Oppy Partners with Apeel to Extend Avocado Freshness; Mark Smith, Gahl Crane, and Erich Klawuhn Discuss
TEMECULA, CA - Oppy is tackling two pressing challenges with its most recent announcement. As it looks to make strides in eliminating food waste while maximizing ROI for its retail allies, the grower recently revealed it has teamed up with Apeel and is optimizing the industry partner’s plant-based solution to extend the shelf life of its Eco Farms avocados from Mexico.
“We are thrilled to team up with Apeel,” said Mark Smith, Oppy’s Director of Sales and Strategy for Eco Farms. “It was a natural fit for our partnership with Eco Farms. The brand’s Green is Good™ positioning and Apeel’s driving force of Food Gone Good highlights our shared commitment of delivering high-quality fruit using sustainable practices.”
Oppy acquired a 65 percent stake of Eco Farms in spring 2020, and to continue the brand’s growth, it is now utilizing Apeel’s sustainable peel for fruit, which offers unique protection that keeps moisture in and oxygen out, allowing the grower to maintain freshness and extend peak ripeness even longer.
Eco Farms Sales Director Gahl Crane also noted how this partnership aligns with not only Oppy’s commitment to sustainability but that of retailers as well.
“Many of our retailers share those same values and will be able to capitalize on avocados that maintain ideal firmness longer, see less shrink, and build larger displays with ripe, ready-to-eat fruit," Crane. "Ideally, the at-home eating experience for consumers will be notably better—with the added validation that their purchase makes a positive environmental impact.”
The new alliance addresses the critical issue of food waste while helping its retail partners to build a stronger avocado category overall.
Oppy’s Apeel program will commence with Mexico-grown Eco Farms branded avocados, with the intention of extending into other countries of origin soon, according to a press release.
“We are excited to partner with Oppy to extend the shelf-life of Eco Farms avocados through our plant-based protection that has proven to maintain quality and ripeness for twice as long as untreated produce,” said Erich Klawuhn, Senior Vice President of Product, Apeel. “Our collaboration with sustainability-focused grower-marketers like Oppy has resulted in a massive reduction of food waste across the supply chain. We look forward to extending all the benefits of Apeel produce to retailers throughout Oppy’s network, ultimately reducing waste right down to consumer households as well.”
Wondering what’s next on the radar for this esteemed grower? Keep clicking on AndNowUKnow to stay up to date on all the latest alliances and innovations in the fresh produce industry.
