Alpine Fresh Inc. was established in January 1988 with a clear vision: bridge the gap between the growers of fresh fruits and vegetables in Latin America and consumers in the United States. Founded by long-time friends Jose Sanchez and Walter Yager, the company has a strong sense of where it’s been and where it will go in the future. “The company has grown from two people, one pallet jack, a 250-square-foot office, to a 50,000-square-foot corporate headquarters in Miami with over 4,000 employees worldwide. Alpine has operations in six different countries and sales on five different continents,” the company’s website states.

The company’s mission statement reflects the strong commitment Sanchez and Yager have in providing their customers with the highest level of service. “Alpine Fresh’s mission is to bring fresh agricultural products from our farms to the world, in the most efficient and cost effective way possible, while maintaining the highest quality standards in the industry. We will foster an environment where all of our actions worldwide are conducted in a socially responsible way. The measurement of our success will be determined by the growth of our employees not only within the company but within themselves.”

Asparagus is one of the six major produce items marketed. Other items include blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, French beans and fresh cuts. In all, Alpine Fresh handles over 40 million packages of produce annually. Alpine Fresh owns and operates its farms and packingshed and also partners and finances growers around the world to meet customer commitments each and every day of the year.

According to company information, Alpine Fresh operates the largest single asparagus farm in Peru. This farm alone is comprised of 3,460 acres of asparagus. Alpine Fresh has been growing, packing and shipping green asparagus for more than 20 years.

Jose Andreu, procurement manager at Alpine Fresh, spoke with The Produce News about the Peruvian asparagus season. “Alpine Fresh is currently growing and shipping asparagus from Ica and Chincha in southern Peru, also Jayanca and Trujillo in northern Peru,” he said. “The asparagus quality from Peru this upcoming season should be great.”

Looking at production, he said, “The current impacts from the weather pushed the crops to come out earlier. Since the crop is not quite ready, we do expect that this could impact yields.” Even with weather playing a role, Andreu anticipates Alpine Fresh will have an increase in volume for its Peruvian asparagus.

The company markets fresh asparagus to all market sectors. “Alpine Fresh markets Peruvian asparagus year-round. It’s very important that we support our farms to allow them to maximize their returns. We focus on the fall and winter window with about 65 percent of the crop,” Andreu stated. “Alpine has contracted air space with various airlines to ensure we are delivering the freshest asparagus to all of our customers.”

A full range of packing options are offered including boxes, bunches and bagged product. Andreu said the company offers customer based delivered pricing and f.o.b. pricing.