In the early 1970s, mango pioneer Roberto Crespo Fitch began planting mangos in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. Not long after, he built a modern packing shed, Empaque Don Jorge, in the town of El Rosario. From the beginning, Crespo Fitch employed sustainable farming methods and utilized organic growing techniques.

Today, his four children run the El Grupo Crespo farming operation he founded, which is one of the largest organic mango operations in Mexico. The family, through its US-based RCF Distributors in Rio Rico, AZ, markets the mangos under their Crespo Organic Mango label.

Jose Angel Crespo, El Grupo Crespo

About 80 percent of Crespo’s total mango production is grown in certified organic orchards. Five years ago, Crespo Fitch's children—Malu, Roberto, Jorge, and Jose Angel—honored their late father by revamping the packing shed with a three-year modernization project. Today, the state-of-the-art facility is a model of efficiency, and it is currently moving toward peak operation as organic mango production from the states of Nayarit and Sinaloa ramp up this month.

About 80 percent of Crespo’s total mango production is grown in certified organic orchards.

By June 1, promotable volume of organic mangos will be available in North America for at least several months. Nissa Pierson, who handles the marketing of the Crespo Organic Mango brand said the company will launch its “Summer Mango Mania” promotion of the organic brand on the first day of June and run well into August.

Kent mangos from Crespo

The promotion includes point-of-sale material such as price cards, social media marketing, contests for consumers, and FOB pricing to retailers that will allow them to carry organic mangos at a very attractive price throughout the summer.

Pierson said the goal is to provide retailers at least one SKU each week that can be sold to consumers at a price point of less than $1 per piece of fruit. While that pricing level is common for conventional mangos, it is a tremendous goal for organics.

Pierson said the goal is to provide retailers at least one SKU each week that can be sold to consumers at a price point of less than $1 per piece of fruit.

Crespo Organic Mangos accomplishes its affordable pricing with the Crespo Organic Direct Trade Program. The company works directly with supply chain partners to achieve fair and stable prices for all its organic mangos.

Nissa Pierson, Marketing, Crespo Organic Mango brand

As Pierson writes on her blog, which is available on the Crespo Organic website, “The direct trade model ... was motivated by a desire to build more sustainable, mutually beneficial transparent trade systems with higher-quality supply chains. It is the result of farmers and farmer advocates building direct relationships with retailers, wholesalers, distributor[s], home delivery companies, and processors. … Direct trade is quality-centric, where shared business goals lead the progress forward through all the complexities and challenges that are sure to arise in agriculture and the distribution of fresh food. The farmer is the expert on production of a high-quality product, and the customer is the expert on product distribution to the consumer. The two parties exchange information on the challenges and opportunities, and they strategize to build long-term commerce relationships established on trust, transparency, and respect.”

Washing and sizing Crespo mangos

Jose Angel Crespo noted that El Grupo Crespo continues to grow its organic footprint. “Each year we continue to increase our own production on organic mangos, new farms, new orchards so that our volumes continue to increase alongside our demand. We try and make sure we are expanding our plantings for the entire season, all regions,” he said.

Other growers are following suit, Crespo said, and more growers are getting involved with organic production.

“Each year we continue to increase our own production on organic mangos, new farms, new orchards so that our volumes continue to increase alongside our demand.” -Jose Angel Crespo

Crespo Organic has several different packaging options for its customers. The company offers a standard nine-pound organic box with an eye-catching look that allows for direct retail displays. There is also the Crespo BIG BOX, which holds 22 pounds of fruit. Display-ready bagged fruit is also available for several varieties. One option is a mixed bag, which includes one Ataulfo mango and two round mangos.

During peak season regional volume spikes and throughout the summer, consumers love buying mangos in bulk, so this year Crespo Organic will be offering a six-pound consumer take-home case.