YUMA, AZ – When a wine connoisseur is selling a bottle, what is his focal point? What is it that hooks the consumer and brings them back to that brand time and time again?

The flavor.

President of the newly-unveiled Savor Fresh Farms, Milas Russell III, tells me this is what his company wants to bring to the specialty melon category.

“We find unique varieties that have different flavor characteristics, then tailor everything in our operation around continuously achieving that flavor component,” Milas explains. “For every melon Savor Fresh produces we are looking for the ‘wow’ factor. When you bite into one of our Kiss Melons, we want you to say ‘Wow!’”

The Russell family, partners behind the 30+ year melon grower Sandstone Melons, is moving to further delineate their flavor-based program by rebranding to Savor Fresh Farms. Milas and his family-owned and operated company want to continue to expand the consumer flavor experience in melons, feeling that this is the new direction for the melon category in general.

With the launch of a fresh name, the Russell family are bringing a fresh take on the entire category and are moving to achieve that unique flavor experience that consumers are looking for in their food purchases.

Milas continued, “While our roots are in an older company, we are a new company, moving in a direction dictated by the end consumer. We are looking at varieties in our fields all year long, looking for the ones that compel consumers to take another bite and the approach has been well-received by consumers.”

“Savor Fresh Farms has hit the ground running,” explains Milas. “We have strategic plans for expanding our Kiss Melon business under the Savor Fresh Farms umbrella in retailers across North America. Consumers ask for our Kiss Melons, we work with our retail partners to supply consumer requests, but sometimes answering those requests can get interesting. I had one man adamantly calling because he was sure his store had stopped selling our melons, I had to tell him that we were just out of season,” Milas says with a laugh.

Many have asked why Savor Fresh doesn't grow Kiss Melons in other regions to become a year-round provider, but, again, it comes down to the flavor.

“My father does all of our growing, and my mother directs all of the quality assurance out in the field, so she is the one making sure that what's being harvested meets the specifications of our brand.”

Milas explains that it is very much a family-run operation and that Savor Fresh just hasn’t found the flavor profiles it has come to expect in offshore trials. Savor Fresh takes a different approach to sales, in that it pre-sells a vast majority of its product.

“This approach allows us, instead of focusing on selling melons day to day, to concentrate on the flavor and get the best melons out of the field because sales are taken care of,” Milas explains.

Some of the partnerships the company already has in place include Sam’s Club, Walmart, H-E-B, Publix, Wegmans, and Loblaws, with more growth and program development slated for the future.

Being compared to the likes of craft beer and wine, and with aspirations to raise the bar in the entire specialty melon category, it will be interesting to see where this new name and direction takes the produce industry.

Savor Fresh Farms