Costa Rica based Terra Foods International, Inc. hired Mark Vertrees as their Marketing & Business Development Director effective January 1, 2011.
Terra Foods is a Costa Rican pineapple grower, packer and marketer that was founded in 2004 by Alfredo Volio and Larry Fuller. Terra specializes in offering custom long-term pineapple container programs to U.S. customers. Terra Foods website is www.terra-foods.com.
Terra Foods U.S. Headquarters is based in the Phoenix, Arizona area. “We are really excited about having Mark on our team. Mark will be based in the Lakeland, Florida area and will be responsible for marketing and business development on the U.S. East Coast,” explains Larry Fuller, President of Terra Foods.
“I am anxious to help develop the Terra Gold brand and work with retail and wholesale customers develop their own pineapple programs. Terra is a very exciting young company that I believe has tremendous growth potential,” explains Mark Vertrees.
“We are really happy to have Mark join our organization. We have seen what he has done with several other companies regarding marketing and business development and are excited about his ideas”, explains Alfredo Volio, Owner/Chairman of Terra Foods.
Several years after forming Terra Foods with Larry Fuller, Alfredo Volio was appointed as the Costa Rican Secretary of Agriculture from 2006-2008. In 2007, he was instrumental in leading the Costa Rican referendum for the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). In 2008, Mr. Volio and a group of other investors purchased Upala Agricola a large pineapple farming and packing operation in Costa Rica.
In 2009, the Terra Gold pineapple brand was created. In 2010, Terra expanded operations to include three Terra Farms in different parts of Costa Rica. As demand increases additional Terra Farms are planned. “Only farms that demonstrate a special commitment to environmental and social responsibility can be a Terra Farm. From field-to-fork, pineapple quality is Terra Foods top priority,” explains Alfredo Volio.
Terra ships containers to Port Everglades (Ft. Lauderdale), Philadelphia, Houston and Los Angeles. All Terra pineapple containers are custom packed with 1,500 26lb boxes and are pre-sold to customers in the U.S. “Terra does not store any pineapples in the U.S. Our goal is to go direct as possible from the field to our customers so that we can offer the freshest pineapple on the market,” explains Mark Vertrees.
Mark Vertrees owns TFM International, Inc. which is based in Mulberry, FL., approximately 5 miles from Publix Headquarters. TFM is a produce marketing company that specializes in produce advertising, communications and business development. In addition to Terra Foods TFM currently works with several companies in the produce business. Before starting TFM, Vertrees worked for over 20 years in sales and marketing with HLB Tropical Foods, Sunkist, Florida Department of Citrus and Winn-Dixie.
Source: Terra Foods International Inc.
