Fruitnet

Long distances can always be overcome in the fresh produce trade. Juan Gonzalez Pita has proven that beyond doubt since he co-founded import-export firm Salix Fruits around ten years ago. From small beginnings in his home country of Argentina, the group has become a key player in several of the Northern Hemisphere’s fresh produce markets. At the time, together with co-founder Luis Elortondo, Gonzalez was encouraged by what he describes as untapped opportunities for growers in lots of emerging markets, such as the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America. “People were not paying attention to this,” he tells Chris White in the latest episode of Fruitnet’s conversation series Fruitbox, “so I just focused there, and relying on technology first we started with email marketing campaigns.” Operating from a tiny office in Buenos Aires, the universal accessibility of new online platforms was instrumental in the company’s initial expansion. But in contrast with previous advances in global communications like the telep