Covilli Brand Organics: Passion for Organic Produce that Crosses Borders

Whenever possible, we walk in our growers’ boots to learn first-hand what it takes to succeed in the tricky and risky farming business. However, it’s rare for one of our growers to spend months at a time in OGC’s offices, our warehouse, our trucks, and in our customers’ stores setting displays to learn our side of the business. But that’s exactly what Alex Madrigal did 18 years ago as he cut his teeth in learning his family’s business, Covilli Brand Organics.

After graduating from UC Davis, Alex went home to work for his step-father, Terry Poiriez. Terry put him to work in Covilli’s fields, packhouse and offices. Then, he sent Alex to work with OGC to learn the organic supply chain, from farm to eater.

“Covilli’s relationship with OGC began in the early 90s, and we have always shared a common vision for an equitable, organic food system for healthy people and a healthy planet,” said Alex. “So, in 2002, Terry saw an apprenticeship with OGC as an important way for me to learn empathetic service.”

Flash forward to today. Alex is now the President of Covilli Brand Organics, and his wife, Iris, is Marketing Manager. Covilli is the only 100% organic and 100% Fair Trade farming operation in North America. Covilli has been 100% organic since the onset, and their practices and philosophies go beyond organic regulation and consider soil health and the health of the people who work in and around the farmland.  

Located in the Empalme Valley of Guaymas in Sonora, Mexico, and 30-minutes inland from the Gulf of California, the ranch is surrounded by the desert, with Mesquite trees and cacti dominating the flora. As one of the first growers in the Empalme Valley, Covilli took great care to create a family business that was socially and environmentally responsible.

“Visiting Covilli’s ranch was mind-blowing,” said OGC Buyer Josh Spoden. “You’re in the desert and suddenly you enter a valley of hundreds of acres of lush fields and greenhouses. The operation is the cleanest, most high-tech and organized operation I’ve experienced.”

On 2,000 certified organic acres of open field production, the farm produces crops from October through March, keeping OGC’s customers flush with the highest quality core ‘summer’ vegetables and fruits during the Northwest winter months, including green beans, summer squash, hard squash, bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, peas, heirloom tomatoes, Brussels sprouts and hot peppers. Besides open field production, Covilli operates 67+ acres of greenhouse production. All of this is supported by an on-site nursery, a compost center and a worm house.

 “Covilli does the best cherry tomato mix and has discovered and cultivated a Black/Purple Heirloom tomato variety that is beautiful,” said Josh. “We rely on their zukes and yellow straightneck squash as the trademark of Covilli.”

 “Our crop rotation program helps increase soil fertility and build soil health,” explained Alex. “It also combats pests, reduces erosion, increases soil nutrients/soil structure, conserves water and boosts yield, not to mention aiding in the mitigation of climate change—a hard-to-deny obstacle of farming today.”

Climate change, which has brought years-long patterns of unexpected rains and unpredictable dramatic temperature swings, from freezing to highs in the ’90s in the span of just a few days, sends his teams scrambling to save crops, as with the recent weather events in January. 

And, of course, there’s the ongoing pandemic. 

Covid-19 has delayed numerous projects that were in the works, as well as added complexity and cost to doing business. Paper shortages, for example, have impacted the price and availability of packaging. 

As a result of the pandemic, steel shortages also delayed the completion of a new organic Valencia orange packing line that was planned to launch in spring of 2020. Alex and his team are just now firing up the packing line and trouble-shooting new-to-them citrus production.

While Alex and his teams have worked to navigate these challenges, the impact on their workforce has been felt the most. 

“Every year, 75% of our workforce returns to our fields. Whole families work with us. This year we only had about 30% of our usual workforce return,” Alex laments, citing worker’s concern for their families health associated with traveling for seasonal work. This meant that the vast majority of this season’s workers needed to be trained to meet the Covilli Brand Organics standard for picking, sorting, grading and packaging, as well as some of their more specialized practices. 

All told, though, both Iris and Alex are thankful that their teams have been able to continue working safely without any significant outbreak. They credit their rural location and the responsibility of everyone on-site to maintain safe practices. 

Worker well-being is woven into the Covilli fabric, and in 2015, Covilli Brand Organics became Fair Trade Certified™ by Fair Trade USA. The Fair Trade premiums have allowed the farmworker community to develop projects that benefit them and uplift their living conditions. 

One such project is a community food resource funded by Fair Trade premiums that will provide fresh, organic produce and staples at wholesale cost to their workforce and the small communities near their farm. 

“We have little mom and pop corner stores nearby,” says Iris,“but sometimes you can’t even buy water there. Only soda. The closest grocery store is a 15-minute drive away and rarely do migrant workers have access to a vehicle.” The negative impact of food scarcity in this community has long concerned Iris and she is looking forward to helping address health issues in their community through readily available and nourishing food. 

Covilli continually reinvests in the community, proving that ethical business is possible, even in today’s complicated marketplace where register price is too often valued over farmworker well-being and the environment.

In 2014, Covilli started down a path of expansion through like-minded cooperative partnerships with growers driven by an ethical approach. Growers throughout Mexico and Arizona are attracted to Covilli’s business expertise, integrity and farming practices. Now, Covilli works with eight family growers outside of their own who are producing organic fruits - Valencia oranges, pineapples, limes and apples – for the Covilli brand, plus an organic green bean grower who’s helping them meet their demand.

Strategic expansion is in the DNA of Covilli Brand Organics, and Alex is excited that a nearly three-year-long project to distribute organic produce within Northwest Mexico is finally coming to fruition. 

“There’s a lot of interest in organic in Mexico,” Alex shares noting that imported consumer packaged goods are already experiencing a booming market. Still, that fresh produce presents a niche yet to  fill. “People are clamoring for it.”

Likening the organic produce market in Mexico to that of the U.S. 20 years ago, Alex notes that to make this effort viable requires creating new infrastructure and finding the best way to monetize it, from consumer education to identifying how organic produce differentiates itself on store shelves and at the register. Covilli Brand Organics is helping to build the industry from the ground up. It’s clear through Alex’s description of the years of work that he’s dedicated so far and the future that he sees possible that there’s a lot to be excited about. 

While Alex crafts an ambitious vision for Covilli’s future, he emphasizes, “Even though we might be driving the ship, we do so little of the heavy lifting. That is done by our teams in the field, the people that put their hands on the plants, the people in the greenhouses, warehouses, and the drivers. It takes a village.” Alex adds, “Our success is never guaranteed, and I want to spotlight the people behind the scenes that make this whole thing work.”

Together, and with their teams, Alex and Iris have worked to ensure that Covilli Brand Organics represents the best of what the produce trade has to offer.

OGC is proud to partner with Covilli Brand Organics as their exclusive distributor in the Pacific Northwest. We are thankful not only for their high-quality produce but also for their friendship, integrity and care. Be sure to contact your OGC Account Rep to keep your shoppers’ grocery hauls filled with warm-weather produce from Covilli that eaters crave this time of year!