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.