VentureFruit, the commercialisation partner for the Hot Climate Partnership, has announced the appointment of Coperfrut as the exclusive licence holder for Tutti-branded apples in Latin America.
Morgan Rogers, VentureFruit general manager, said the Chilean grower-packer-marketer-exporter’s leadership in the industry and its commitment to innovative and sustainable practices, align perfectly with the Tutti apple brand.
“Appointing Copefrut to license the variety across Latin America is a major step forward in our goal of expanding the Tutti apple programme to 1,200 globally planted hectares by 2030,” said Morgan.
“This is the first Tutti licence granted outside of Europe since the apple’s launch in February 2023, and Copefrut’s initial 150a in Chile will join the 260ha already licensed in Europe.”
Andres Fuenzalida, Copefrut’s general manager said the company has been committed to harvesting quality fruit from Latin America and sharing it worldwide since 1955.
“As part of our refreshed strategy, Copefrut is investing in new apple production with a strong focus on supplying our customers in Latin America. Selecting varieties that will perform well in an increasingly volatile climate is key for Copefrut as we continue to encounter warmer summers, and associated production challenges.
“Since first seeing the test blocks in Spain, we have been impressed with the Hot Climate Partnership and are absolutely delighted to be partnering with VentureFruit and their global team to develop Tutti apples in Chile and the wider Latin American market.”
Rogers said with changing global weather patterns and temperatures continuing to rise, innovative apple and pear varieties from the Hot Climate Partnership, such as Tutti, will provide growers and consumers with delicious and robust apples that have been specifically created for hot and warming climates.
“Tutti is a stand-out apple. It has been specifically bred to thrive in hot conditions, producing a deliciously light, crisp apple with bright red skin and a rounded sweet fresh flavour,” said Rogers.
“Tutti is expanding globally through a network of exceptional partners in a peer-to-peer collaboration. We are thrilled with the innovative variety’s remarkable progress in its first two years.”
Andes New Varieties Administration Chile (ANA Chile), as master testing licensee in South America, is responsible for the development of all Hot Climate Partnership apple and pear varieties on behalf of VentureFruit, including Tutti. It will play an integral role in the ongoing development of Tutti with Copefrut.
While Copefrut has secured the exclusive license to grow, sell and distribute Tutti for Latin America, VentureFruit is still looking to appoint licensees in other territories.