To better understand the distribution of mangoes in the United States, we interviewed Albert Pérez, executive director of Continental Fresh LLC, based in Florida, who analyzes the importance of this large market for the mango industry and highlights, in particular, that consumption of mangoes has unlimited potential in the United States.

Regarding the Mexican mango campaign, Pérez comments that "this season's campaign began at the end of February, and now continues to arrive in its last stage in the Los Mochis area (Sinaloa), it has been quite successful. The average prices that we have seen this season, predictably affected by inflation, have been a little more than a dollar above the prices that we had last year at this point. That represents a twenty percent increase in prices. However, despite these prices, even a little more volume has been moved than what had been moved in last year's campaign up to now. He would say that it has been quite a successful campaign for growers in Mexico, who have received a little more price for the fruit and have sold more fruit.”

Regarding what the North American consumer values ​​most when buying mangoes, that is, if he pays more attention to price, quality or flavor, Albert Pérez points out that "vendors want to generate sales in their stores, that customers come and repeat, and what most causes repetition is the taste and quality. Taste is number one and quality is number two, and in terms of price, it seems that people are willing to pay more for a mango, as they have done this season, because mangos have become a food from the basic shopping basket: it is no longer a matter of being a specialty, it is something that is used every day, and increasingly: in the US market it is considered as something important, so the chains do so consider. Mango consumption has unlimited potential in the United States, and we still have a long way to go.”

Regarding the changes due to COVID-19 in consumption in the United States, Pérez highlights that "one thing that has changed a lot is the way people buy mangoes: buying mangoes and making purchases online has increased much. In addition, supermarket chains and the National Mango Board have promoted that mangoes have a high content of vitamin C, which is why it has been one of those products that survived the pandemic stage very well, just like other products such as citrus fruits . Thus, many people order food through the internet, and many recipes now contain mango: they are eating in a healthier way, and mangoes have changed the menus”.

Regarding online purchases, Pérez points out that "it was thought that this was the part that was going to be difficult, because people like to go, touch and choose the fruit, etc., but the reality is that every day more , consumers are willing to have that fruit delivered over the Internet, through online purchases, and the companies that make these deliveries have a very good return program, so if there is a person they are not satisfied with the product quality, they make a good return on the value that was paid for it. They do not put impediments in that aspect and it has become easier. I doubted it would work myself, and now I'm shopping online every week, including fruit and vegetables."

Analyzing the function and role that retailers play in the distribution of mangoes in the North American market, Pérez points out that “they have the main role, they are the ones that connect all our products with consumers. They know that the mango is one of the products that has grown the most in the last twenty-five years in the United States. It is a product that when they put it on promotion, it is sold and in large quantities. They are trying to double or equal the sales they had each month last year: for example, they want to sell more mangoes this July compared to the same month last year, and they are putting a lot of emphasis on doing promotions, which helps us a lot to market the mango and make it known to those who do not know it”.

Regarding the origins of the “Agua para Todos” brand, created by Continental Fresh, Albert Pérez points out that “it was an initiative that we took in the company to unite our passions: the passion for fruit, but also for water. From a very young age, sixteen years old, I went to work on a water project in the Dominican Republic and formed a non-profit organization, LIFO Missions, which has been taking volunteers to install these water systems for almost forty years. So, we decided to create a brand whose box speaks of the cause: from every box of mangoes we sell, we donate a penny to the operations of another group called BLUE Missions, which came out of our group, and today, as LIFO Missions, we do one project a year, while they do up to forty projects a year working in Ecuador, Colombia and Nicaragua. Each mango has a label, which is a drop of water, where our website is indicated, where the consumer can learn more about the projects we are carrying out. We have seen that, today, the consumer in the United States cares about knowing where their fruit comes from; what are we doing for society; or if there is any way to help a cause by buying that fruit, and that has brought us great success. So, retailers are asking for our brand specifically, to promote it, because they see that it has added value in that aspect”.

Regarding the increase in sales of fresh-cut mangoes in the United States, Pérez points out that "it is not a fad: it is something that happens not only with mangoes but with many different products. The US consumer likes convenience. On the other hand, also some people find it difficult to cut the mango, and although it is not, there are still people who do not find how to do it. Therefore, the fact that it comes in several ways prepared is useful, and you can put it with different fruits in mixed cocktails, ready for anything. For us, of all the sales of fresh mangoes that we make, thirty to thirty-three percent is mango for clients that are going to process it."