Year in review: Tropical Fruit

Excerpts from an 2/11 article in the Produce Retailer written by The Perishables Group

Tropical fruit realized growth well beyond the produce department in the latest 52 weeks, up 10.5% compared with 2.7% for the department. Mangoes, papaya and dates led growth, all increasing by more than 10%. In a tough economic environment, the growth of this evolving category proves its staying power.



Tropical fruit: Year in review

Tropical fruit accounted for 1% of produce department sales. Comprised of mango, kiwi, papaya, pomegranate, tomatillo, dates, coconut, figs and other tropical fruit, the category sold an average of $404 per store per week nationally, up 10.5% during the 52 weeks ending Oct. 30 compared with the previous year.

Mango and papaya, two of the three highest-selling varieties, had dollar growth above the category average with respective increases of 23% and 16.2%.

Evaluating regional differences in tropical fruit, the East region led sales with $513 per store per week. A gap of $197 occurred between the top-selling East region and the bottom-selling South region, which sold an average of $316 per store per week.

The West region had the most significant dollar sales increase of 17% but was the second-lowest dollar contributor at $355 per store per week.

Longtime Brooks Tropicals president retires

Excerpts from a 2/4/11 article In The Packer written by Doug Ohlemeier

HOMESTEAD, Fla. — Longtime Brooks Tropicals Inc. president Craig Wheeling is stepping down from the company to pursue personal interests.

Wheeling

Wheeling, who has worked for Brooks since 1988, notified the avocado and tropicals grower-shipper his last day is Feb. 4.

Brooks officials are not seeking to fill the position at this time, said Mary Ostlund, director of marketing.

“I had a wonderful run and it has been a great company to work with. I have enjoyed it immensely,” Wheeling said. “I want to spend more time with family and do the things I enjoy.”

Wheeling caught the attention of Neal Palmer “Pal” Brooks, owner and chairman of the board, after Wheeling spoke up for him at a county commission meeting where Brooks was seeking a permit to build a lime juicing plant.

Wheeling, who had previously served as a vice president, advanced to chief executive officer in 1994 and was promoted to president in January 2009. Before joining Brooks, Wheeling, who hails from a south Florida Redlands region agricultural pioneering family, worked in finance in the chemical division of W.R. Grace & Co. and for a division of Citi Investments.

Brooks said the company’s relationship with Wheeling remains strong and that no other individual has contributed more to the company’s success. Wheeling transformed the Florida-focused operation that distributed mostly to East Coast customers into an importer with accounts across the country.

“He is absolutely fantastic,” Brooks said. “I have the utmost respect for him as a person and individual beyond the value of what he has done for the company. It just got to the point in his life where he wants to do different things. He has been very good for the company.”

Brooks said Wheeling’s largest accomplishment at the company was bringing organization to the operation.

During the mid-1990s, Brooks, which began operations in 1928, began to transition from a traditional grower-shipper to a more diversified marketing company by expanding its offshore program and intensifying papaya imports. Brooks calls itself the largest shipper of Florida avocados and largest U.S. importer of maradol-type papaya.

In 1919, Wheeling’s grandparents bought a citrus grove in present-day Miami and ran a dairy and later ran an avocado and lime farming and packing operation.

In 2008, Pal Brooks named a new avocado variety after Wheeling. The Wheeling variety bears fruit late January through early April.

“It was very kind of Pal to name a variety after me,” Wheeling said. “My family has been involved in this (avocado) industry since 1960. This is the first time anything like that has ever happened to our family.”

Wheeling was chairman of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Florida Avocado Administrative Committee for more than a decade, was a member of a Florida citrus canker advisory board, was a member of the state’s redbay ambrosia beetle invasive pest working group and headed the Miami-Dade County agricultural liaison committee.

Brooks officials have posted more information about Wheeling and his retirement in their blog.

Wheeling to retire from Brooks Tropicals LLC

After 23 years with the company, President Craig Wheeling is retiring from Brooks Tropicals LLC. During those years, Craig took the firm from a Florida focus with a mostly East Coast distribution to an agribusiness that crisscrosses the Americas in both operations and sales.

The building of offshore papaya operations, which started with fewer than 30 acres more than 17 years ago, provided the major catalyst for the company’s recent phenomenal growth. Through this venture, the firm has become the number one importer of papayas to the North American market.

Wheeling developed the company’s SlimCado brand, highlighting the healthy differences between Florida avocados and the major California variety. The claim that the SlimCado has “less fat and fewer calories” required two years of research and considerable legal groundwork. The research pinpointing the SlimCado’s fat content and calories was key — not only in bringing the brand to market but also in bringing the first nutritional fruit label to the U.S. market. The brand itself has ignited consumer interest, as shown when the concept was featured on an ABC-TV episode of “Brothers and Sisters.”

