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About Capital press. (Salem, OR) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (April 13, 2018)
8 CapitalPress.com April 13, 2018 David Leder/For the Capital Press A packing line employee boxes “A-grade” Fuji apples at the Valicoff Fruit Co. warehouse in Wapato, Wash. Stone fruits help drive Valicoff Fruit’s growth Apples, pears still key part of production mix By DAVE LEDER For the Capital Press ONV18-4/106 The Valicoff family has been growing produce in the Yakima Valley since the 1930s, but the company didn’t really hit its stride until the mid-1980s, when it became Valicoff Fruit Co. The family-owned apple, pear and stone fruit operation based in Wapato, Wash., start- ed out growing vegetables un- der the name Valicoff Gardens before transitioning to tree fruit in the 1940s. Owners Rob and Ric Val- icoff — whose grandfather Stoyan Valicoff, a Bulgar- ian immigrant, started the company — introduced the fruit-packing side of the busi- ness in the 1980s and eventu- ally moved into a 20-acre fa- cility off U.S. Highway 97 in 2010. Today, Valicoff Fruit Co. ships its apples and pears around the world and sends its cherries, nectarines, peaches and apricots all over North America. Business is good, and get- ting better. “One of the big reasons we’ve been so successful is that my family has been around for a long time, and we’ve been able to nurture a lot of great relationships in the industry,” said General Manager Brett Valicoff, 31, son of Rob Valicoff Jr. and a fourth-generation grower. The younger Valicoff start- ed working for the family business when he was 9 years old, and after graduating from college and spending a couple years in construction manage- ment, he returned to Wapato in 2011 to become the GM. “This is a great industry to be involved in and I’m proud to help continue my family’s legacy,” he said. “I missed that hometown feel that you find in this industry. Everyone kind of helps each other out.” Brett Valicoff spends most of his time managing the ware- house operations, while his dad and uncle manage the or- chard side of the business. Ap- ples are its largest commodity, but what sets Valicoff Fruit Co. apart from other Yakima Val- ley growers is its commitment to stone fruit. Despite the in- herent risks that go along with farming stone fruit — suscep- tibility to weather damage, for example — Rob and Ric Val- icoff committed themselves to becoming one of the largest stone-fruit suppliers in the Pa- cific Northwest. In fact, Valicoff Fruit Co. was the first grower to sell its peaches and nectarines at Costco during the mid-1980s. Around that time, the brothers implemented a verti- cal integration business model, which contributed to exponen- tial growth over the past 30 years. “My dad and uncle have done a great job of moving the company into the future, and my goal is to make it even bet- ter than when I started,” Brett Valicoff said. One aspect that helps the company stand out is that it packs all of its stone fruit by hand. Rather than sending the fruit over a packing line, all of Valicoff Fruit Co.’s cher- ries, nectarines, peaches and apricots remain on the tree for a week longer than their com- petitors’ fruit. “That extra growing time makes our fruit larger and gives it an even sweeter fla- vor,” Brett Valicoff said.
