, social responsibility, traceability, and sustainability—that sustain the Better Food for a Better World slogan. This six-pillar system is audited, monitored, and improved together with Divine Flavor’s growers through the Better Grower Program.

“We work with growers that operate at a high level, like Grupo Alta, who's the parent company to Divine Flavor. Then we also have smaller growers—growers that think and share similar values to Divine Flavor that are new to the group,” Michael DuPuis, Quality Assurance and Public Relations Manager, noted. “Even though they might be lacking in some areas when it comes to compliance, the Better Grower Program is there to help standardize.”

Michael continued, adding, “The Better Grower Program is such a powerful campaign and tool that basically allows every single grower that packs for Divine Flavor to be operating as one. The same certifications, methods, and practices regarding social responsibility and traceability programs, combined with giving us information that allows us to speak to the retailers about how we can better promote and sell our products, are at the heart of the Better Grower Program.”

That just about sums it up! For more from Divine Flavor, keep clicking back to AndNowUKnow.