Values

Flavor – Sustainability – Transparency – Enthusiasm

Flavor

We’re here to celebrate the flavor of our favorite California fruit! We get so excited by a juicy Suncrest peach or an electric Owari Satsuma mandarin vibrating with the perfect balance of sweetness and acidity. We want to share that feeling! We seek out the best-tasting varieties, heirlooms and hybrids alike, and the farmers who grow them. We support like-minded farmers who grow and harvest for flavor. For us, flavor is at the core.

How we’re doing it:

  • We’re obsessive fruit eaters. We’re constantly tasting. We explore markets and visit farms. And we’re always seeking out more like-minded farmers who grow for flavor!

 

Sustainability

We think about sustainability in layers. It starts with the fruit: we always source fruit grown with integrity by farmers whose practices are healthy for the planet and the farmworkers. Oftentimes, but not always, this means certified organic fruit. (Read more about sourcing here.)

 

Next, sustainability factors into our relationships with farmers. These relationships are built on trust, shared values, open communication, and finding creative solutions to bring their fruit to market. For fruitqueen to succeed, farmers must thrive financially so they can continue to grow delicious fruit. We think about relationships with our farmers as partnerships. 

 

Finally, our business model and growth rate must be sustainable so we can continue to do this work in a way that reflects our values. 

 How we’re doing it:

  • In 2023, we sourced 95% of our fruit direct from farms or farmer-owned cooperatives. This means a shorter supply chain, fresher fruit, and more money in the pocket of the farmer.

 

Transparency

We commit to full transparency in our sourcing. Weekly, we detail who grew what, where, and how in fruit notes. We’re publishing a Source Report that recaps our sourcing for the previous year. 

How we’re doing it:

  • Check out the fruit notes archive here!
  • We’re working on the 2023 Source Report, and will link it here when it’s complete.

 

Enthusiasm

Enthusiasm moves the world! We love this stuff and we want to share it! We have big ambitions here. We consider ‘transparency’ – who grew what, where, and how – a minimum requirement. We’re inspired to tell the stories of the farmers we work with and the fruit they grow. We think these stories are interesting, even inspiring, and an important way to connect fruit eaters to the people growing their food.

 

We want to help fruit lovers find their new favorite variety. Our long game is to create new awareness and demand for flavor-first varieties – a boon for the farmers who grow them and a diverse food system.

 How we’re doing it:

  • We write farm & fruit features for our newsletter. 
  • We shout about our fave varieties and our farmers on social media.
  • We curate the fruitqueen box with discovery in mind!