Scattaglia Growers and Shippers began with a desire to deliver colorful, flavorful, and delicious fruit to the consumer while ensuring a good return to the grower.

“Along with choosing superior varieties to grow, we wait for the fruit to reach optimum brix and pressure levels prior to harvest,” said Kira Navison, marketing director for the Kingsburg, California-based company. “We know that somebody will be eating our product so we want to ensure that they have a great eating experience every time they enjoy a piece of our fruit.” 

Kira Navison, Marketing Director, SGS

The Scattaglia family has been growing premium stone fruit in the high desert foothills of California’s San Gabriel Mountains for more than 50 years, and it was in 2017 that Louis Scattaglia took his family’s experience and started SGS.

There have been a lot of great changes happening within the company over the last seven years, and SGS anticipates continued growth.

“We are most excited about our expansion into organics this year and for the opportunity that we have to continue to provide fresh fruit to families around the globe while operating in a conscientious and sustainable manner,” Navison said.

SGS now offers a full organic lineup of peaches, plums, and nectarines, and the organic program is expected to become a larger focus for the company.

“Many of our growers have multigenerational family farms, and they are truly passionate about what they do,” Navison said. “We are grateful for the opportunity that we have to represent families that are deeply rooted in the industry and committed to providing consumers with nothing short of premium-quality fruit.”

For instance, Kliewer Farms is one of the many families that SGS represents, and they are a fourth-generation family farm run by father and son Jerry and Jerin Kliewer.

“The Kliewers made the decision to switch their conventional stone fruit lineup to a full organics program, and we look forward to what 2024 has in store,” Navison said.

The SGS team is optimistic about the demand for organics this year as consumers have an increased interest in health and the environment.

“People like to know where their produce comes from, and we plan to focus on continuously educating consumers on our product and the process that each piece of fruit undergoes prior to it landing on their table,” Navison said.

“We are most excited about our expansion into organics this year and for the opportunity that we have to continue to provide fresh fruit to families around the globe while operating in a conscientious and sustainable manner." - Kira Navison

There are still challenges, however, in the organic segment. Economic uncertainty along with market volatility will continue to pose significant issues for 2024.

“We continue to have other factors such as geopolitical tensions (politics) as well as labor market and supply chain issues that can potentially create a sense of instability and unpredictability in the business environment,” Navison said. “SGS is continually looking at these issues while developing future growth plans.”

In fact, SGS is moving into 2024 with a very optimistic outlook.

“We will continue to work directly with our customers at all levels creating true partnerships,” Navison said. “We pride ourselves on service. Along with our conventional program, we now have a full stone fruit organic program as part of our offerings and a citrus program is being developed.”

“[Our] growth is pretty related to the needs of our customers,” Navison said. “That was the idea with the addition of the organic program as well as citrus. On the conventional side, we plan to grow at least 10 percent yearly. We’ve had opportunities to increase at a faster rate, but going back to our roots, we want to provide great-tasting fruit to consumers while maximizing returns to growers.”

"Along with our conventional program, we now have a full stone fruit organic program as part of our offerings and a citrus program is being developed.” - Kira Navison

That’s the main theme behind SGS’s philosophy and strategy—to keep everyone in mind along the produce supply chain.

“It is important to us that our growers are compensated well for their hard work, retailers receive the best price, and consumers receive safe, fresh, and flavorful fruit,” Navison said.