NOGALES, AZ - Spring is officially in the air, and we here at the ANUK office agreed melons definitely have to be on the table. Watermelons, cantaloupes, honeydew, you name it, consumers want it, and Divine Flavor is ready to meet those demands as the grower and shipper will be in full swing with its melon program for the next 50 days.

“The season started now, and quality looks good and promising,” said Elizabeth Smart, Melon Category Manager, touching on the importance of this season and the continued availability and dependability the grower will provide throughout the next month. “We’ve added to all sides of our melon deal, expanding our organic and conventional melon commodities—which will be essential for breaking new ground with our customers and their needs. Each season, we continue to grow with this commodity, and this adds to our ability to be a dependable source of quality melons of each variety all in one shot.”

Regular seedless and mini seedless watermelon, cantaloupe, and honeydew are offered in organic and conventional. With this bountiful supply, the company anticipates a strong month of May in terms of volume and promotion for its expanded melon program in Mexico.

Divine Flavor’s melon program is based in the northern state of Sonora on the outskirts of Hermosillo, Mexico. Even though the season was delayed this year by a few weeks due to cooler weather in the late winter, the programs were only pushed slightly. Divine anticipates it’ll rebound quickly over the next few days, which will set up a strong month for volume and promotion.

“Sonora is a prime location for growing melons because of the weather and, most of all, because of the soils we have here,” Alejo Bay, Manager at Grupo Bay, commented. “This season, we’ve bolstered our melon offerings with increased acreage with each of our melon commodities including our organic and conventional mini seedless watermelons, our regular seedless, and cantaloupes and honeydews. To help us be more efficient with our expanded production, we built a new packing facility, which will help with all aspects of the supply chain including quality, sizing, packaging, and food safety areas.”

The company’s melon program originated with its principal grower, Grupo Alta. Since then, Divine has shifted to another strategic partner, Grupo Bay. Led by Bay, the melon veteran mentions the season will get back on track starting the first week of May and will have a positive outlook until production concludes in mid-June.

Divine Flavor expects to see peak production starting the first week of May. Though Smart will oversee the category this season, she will be adding two Divine Flavor sales veterans, Alan Morfin and Luis Rodriguez, to assist with the expanded volume.

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