OXNARD, Calif. – Mission Produce, Inc. (NASDAQ: AVO) (“Mission” or “the Company”) a world leader in sourcing, producing, and distributing fresh Hass avocados with additional offerings in mangos and blueberries, today announced the testing results of its Mission Control ripening technology and management process, confirming its ability to accelerate avocado ripening and improve product uniformity. Mission Control will be implemented for the first time in the Company’s newest forward distribution center in Dartford, England, which is anticipated to open in March of 2023.
“As experts in the art of ripening, Mission Produce is entering the UK market by leading innovation in the avocado category,” said Steve Barnard, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Mission Produce. “With many strategic advantages, including the reach of our advanced global network, vertical integration, year-round supply, and enhanced ripening capabilities with Mission Control, we are positioned to drive demand and market growth in the UK for ripe avocados and mangos.”
Mission Control, a Mission-exclusive atmosphere-control ripening process utilising state-of-the-art technology, was found to accelerate fruit ripening by as much as 20% when compared to a conventional ripening system, which can provide significant benefits when delivering ripe and ready fruit to customers.1 Additionally, fruit ripeness throughout the ripening chamber was found to be more consistent when using Mission Control.1 The study was designed in partnership with The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited, specifically Dr. Jem Burdon, a postharvest specialist and industry expert in fruit ripening. Trials were conducted at the University of Greenwich’s Produce Quality Centre, one of the UK’s top research facilities for storage, handling and packaging solutions for fresh produce.
“Mission Control was designed with a science-based approach to create the optimal environment for ripening,” said Adam Shaw, Technical Director, Mission Produce UK. “We’ve fine-tuned our controls in collaboration with our strategic partners, who hold a wealth of biological knowledge and technological understanding in our industry. Based on our impressive testing results, we are confident that the technology can promote a more consistent and reliable product and, in turn, enhance our customer relationships.”
Mission Control was built in partnership with the Company’s manufacturing partner, Cross Refrigeration (“Cross”), a global leader in advanced temperature controls and fully automated fruit ripening solutions for global fruit importers.
“Mission Control can deliver a game-changing impact to the avocado ripening process,” said Andrew Nesbitt, Group Managing Director, Cross Group. “Tight controls have been a fundamental part of the Cross ripening system for over 30 years, delivering highly advanced fruit ripening rooms worldwide. We are delighted to have developed the Mission Control system in exclusivity with the Company, enabling us to deepen our relationship with Mission and contribute to the expansion of one the most advanced avocado networks in the world.”
“We continue to innovate to bring the highest quality fruit to our customers and solidify our position as a reliable source of the world’s finest avocados and mangos,” said Paul Frowde, Managing Director, Mission Produce UK. “The Mission Control ripening process is a unique method of fruit ripening that is designed to enhance the customer experience and promote product reliability in order to drive category growth for our customers. With a well-established team across supply chain, operations, ripening management, and quality assurance, we look forward to expanding the Company’s global network in the UK.”
Mission will be attending Fruit Logistica in Berlin from Feb. 8-10, 2023 (booth# 23/E03). For more information, please contact MPUKSales@MissionProduce.com.
End Notes
- Optimising ripening protocols for consistent high-quality avocadoes. University of Greenwich Natural Resources Institute, Produce Quality Centre. November 2022.
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About Mission Produce, Inc.:
Mission Produce is a global leader in the worldwide avocado business. Since 1983, Mission Produce has been sourcing, producing and distributing fresh Hass avocados, and as of 2021, fresh mangos, to retail, wholesale and foodservice customers in over 25 countries. The vertically integrated Company owns and operates four state-of-the-art packing facilities in key growing locations globally, including California, Mexico and Peru and has additional sourcing capabilities in Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Brazil, Ecuador, South Africa and more, which allow the Company to provide a year-round supply of premium fruit. Mission’s global distribution network includes 12 forward distribution centers that are strategically positioned in key markets throughout North America, China and Europe, offering value-added services such as ripening, bagging, custom packing and logistical management. For more information, please visit www.missionproduce.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this press release that are not historical in nature are forward-looking statements that, within the meaning of the federal securities laws, including the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Words such as “may”, “will”, “expect”, “intend”, “plan”, “believe”, “seek”, “could”, “estimate”, “judgment”, “targeting”, “should”, “anticipate”, “goal” and variations of these words and similar expressions, are also intended to identify forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this press release address a variety of subjects, including statements about our short-term and long-term assumptions, goals and targets. Many of these assumptions relate to matters that are beyond our control and changing rapidly. Although we believe the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, we can give no assurances that our expectations will be attained. Readers are cautioned that actual results could differ materially from those implied by such forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors, including: limitations regarding the supply of avocados, either through purchasing or growing; fluctuations in the market price of avocados; increasing competition; risks associated with doing business internationally, including Mexican and Peruvian economic, political and/or societal conditions; inflationary pressures; loss of one or more of our largest customers; general economic conditions or downturns; supply chain failures or disruptions; disruption to the supply of reliable and cost-effective transportation; failure to recruit or retain employees, poor employee relations, and/or ineffective organizational structure; inherent farming risks; seasonality in operating results; failures associated with information technology infrastructure, system security and cyber risks; new and changing privacy laws and our compliance with such laws; food safety events and recalls; failure to comply with laws and regulations, including those promulgated by the USDA and FDA, health and safety laws, environmental laws, and other laws and regulations; changes to trade policy and/or export/import laws and regulations; risks from business acquisitions, if any; lack of or failure of infrastructure; material litigation or governmental inquiries/actions; failure to maintain or protect our brand; changes in tax rates or international tax legislation; risks associated with the ongoing conflict in Russia and Ukraine; the viability of an active, liquid, and orderly market for our common stock; volatility in the trading price of our common stock; concentration of control in our executive officers, directors and principal stockholders over matters submitted to stockholders for approval; limited sources of capital appreciation; significant costs associated with being a public company and the allocation of significant management resources thereto; reliance on analyst reports; failure to maintain proper and effective internal control over financial reporting; restrictions on takeover attempts in our charter documents and under Delaware law; the selection of Delaware as the exclusive forum for substantially all disputes between us and our stockholders; risks related to restrictive covenants under our credit facility, which could affect our flexibility to fund ongoing operations, uses of capital and strategic initiatives, and, if we are unable to maintain compliance with such covenants, lead to significant challenges in meeting our liquidity requirements and acceleration of our debt; and other risks and factors discussed from time to time in our Annual and Quarterly Reports on Forms 10-K and 10-Q and in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You can obtain copies of our SEC filings on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof and the Corporation does not intend to, nor does it assume any obligation to, update or supplement any forward-looking statements after the date hereof to reflect actual results or future events or circumstances.
