AM FRESH Group acquires a controlling interest of Fruit-X
AM FRESH Group, a leading global company in genetics, agri-tech and farming has acquired a majority stake in Asian-based Fruit-X to redefine the produce industry in Asia and deliver a go-to-market solution of consistently high-quality and innovative produce for the hundreds of millions of Asian consumers who seek exciting, healthy and sustainable fresh-food experiences. AM FRESH Group will rebrand Fruit-X into a new corporate identity, FRESH FRUIT-X, to reflect its welcoming to the AM FRESH Group.
FRESH FRUIT-X will leverage the best of both companies and provide best-in-class integrated solutions to South East Asian markets. AM FRESH, a significant player in the produce industry for over 90 years is committed to providing its unique expertise and robust vertically-integrated model spanning varietal innovation of patented table grape and citrus varieties, its ever-expanding nature-positive farming footprint of natural premium patented varieties across Europe, South Africa, North and South America, leading agri-tech capabilities and consumer and market intelligence as the backbone of the newly formed company. Fruit-X brings to the table an accomplished team of market experts, a booming customer base across Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Philippines, Hong Kong and the Middle East and a seamless consumer-centric service experience thanks to its broad infrastructure network and service locations across Malaysia and Vietnam.
FRESH FRUIT-X will trail-blaze growth of premium quality produce categories and provide Asian retailers with a reliable global partner for access to premium patented varieties, an efficient supply chain model, a vast global network of growers, year-round quality consistency, decisive customer and market intelligence and sustainable practices and together create exciting experiences for consumers across South East Asia. As part of AM FRESH, FRESH FRUIT-X will create a seamless, insight-based integrated solution and end-to-end fresh foods model to serve over 500 million consumers across Asia.
Furthermore, FRESH FRUIT-X strengthens the partnership between AM FRESH and EVEREST, the Dutch international purchasing company to correspondingly expand its portfolio and retail base in Asia for both companies.
Jose Vottero states “At Fruit-X we have always highly valued our relationship with AM FRESH and are now proud to call ourselves FRESH FRUIT X. Our company objectives have been aligned in providing the most efficient supply of fresh fruit to the South East Asian market. Our independent strengths maintain a competitive edge by running strong local teams, which have an in-depth understanding of individually-marked needs and requirements, while being supported by an industry giant in regard to supply, innovation and technology. This fuels our motivation to work hard towards our common goal of adding value by providing effective solutions and quality improvement, while offering packaging options and maintaining an efficient supply chain. Moving forward, we will stay true to our main pillars of transparency, honesty and partnership, which have been and will be at the cornerstone of our continuous growth.”
AM FRESH consistently and continuously invests in cutting-edge R&D programs and proprietary technologies worldwide to deliver a significant point of difference through its extensive natural hybridization of table grapes and citrus, creating new and natural varieties in line with consumer demand for healthy, flavorful and sustainable food. FRESH FRUIT X will be an efficient and upgraded gateway to introduce exciting new varieties to Asian consumers.
Carlos Bonet of AM FRESH states, “We are extremely excited about this partnership in Asia. Following our close relationship with Fruit-X over the years, we are proud to say that we know each other well, we share the same principles and, more importantly our vision and strategy to grow in Asia – Pacific. This partnership unlocks a bright growth potential for FRESH FRUIT-X, the sort of growth that we seek, based on models which will bring transparency, trust, and excellence in service to our strategic partners. We are convinced that this is the right step forward.
