Ataulfo price drop, Chiapas comes alive, EDJ2 opens, , more round fruit,
blooming northern landscapes and opulent specialty mango flowers
Weekends are sacred in our business. In contrast to Australians who may soon have the privilege of declining unreasonable calls and avoiding responses to calls or emails from their bosses outside “normal business hours,” most of us produce folks contend with a fair share of unreasonable demands seven days a week. We not only answer our phone calls from our bosses but also find ourselves in constant problem solving mode. Despite these constant demands, there is a certain peace to the weekend—the phone doesn’t ring as frequently, and the atmosphere tends to be quieter. This is why I take pleasure in dropping positive news Under the Mango Tree on Fridays. It is part of my quest to create more #MangoJoy in our lives, from orchard to table. I am going to make this short and sweet for us so we can get to the weekend sooner!
Ataulfo Price Drop
Let’s start with the news that is going to get this mango party (season) started! A price drop in the Ataulfo market. Ataulfos, a favorite among shoppers and a super hit among our organic retailers, initially faced a slow start both in sales and volumes. Despite gradually filling pipelines and retailer shelves, devoted Ataulfo consumers began to discover their delightful taste. The sweetness this season is on-point, perfectly balanced showing an incredible nuance of flavor. Consumers are getting what the Ataulfo so graciously delivers: sugar caramel sweetness, tiny tinge of fruity spice, and the delightful balance of tart all delivered in the most buttery creamy flesh. Shoppers tasted and sales quickly gained momentum, the challenge lay in tough supply and sizing problems compounded by soaring market prices. Prices that are unprecedented in our industry. This price drop, which we will see at orchard level this weekend, will take time to trickle through the system. (Remember it takes several days for fruit to travel from Chiapas to the US.)
Price drops are tricky, the before and after part- it takes precision inventory management and customer communication to make sure everyone in the mix gets what they need to move to the next phase of increase volumes which should lead to increased sales-which we absolutely have the momentum for. The market will eventually see lower prices from orchard to table if we do our jobs well.
The price drop should also alleviate some pressure on sizing demand and allow for less rick across all sectors of the industry in terms of promotions. (Many customers have been promoting from the get-go—check out New Seasons Market!)
Chiapas Comes Alive/EDJ2 Opens
Oaxaca dominates early Mexican fruit production, but its reliability is increasingly unpredictable due to normal weather issues compounded by climate change. This season faced challenges like El Niño patterns and severe winds, resulting in reduced fruit offerings at the onset of the season until now, exacerbated by the Peruvian supply chaos.
Despite challenges, Oaxaca deserves recognition for its offerings, sparking excitement with the onset Ataulfo volumes and keeping sales moving. But with Chiapas entering the scene we anticipate a lot more mangoes, more promotional opportunities and greater overall #MangoJoy. We expect Oaxaca’s supply will dip slightly in the coming weeks but the current stability of Chiapas offers ample volumes, easing demand pressures and pricing concerns. Chiapas’ increased sizing variances and volumes will alleviate demand pressures and pricing difficulties. A reminder to all that empty pipelines take time to fill. Take a little peak inside EDJ2.
More Round Fruit
The increasing volume of round fruit from Chiapas will help alleviate market challenges, and we anticipate a drop in pricing in the coming weeks as volumes increase. While volumes remain restricted, there is now more size variance, including smaller and larger fruit entering the market as early as next week. Expectations are for round mango volumes to continue rising weekly until reaching normal supplies, around the end of March beginning of April.
The Blooming North
There is nothing quite like the visual of blooming mango orchards. If you haven’t read my Mango Blossoms WOW! article, head there to learn the full and fascinating story of how a bloom bursts forth and becomes the fruit that brings us so much joy.
Beautiful mango flowers currently blanket much of Mexico, offering major signs of hope and promise for the spring and summer peak season. What I find enchanting about mango blossoms is their ability to signal great possibilities in their abundance. Despite the fact that less than 1% of all blooms eventually form fruit, the sheer number of blossoms creates an illusion of sweet hope – as if each mango flower could transform into a luscious and juicy mango.
The uncertainty of which blooms will bear fruit adds to the magic, making every mango flower a potential source of delight. Picture the landscape adorned with millions and millions of dazzling mango flowers, resembling fireworks bursting forth from the trees – it’s a sight that naturally instills a sense of hope.
In Nayarit, all eyes are currently focused on the delayed blooming, and trying to understand if the current warm weather will push the current blooms into the usual fruitful timing. We will continue to monitor the situation and report weekly.
Opulent Specialty Mangoes
There is a certain sweetness in a few of our blooming orchards as we eagerly await the return of our Mango Queen specialty varietals which will once again be adorned in their opulent Crespo Organic signature educational style elasti-tags, displaying quick basic varietal facts, a UPC and a QR code directing to consumers to more culinary insights.
From my vantage point, the Crespo Organic brand is more about family, culture, and community filtered through the joy experienced when near anything mango-related. The Crespo Organic Mango Queen sub brand that debuted last season is an addendum to the entire organic Mexican mango experience, which has become synonymous with our Crespo Organic brand. When you experience a delicious mango, you can’t help but want more, more flavor, more varietal more experience. This is what our Mango Queen offers.
Last season’s volume was extremely limited, and we are hopeful that these blooms, guide us into a different story this season. We are also hopeful we may have a few pallets of one new varietal in our mix, it’s still a secret but here is a hint: she speaks French and we call her madam.
If you have read this far you are serious about mangoes and so I leave you with one reminder that I often tell myself in life generally- things take the time they take and the supply chain, despite how hard we work to keep it short and direct, is long and can be segmented in parts.
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