Magazine_October_2023

GROWER
SANTA ELENA
Ricardo Tapia
Working at Santa Elena
''Working somewhere for over 18 years is a massive part of growing
up and education, and when I started, I started in the fields, picking
grapes. We export over 3 million boxes of grapes a year worldwide,
and it was founded by investors from England over 28 years ago.
Their idea was to find a good place in the world to produce grapes
and to supply retail locations in the UK. Eventually, Santa Elena was
bought by the current four shareholders, who all started as growers.
They kept the same strategy: producing the best grapes to serve
retailers. Therefore, Santa Elena is very firmly based on retail
relationships. About 50% of the total production comes from
our farms, and 50% comes from third-party growers. Yearly we
grow about 1000 hectares in different areas, involving more than
5000 employees.''
When discussing Santa Elena, a big production that exports
worldwide, it sounds like a close-knit company.
''We started small and still feel that way because it's essential
that our grapes are the best and our employees are happy.
We don't like to work with titles like CEO and CFO. We don't
have titles; we have people. The primary market for us is the
US and Canada. Asia is becoming a massive market for us,
and Europe and UK also are essential. We are producing
25 varieties of grapes, an extensive portfolio compared to
the industry. In Chile, only five companies have that kind of
comprehensive portfolio. My work involves the growing side and
what is happening in the final market, but keeping our customers
happy is essential. It's not just about the payment. It's everything
together, everything together always, that allows us to produce
the correct grapes for the specific final customer. It's an archaic
way to operate, but it enables us to be very involved and helps
us continuously improve, as we are very focused on the quality
of the fruit. We are doing about 50,000 boxes of cherries.
That, compared with 3 million grapes, is a relatively small
business. We think, eat, sleep, and we dream grapes.''
''I love the continuous contact between the farms and customers.
We love feedback because our philosophy is based on longterm
relationships; just like we have a great relationship with
our employees, we also have a great bond with our partners.
Aartsen and Santa Elena have worked together for about five
years and started with tiny volumes. The industry development
in the past years, especially in the Asian market, changed
significantly to a demand for new kinds of grapes, and the past
years with the pandemic have been challenging for all of us.
Still, we want to be at the top of the industry. If there's something
new, we must be the first to discover it; every market is different
—significant differences. One market needs rounded grapes,
another elongated fruit. It’s our strategy to focus on the high-end
customer and start—knowing what the customer wants, and we
have to put everything together to have a successful business—
a successful development for every market.''
What is your favourite grape variety?
''Muscat is my favourite variety, and Santa Elena owns it.
It's the oldest variety in the world, coming from Alexander,
and has an extraordinary flavour.''
62 | CULTURES