Grupo Tarahumara, a company dedicated to the marketing of premium fruits and vegetables, pointed out that the growing demand for these products in Mexico faces challenges such as the preservation of the cold chain and the availability of specialized units for their transport.
Karla Morán, general director of the company, explained that 90% of imported goods are transported by road through alliances with various trucking companies.
In statements to T21, Morán indicated that the company uses around 600 units per month, which must be equipped with refrigeration systems to guarantee the cold chain. Therefore, it is essential that transport companies implement preventive maintenance logs to avoid setbacks during transport.
Despite this, the director stressed that the current transport capacity does not cover Grupo Tarahumara’s growth projections, which will lead them to seek new strategic alliances.
“We are making commercial agreements with secure lines, to improve capacity, it is looking for a win-win, where we give them the confidence that we will contract the service consistently and with timely payment and that guarantees us that we will have the units and thus we can demand improvements such as refrigeration equipment and be able to have alliances and a common process to have a greater guarantee that the product we bring arrives well preserved.”
Karla Morán explained that to sustain the projected growth, Grupo Tarahumara will need to increase its transport fleet by 10%, which will allow it to meet the growing demand and improve its operational capacity.
She indicated that this year they achieved a 24% increase in their logistics operations, which led to an expansion of their installed capacity and the strengthening of key alliances within the supply chain. According to Morán, more than 60% of imported products are transported by land, while the rest use sea routes.
«We have focused on being large and solid distributors of imported goods in Mexico, without neglecting key national seasons, such as the Chihuahua apple or the Sonora grape. Although we work with fruit, what we really sell is a service: taking the product to where it is needed, quickly, efficiently and always maintaining the cold chain,» she stressed.
The company specializes in the distribution of fruits such as apples, pears, grapes, apricots, plums, kiwis and strawberries, as well as vegetables. “Our goal is to ensure the availability of the product throughout the year, adjusting to both national and international production seasons. For example, we import apples and pears from Washington and other fruits from California,” he explained.
Although the United States is the main supplier of its products, they also import from South America, especially from Chile and Peru, as well as from Europe and Africa, with products from Italy and South Africa. These goods enter the country through strategic points such as Mexicali, Nogales, Manzanillo and Veracruz.
Grupo Tarahumara is advancing in the construction of a new plant equipped with modern storage systems and advanced refrigeration. This project seeks to optimize the management of the cold chain by incorporating sustainable technologies, such as solar panels and automated processes, which will reduce the carbon footprint and lower operating costs in the long term.
In addition, the company collaborates with CHEP to implement innovative solutions that transform supply chain management. These strategies help minimize risks of damage and loss, adapt to variations in demand, and improve response capacity to possible interruptions.
Karla Morán highlighted that the objective is not only to maintain the appropriate temperature of the products, but to guarantee their integrity when they reach their destination. By using wooden pallets provided by CHEP, they ensure the safety of the merchandise, compliance with unloading times, and the use of sustainable packaging.
“We know that this is a great challenge because the consumer is not willing to pay more for this type of packaging, but we have incorporated it and for us it has added value and is linked to our safety policy and also to environmental responsibility.”
By 2025, Grupo Tarahumara plans to strengthen its distribution and logistics operations, while advancing the automation of key processes, such as purchasing, marketing and inventory management. It also plans to integrate more Artificial Intelligence tools, foster collaboration with strategic partners and offer specialized training, with the aim of achieving sustained growth and guaranteeing services and products of the highest quality.