REEDLEY, CA - The element of surprise plays a key role across the fresh produce supply chain, and one of the recent pleasant surprises that appeared in my inbox was the launch of the new service provider Frutura. With industry veteran David Krause manning the helm as CEO of the company, I gained further insights into his vision in an exclusive ANUK interview.

“It began as a combined vision between the now Frutura Board Chair Lloys Frates—a produce industry veteran with expertise as a Strategist, Impact Investor, Director, and Senior Executive—and myself,” David told me. “We recognized a need in the marketplace, and worked to aggregate supply from a fragmented basin in Latin America to put together 52-week programs for customers. With a focus on high-growth categories, we partnered with other third-party growers to complement our owned acreage.”

As we reported a couple of weeks ago, Frutura’s initial grower partners are Dayka & Hackett (D & H) and Agrícola Don Ricardo (ADR), which each signed agreements to sell majority ownership to the new company. In addition to their unique products, they bring with them strong management teams that will stay intact moving forward. As we ruminated on the vast supply chain efficiencies associated with these partnerships, David reminded me that the core Frutura team is quite small, bringing together multiple business units that are going to operate fairly autonomously.

Aiming to support this small team in the best way possible, Frutura’s other primary focus places what some would consider a secondary business commitment at the center of its value proposition: Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG).

“We’re going to take a much more aggressive approach to ESG,” he said, naming just a few of the commitments on the books. “We will implement best-in-class water management practices, many of which are already utilized across our partners’ operations. We also plan to pursue B corp certification and will seek ways to take a leadership position on positive steps we can take related to ESG.”

What better way to cement its position than by catering directly to the consumer? David emphasized that getting as close to shoppers as possible will be key to Frutura’s success, and doing so at the retail level will be at the forefront of its strategies.

“We plan to cover all channels, because we are also penetrating Europe and the Pacific rim, but our primary focus is retail,” he added. “We have a good structure in place that is poised to make the whole program and its thesis clear from the beginning.”

In conclusion, David leaves me with this: Frutura is far from being done. This platform will only continue to grow, and he will have new, exciting things to share with us in the near future.

Until then, be sure to keep following along with AndNowUKnow for the latest fresh produce news.

Frutura