Collaboration aims to offer retailers a more consistent product that is better suited to their sales programmes
Talsa/Onesta Europe and Iberian Foods presented their collaborative model to national and international trade media at Fruit Attraction 2026, combining control of avocados from origin with their ripening, packing and distribution in Europe.
As part of the collaboration, Talsa contributes its own fruit and control from the farm onwards; Onesta Europe provides the trading platform and support in Europe; Iberian Foods supplies the infrastructure and operational services in Spain for ripening, packing and distribution; and SoftRipe provides the technology for the ripening process to improve its control and consistency.
Talsa and Onesta Europe: own fruit and control from origin
The model begins at origin. Talsa is a Peruvian agro-industrial company with production facilities in Peru and Chile and strategic partners around the world.
Talsa Perú, a pioneer and driving force behind agricultural development associated with the Chavimochic irrigation project, currently employs around 6,000 people and cultivates more than 2,400ha in the La Libertad and Ica regions of Peru and in Chile’s V and VI regions.
The agricultural operation is organised into specialised projects – blueberries, avocados, premium table grapes, early cherries and Cherry Plums – each supported by varietal development and specific technologies to achieve maximum differentiation in its respective category.
Talsa pioneered blueberry cultivation in Peru and is currently a shareholder in berry multinational Hortifrut. In the avocado segment, the company is one of the country’s leading producers; the fruit is ripened at destination using SoftRipe technology, enabling a longer shelf-life and more uniform ripening.
In premium seedless table grapes, the company focuses on the Autumncrisp variety. In Chile, Talsa is expanding its range with very early-ripening cherries developed using Dormancy Control technology and advanced field control, as well as Cherry Plums – a cross between plum and cherry varieties from California, characterised by their sweetness and convenient shape.
Huelva-based Onesta Europe acts as Talsa’s trading platform in Europe, developing direct programmes with retailers, with a particular focus on Spain, Portugal and France. This presence at destination makes it possible to maintain control over the product from the farm onwards and align the origin with the specific needs of each customer and market.
“This structure combines fruit that is 100 per cent controlled from origin, varietal development, a more direct and transparent supply chain, and daily local support from Huelva,” Onesta said. “The aim is to ensure better control over the product throughout the supply chain and respond more closely to the requirements of Talsa’s retail programmes and direct customers, to achieve better results with the fruit.”
Iberian Foods: a comprehensive operational platform in Spain
Once the fruit arrives in Spain, Iberian Foods provides the infrastructure and services needed to pack it and prepare it for the market.
The company was founded in 2023 by Juan Alberto Franco. It has facilities in Huelva and offers services to international growers and traders who wish to expand their business in Spain and Europe without having their own infrastructure. A single platform centralises the reception, storage, sorting, packing, ripening, order picking and preparation of products for dispatch.
Iberian Foods handles the ripening, packing and distribution of avocados for Talsa/Onesta.
“Our added value lies in our ability to integrate the services the customer needs once the product arrives in Spain into a single platform,” said CEO Jesús Cruz. “In this project, we can receive, ripen and pack the avocados and prepare them for distribution according to the requirements of each individual programme. This flexibility allows us to act, in practice, as an extension of the customer’s operational structure.”
SoftRipe: ripening adapted to the condition of the fruit
Developed by Frigotec in collaboration with Brazil-based Dr. Valdir De Bortoli, a former NASA scientist, SoftRipe uses a special, patented, AI-based ripening technology that, unlike conventional systems, adapts the ripening process to the actual physiological condition and needs of the fruit.
In hermetically sealed chambers, the system continuously measures oxygen, CO₂ and ethylene concentrations and uses the fruit’s respiratory activity to adjust the ripening conditions dynamically and in a biologically ideal way for the specific fruit.
“For avocados, this technology enables a safe, more controlled and more uniform ripening process, with the aim of achieving greater consistency between fruits and preparing the product to meet the conditions required by each marketing programme,” Frigotec said.
The first SoftRipe chambers, developed for bananas and avocados, were commissioned in 2019, and since then the technology has been integrated into and expanded across various exotic fruit ripening projects in Europe.
Longer shelf-life and a more consistent eating experience
According to Talsa, ripening its fruit with SoftRipe benefits both retailers and end consumers. It claims that supermarkets working with these avocados have been able to extend their shelf-life from 4 to 9 days, while the process also enables more uniform ripening and a product that is more consistently ready for sale in stores.
“For retailers, it is not just about having a good avocado, but also about being able to offer consistent quality and a uniform degree of ripeness. By working with our own fruit, maintaining control from origin and then managing ripening at destination, we can handle this product category with much greater precision and offer consumers a more consistent experience,” said Ricardo de la Torre Ugarte, managing director of Onesta Europe.
