TerraFresh Organics opened its doors only a few years ago, but its journey actually began more than three decades ago when partners Greg Holzman and Steve Akagaki founded Pacific Organic Produce and Purity Organic.

Today, TerraFresh is a thriving distributor of many different domestic and imported organic fruits, with citrus topping its offerings, followed by mangos, stone fruit, grapes, and cherries, among others.

TerraFresh organic Valencia oranges

Holzman began transitioning a conventional apple orchard to organic production in 1985 and was soon joined by Akagaki, who was equally passionate about the burgeoning organic category. The pair eventually started their organic fruit operation in the 1990s and then joined forces again to establish TerraFresh in 2019. Jason Laffer joined the team as vice president of sales, while Fernando Valle became operations manager.

Recently, Laffer and Valle sat down with OPN Connect to discuss TerraFresh’s trajectory, the fruit lanes in which it plays, and the current state of the organic fruit category.

Fernando Valle, Operations Manager, TerraFresh Organics

“We consider ourselves a ‘cheat sheet’ startup,” quipped Valle, referring to the fact that the company is staffed by fruit industry experts and has a rich background, though it only launched four years ago.

The Mill Valley, California-based company is also a subsidiary of Dayka & Hackett of Reedley, California, another produce company specializing in the fruit sector, which in turn is under the Frutura Produce umbrella.

“We consider ourselves a ‘cheat sheet’ startup,” quipped Fernando Valle, referring to the fact that the company is staffed by fruit industry experts and has a rich background, though it only launched four years ago.

“Organic citrus is by far our largest-volume crop, followed closely by organic mangos,” said Laffer.

Jason Laffer, Vice President of Sales, TerraFresh Organics

Valle chimed in that the company has a year-round mango supply, with the majority of the production from three grower partners in Mexico that the TerraFresh founders have been representing for about 20 years. “We work our way from February through September with those three growers,” Laffer said, noting that from October through January, TerraFresh also works with producers in Brazil, Ecuador, and Peru. “We have an organic mango program 365 days of the year.”

Organic mango harvest

TerraFresh’s organic citrus program features fruit from Mexico, California, Argentina, and Peru. “We have a really robust organic citrus program in Mexico,” Laffer said, adding that it is dominated by Valencia oranges, grapefruit, and lemons.

TerraFresh has a solid California program, including summer organic citrus from the Pauma Valley in San Diego County, which allows the company to extend the season and be a year-round supplier of organic citrus. It also sources Argentine lemons in early summer and brings in specialty citrus varieties from Peru during the summer months.

TerraFresh organic Valencia oranges

For about eight months of the year, TerraFresh sources organic grapes, with Peru providing production in the first four months of the year and California chipping in from late spring into summer. Other fresh organic fruit in the company’s arsenal include California avocados, pomegranates, and persimmons as well as organic pineapple from Mexico.

Laffer said the company works with many different growers, including longtime collaborations with a number of boutique growers that have a following among the firm’s customer base, which includes not only retailers but also wholesalers who specialize in the organic space. “We are successful by finding underserved pockets,” he said.

Organic Mexican Keitt mangos

The two TerraFresh representatives noted that the organic category continues to grow, though it has not maintained the growth rate that it achieved during the first year of COVID when health concerns were top of mind, and retail produce sales skyrocketed. Valle said the country is experiencing an economic slowdown, and the organic category has felt that effect. “We see it as a small bump in the road,” he said. “There has been an impact, but organic sales are still higher than they were before COVID.”

“We are successful by finding underserved pockets.” - Jason Laffer

Laffer added that increased costs have hit organic growers like everyone else. “Every year it is more challenging for organic growers to continue to grow profitably and get a significant premium for their fruit,” he said, adding that FOB prices on organic fruit have been down across the board this year. But the TerraFresh sales executive remains bullish on the category: “The next generation coming along is intelligent and health conscious. They are looking for organics and are concerned about sustainability, farmworkers, and purchasing good clean products. Long term is very bright for the organic category.”