A Quarter Century of Cultivation, Global Sourcing, and Sustainable Innovation

Pacific Trellis Fruit, based in Los Angeles, California, has built a reputation as both a grower and importer of premium produce since its establishment in 1999.

Over the years, it has steadily expanded its reach and offerings, evolving from its initial focus on grapes and stone fruit into a multi-category supplier of melons, citrus, cherries, and even specialty varieties.

One of the most pivotal moments in the company’s history was in 2014, when it acquired Dulcinea® Farms, a premier grower of high-flavor melon varieties such as the PureHeart® Mini Seedless Watermelon and the Tuscan-Style® Extra Sweet Cantaloupe.

Since then, Pacific Trellis Fruit has dedicated itself to supplying flavorful produce 365 days a year, expanding its catalog to include grapes from Mexico and Peru, stone fruit from Chile and South Africa, and citrus from numerous global growing regions.

In its earliest days, Pacific Trellis Fruit began as a modest venture focusing on consistent quality and the cultivation of strong grower relationships.

By 2004, the company had purchased La Costa Grape Farm in Mexico, and two years later, it formed a joint venture with a grape farm in Chile’s Southwest region.

In 2008, it was among the earlier importers of Peruvian grapes, which remains a key area of growth for the company.

The 2014 acquisition of Dulcinea Farms heralded a deeper push into melons, with the introduction of prized varieties like the Sugar Daddy® Full Size Watermelon.

Soon afterward, in 2016, the Dulcinea Branded Grapes line was introduced in Mexico, followed by branded import citrus in 2018, grapes from Peru in 2019, and the addition of Dulcinea Cherries in 2021.

The company also launched a stone fruit program from South Africa in 2023, underscoring its continuing commitment to worldwide sourcing and year-round availability.

A significant part of Pacific Trellis Fruit’s operations now centers on fulfilling consumer demand for specialty fruit.

Its melon program includes well-known offerings such as the vine-ripened Sugar Daddy® Full Size Watermelon, the ever-popular PureHeart® Mini Seedless Watermelon, the Tuscan-Style® Extra Sweet Cantaloupe, and the striking SunnyGold® Yellow Mini Seedless Watermelon.

The company also markets organic versions of some of these melons under the Dulcinea label.

Beyond melons, it dedicates effort to delivering sweet, crunchy grapes red, green, black, or specialty varieties like Candy Hearts, Candy Dreams, Candy Snaps, Cotton Candy, and Jam Grapes.

This focus on flavorful, eye-catching options extends into stone fruit as well, with plums, peaches, nectarines, and apricots that feature extra sweetness or distinctive shapes.

Products like donut nectarines, donut peaches, watermelon plums, lemon plums, and sugar plums reflect an interest in carving out a space for unique offerings that stand out on retail shelves.

By 2024, Pacific Trellis Fruit was celebrating its 25th anniversary, a milestone marked by strategic moves to advance core programs in grapes, stone fruit, and melons.

Leadership within the company emphasized the desire to expand its grape program with varieties like Cotton Candy and Autumn Crisp™, shipped from Spain, Brazil, and then Peru.

The Dulcinea brand, which had already gained considerable consumer recognition, continued to play a major role in connecting with shoppers, generating more than 100 million impressions across its various product lines.

With strong consumer demand in mind, the company introduced new premium lines of stone fruit, including extra sweet peaches, apricots, and cherry plums, to complement its existing extra sweet plum, nectarine, and watermelon plum offerings.

These additions, available primarily during the first few months of the year, demonstrated how Pacific Trellis Fruit seeks to fulfill retailer and consumer demand for high-flavor fruit beyond the typical domestic season.

On the melon side, the company anticipated a robust market through year’s end, with volumes from Guatemala and Colima, Mexico, ensuring the year-round availability of such staples as PureHeart® mini watermelons.

In early 2025, as imported stone fruit faced lighter volumes and shipping delays, particularly from the south of Chile Pacific Trellis Fruit demonstrated flexibility and advanced planning.

Though the season was projected to be compressed, the company managed multiple global sources and even incorporated products from South Africa, thereby striving to ensure consistent supply for its retail partners.

The move to source plums from South Africa, for instance, was part of a broader effort to offset potential shortfalls when Chilean supply faced hurdles or shifted toward other markets such as China.

Beyond the commercial side, Pacific Trellis Fruit actively addresses sustainability.

Through Fair Trade certification, it supports thorough audits ensuring fair wages and safe working conditions.

An extra sum from every pound sold under Fair Trade standards funds a Community Development initiative overseen by local labor forces.

The company also partners with CCOF (California Certified Organic Farmers), assuring customers that organic produce comes from land free of prohibited substances for at least three years.

Moreover, by supporting the Rainforest Alliance, Pacific Trellis Fruit endorses an agricultural model that balances environmental preservation with the economic well-being of farmers and local communities.

This broader perspective includes funding scholarships and educational programs for future organic agriculture professionals, as well as providing assistance to farms facing hardships.

Building and maintaining strong relationships with growers has been essential to the success of Pacific Trellis Fruit.

It operates several of its own farms and partners with an extensive network worldwide, providing services such as capital, accounting, logistics, and quality control.

Growers rely on the company’s proprietary web-based Grower Access System, which offers up-to-date data, including shipment information, product photos, inspections, and financial reports in both English and Spanish.

This level of transparency reflects a commitment to building trust and ensuring that the quality of the fruit can be tracked from field to store shelf.

Today, the company’s portfolio stretches across multiple categories stone fruit, grapes, citrus, melons, and specialty varieties and it remains attuned to the importance of flavor, nutritional value, and customer satisfaction.

Although its expansion and milestones illustrate a successful growth trajectory, the company continues to navigate shifting market conditions, changing consumer preferences, and occasional import challenges.