Oregyn: Copefrut and Verfrut’s commercial platform in China

Executive teams at Copefrut and Verfrut successfully initiated the operations of the alliance they announced in October 2022, to strengthen the commercial platform that Copefrut has had in China for four years, which has two operations centers and cold storage facilities, one in Guangzhou and the other in Shanghai.

The objective is to facilitate logistics, imports, and the delivery of quality services at destination, sharing knowledge to maintain a leading position in the market.

Multiple videoconferences between Chile, the U.S.A,. and China were required to fine-tune the details of this partnership and the operation of the new company in the Asian country, whose recent choice of name comes from the combination of the words Origin and Synergy.

The two major companies, whose headquarters are located in Hong Kong, evoke the innovative idea of generating alliances in such an atomized sector.

Linx Lai (Full Bloom), Felipe Casanova (Copefrut), Ignacio Donoso (Verfrut)

“The most important thing, obviously, is the service we are offering to our customers but, in addition, the unique nature of a partnership between two relevant companies at national and global level, in an industry where there is a lot of competition and very little cooperation, so it is necessary to partner to be more competitive,” explained Ignacio Donoso, Director of New Business Development of Verfrut, fruit company of the Vercellino family.

Verfrut has more than 30 years of experience in the production of fresh fruit and, to date, produces and exports more than 15 million boxes from its 7. 500 hectares of orchards in Chile and Peru.

Both executives highlight the excellent reception from customers so far, especially from retail, regarding this business model which, although they recognize, has generated some questions due to the profiles of each company, they are willing to try what OREGYN offers them, in terms of providing different products from different origins through a reliable channel.

Even more so after a season in the Chinese market that started with some uncertainties due to the implementation of the Covid-19 Zero Tolerance Policy. Eventually, the policy was overturned and evolved in a very positive way.

“Thanks to the fact that we had formed this alliance/company in China, we were prepared to maximize the opportunities that the Chinese market is presenting,” they stated.

Challenges ahead

Although the volume achieved between the two brands was remarkable, the challenge now is to enter the optimization stage.

“We made all the products we were thinking of making; cherries, blueberries from Peru, blueberries from Chile, grapes from Peru, etc. We have exchanged a lot of information on how each one of us deals with the different challenges, either at origin or at destination. And that is very valuable. This openness to talk and share ultimately enriches the relationship and enables us to do different things”, emphasized Felipe Casanova.

Ignacio Donoso added: “What we planned is being achieved, especially in the diversification of origins and diversification of species, so the path is to continue growing. We are very excited because we still have a lot to do.”

A period of stabilization and commercial development which, as Felipe Casanova explains, “means amplifying the volume with current customers and exploring with new and potential ones”. To achieve this, they will seek to build a more robust commercial team and identify new channels that will have an impact on better results.

The satisfaction that they also share with the third partner of this powerful alliance: FullBloom International, a Chinese company and key player in the platform, whose role is that of articulator and expert in the local market.

Both Copefrut and Verfrut, united by Oregyn, seek to deploy the strength, stability, and tradition they have in the region and the world, through a platform that extends the period in which fruit is marketed in China – ideally reaching the 52 weeks of the year.

Eventually, the goal is to incorporate new strategic partner exporters that, in addition to other categories, add will, vision, and cooperation contributing to the development and expansion of Chile as a key player in the fruit-producing and exporting industry.