Wheeling also rebuilt the firm after category 5 Hurricane Andrew destroyed the company’s headquarters and fields in Homestead, Fla., in 1992. All of Brooks’ buildings and coolers were severely damaged. “We brought the steel in from Tennessee and the construction workers from Orlando; the work was completed in four months’ time,” said Wheeling. Brooks was the first large organization in the area to fully return to business.

“We took the opportunity while volumes were down to complete projects like installing a new companywide computer system. But more significantly, we changed from being a fruit broker and importer to a multinational grower,” said Wheeling.

Currently, Brooks Tropicals is harvesting the Wheeling avocado, which is a new, patented, off-season variety developed by Neal “Pal” Brooks personally. The demand for this off-season variety is such that the entire crop of Wheeling fruit has been sold prior to harvesting.

“We like to be the leader in whatever major product we offer,” said Wheeling. “I’m proud of areas like our internal research department, which has allowed us to maintain our leadership over the years.”

He added, “I’m going to miss the company and the people who work for it. The employees of Brooks are great people and dedicated to their work. It shows.”

About Pal Brooks, Wheeling noted, “I’ve learned a lot from Pal. He is a brilliant agriculturist who has shown that you can still be fair in your dealings and build a great business. He has fostered a culture of honesty, innovation and doing what it takes to ensure consistent quality.”

“In my career at Brooks, I also had the pleasure of working with outstanding individuals in the industry,” said Wheeling. “I particularly remember Ralph Pinkerton, whom I had known on and off for many years. He was a marketing genius who took California avocados from a small industry to a leading product.”

Ralph had been chairman of the Produce Marketing Association, had produced the famous Angie Dickinson advertising campaign for Hass avocados and had even parachuted sheep as a sales tool.

“We were in awe of him,” said Wheeling. “One day late in his career, Ralph just showed up at Brooks and said, “You guys do interesting things; I am going to work for you.” Wheeling remembers that it was an offer he couldn’t refuse. “We used to listen for hours as Ralph Pinkerton educated our staff on his philosophies of sales and marketing. He was a great man in so many ways.”

Wheeling believes in giving back to the community. One of his fondest memories was the establish-ment of a charity in Belize in which school principals were asked what they needed for their schools and Brooks Tropicals would provide the items.

“We would hunt for used textbooks from Florida or shoes from Mexico and then ask for help with shipping from freight companies. It was super efficient and fun,” Wheeling said.

Wheeling served as chairman of the USDA’s Florida Avocado Marketing Board for more than 10 years. He chaired Miami-Dade County’s Agriculture Retention Study, which looked at the future of 80,000 acres of largely undeveloped land south of the urban Miami area. Wheeling also served on the board of Miami-Dade County’s Crime Stoppers organization; testified before Congress on the dangers of invasive pests; and was a member of a Florida Citrus Canker Advisory Board, a member of the State of Florida’s working group on the devastating invasive pest the Red Bay beetle and chairman of the Miami-Dade County Agricultural Liaison Committee.

“Looking toward agriculture’s future,” said Wheeling, “I’m most concerned about non-native pests entering the U.S. We’ve seen the dramatic economic impact of citrus canker. I hope we can work as an industry to find the means to prevent such fungi, bacteria and other pests from entering the U.S.”

“No person has contributed more to the success of this company than Craig,” said Pal Brooks, chairman of the board. “I have the utmost respect for this man. He has espoused the creed that underlies the company’s success: ‘do what’s fair and right.’”

Brooks Tropicals has approximately 1,250 workers at its Homestead, Fla., and Belize, Central America, locations.

Tight winter supplies set to boost prices for Mexico

Excerpts from a Dec/Jan article in the AmericaFruit Magazine written by Jose Escobedo

Despite the heavy rains that struck the state of Veracruz in September and October 2010, on the whole Mexico's year-round lime deal should not see a shortage in the pipelines that supply the US market. However, a tight winter season means prices are likely to be higher than usual.

Mexican lime production tends to peak between May and July, while volume is fairly low through March and April.The groves are concentrated mostly in the sates of Veracruz, Oaxaca and Tabasco.

"The extra rainfall seems to have spurred on the limes to size up more quickly and plentifully than they may have without it, and there have been plenty of good quality limes available," points out Mary Ostlund, director of marketing for Florida-based Brooks Tropicals.

Ms. Ostlund claims that Brooks Tropicals' growers expect prices to be high and supplies tight during the Christmas and New Year holiday period, as usual. "FOB prices for 40lb cartons range from around US$6 at peak production periods to as high as US$40 and above when there are shortages," she explains. "Competition from Central American limes on the East Coast has kept prices in check."

Brooks offers 40lb bulk and 10lb place packs of limes with PLUs, both imported through McAllen, Texas, and Homestead, Florida. "Our volume continues to increase more rapidly through Texas than through Florida," adds Ms Ostlund.

And despite the rising retail prices, importers are optimistic that retailers are promoting the fruit. "It looks like supplies will allow for promotions through mid-November, but after that, volume is expected to fall and prices to rise," says Ms Ostlund.

Heat up sales with a tropical favorite: papaya

Excerpts from an article in the 1/11 Produce Retailer by Kristi Johnson

Drawing consumers in during the cold winter months and creating a colorful tropical display are tried and true methods for merchandising at retail.

"Play up papayas in the winter," says Mary Ostlund, director of marketing for Brooks Tropicals, LLC., Homestead, Fla. "The gorgeous red flesh on a Caribbean Red papaya will chase the winter blahs away."

Ostlund also recommends drawing attention to the naturally large fruit by opening up a new tropicals aisle or surrounding a salsa ingredient display.

Display papayas by stacking them with their bottom side out, making it easy for customers to select the one they want.

With the natural beauty of the papaya, Ostlund says cutting it open and displaying at retail is a great merchandising strategy. She says: "Let the consumer see the beautiful red flesh inside. Let them know they can eat it like a melon."

So how does a savvy retailer educate staff and consumers on ripening papayas and how to eat them? Ostlund says "showing consumers what they need to look for with ripening charts is some of the best education."

"Let the consumer know they can start eating a Caribbean Red papaya starting at about 50% color," she says. "Once the fruit is at this stage, you give it a little squeeze, and if it gives, it's ready to eat."

The future seems very bright for papayas today, Ostlund says. "Americans may have cut back on dining out, but they are determined not to let it spoil their dining fun." Latino and Asian restaurant cuisines are two that she sees most likely to be replicated at home as papayas continue to play a big role in ethnic eating.

Ostlund says that three potential markets exist for the retailer. For the highest sales, all three should be addressed: bulk, cut (halved and filmed with a spoon and lime slice) and blended (smoothies or batidos - a Latin American blended beverage made with milk, fruit and ice).

Bloggers note: the author left out the following sentence.

Addressing all three markets also reduces shrinkage. Ripening fruit is sold in bulk, ready-to-eat fruit is made ready-to-eat, and fruit passed its cosmetic prime is blended into a delicious beverage.

"Don't be surprised if a customer buys bulk and ready-to-eat in one visit," says Ostlund

Playing with papaya

Excerpts from an article in the 1/5/11 Ft Myers News-Press by Drew Sterwald

Papayas are not all alike

Papaya varieties can vary considerably in size, sweetness and scent. Some grow to pear shape, while others take more after oblong melons, which they resemble somewhat in texture and flavor. The berry’s seeds taste peppery and often are used as garnish.

The fruit’s sometimes funky aroma may turn up a few noses.

“Not all papayas are alike,” said Mary Ostlund, marketing director for Brooks Tropicals, a Homestead-based fruit grower and shipper.

“If you’ve tried a papaya and found it to have a musky taste and smell, don’t give up on the fruit.”

"Brooks specializes in Caribbean Red Papaya, a large fruit that’s sweeter than most other backyard varieties," she said. "It pairs especially well with berries."

“The papaya easily blends with other fruits such as melons, apples, even citrus,” Ostlund said. “Papaya takes these fruits to another level."

The skinny on fats

Avocados have monounsaturated fat, often called 'good' fat. But 'good' doesn't necessarily mean eat as much as you want as the following article details.

Excerpts from an article in the US World News and Report 12/10

By Katherine Hobson

A certain amount of fat in your diet is essential. However, all fats are not alike in their effect on blood cholesterol levels.

Trading saturated fats for polyunsaturated fats (omega-3 and omega-6) does seem to offer healthy benefits for the heart, says Saroyan Mozaffarian Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School.

Monounsaturated fats found in avocados, olive oil and other oils are a good replacement for saturated fats, but they don't have the same health benefits as polyunsaturated fats.

Many point to the so-called Mediterranean diet, but "the health-conferring element in that eating pattern hasn't really been nailed down" says Mozaffarian. "If olive oil is beneficial, it may not be because of the monounsaturated fats it contains, but the phytochemicals."

"Focus on getting your pattern of eating right," says Alice Lichtenstein a nutritional biochemist and director of the Cardiovascular Nutrition Laboratory at Tufts University. "And research is fairly consistent on what constitutes healthy eating: a varied diet heavy on fruits and vegetables that emphasizes whole grains, fish and a limited amount of lean meats and low fat dairy and it includes liquid oils for food preparation."

Remember that quantity matters. Even healthy eaters should master portion control. Mimi Garner, Cardiologist and medical director of the Scrolls Center for Integrative Medicine in LaJolla, California says, " if you eat a lot of nuts, avocados or olive oil, you'll get fat."

Once it's around your middle, it's no longer good fat.