Limoneira Expands Global Presence with Strategic Acquisition in Chile

 

In February Limoneira announced that it has acquired the majority of Pan de Azucar S.A. ("PDA"). PDA owns approximately 210 acres of lemon and orange orchards near La Serena, Chile and an equity interest in Rosales, S.A, ("Rosales"), a citrus packing, marketing and sales operation in La Serena, Chile.

 

On February 24, 2017, through its wholly owned Chilean subsidiary, Limoneira Chile SpA, Limoneira completed the acquisition of 90% of outstanding stock of PDA, for $5.8 million in cash. PDA also had approximately $1.7 million in long term debt, which was assumed in the transaction.  PDA's total assets of approximately $5.5 million on the acquisition date includes a 13% equity interest in Rosales in which the Company owns a 35% equity investment, which was acquired in 2014. Upon completion of the acquisition, the Company will own 48% of Rosales and PDA's 10% stockholder will own the remaining 52% of Rosales. PDA had approximately $450,000 of net income on approximately $1.9 million in sales for the year ended December 31, 2016. PDA's results of operations will be included in Limoneira's consolidated results of operations from the date of acquisition. Limoneira expects annual production to increase from these orchards because the majority of the trees in the orchard are young and will increase production as they mature.

 

PDA is located in a coastal region near La Serena, Chile, which is a major citrus and avocado growing area of the country. Rosales packs and sells all of PDA's citrus production. Rosales, which primarily packs and sells citrus, partners with Limoneira's One World of Citrus™ marketing team to sell its produce in Chile and throughout the world.

 

Alex Teague, Senior Vice President, stated, "We are very excited about our expansion in Chile. The majority of the orchards we acquired are young and just beginning to enter into its prime production time period. Our management team has a long-standing relationship with PDA, and we are excited they are now part of the Limoneira team. Along with expanding our participation in the growing global lemon business, this enables Limoneira to provide citrus on a year round basis to our customers around the world and evaluate future potential investment opportunities in Chile's vast, productive agricultural properties."

 

Harold Edwards, President and Chief Executive Officer, added, "With its favorable climate for citrus, PDA's productive orchards and strong relationship with Rosales was a perfect fit for our international expansion plans. Our acquisition of PDA is consistent with our long-term strategy to expand our agribusiness internationally as a global, year round supplier of lemons complementing our One World Of Citrus™ strategy. We expect the acquisition to be immediately accretive and will benefit our business by owning more productive acreage and increasing our ownership in Rosales."

 

Spring Ahead with  Limoneira Citrus

Spring is just around the corner and consumers around the world are opening windows, shaking out the dust and setting up the shine. Natural green cleaning solutions have become increasingly popular. Don't toss that citrus after its added zip to the recipes. Natural cleaning has trended up as more consumers search for more sustainable ways to clean with their families and pets in mind.  Store-bought cleaning agents can be full of hidden and harmful chemicals that are best left outside the home.

This month Limoneira spokesperson and founder of Healthy Grocery Girl Megan Roosevelt has put together a bevy of cleaning tips and easily assembled DIY methods for keeping the home sparkling and fresh year round.

For a demonstration, you can view Megan detail her fresh Spring Cleaning tips and recipes here on the Limoneira YouTube channel. Don't forget to subscribe - videos with more wonderful tips and tricks not detailed in this release will be added to the channel each Friday throughout the month.

Take a look at some great new examples below.

 

Grapefruit Multi-Purpose Cleaner 

 

You'll need:

 

    Peels from multiple grapefruits

    Small glass jar with lid

    White vinegar

    Empty spray bottle

 

Directions: Separate the peel from the grapefruit (or the citrus peel of your choice). Using a small glass jar, place the peel inside, packing as tightly as possible. Fill jar to the brim with white vinegar. Cover jar with lid, and let sit for two weeks. When the infused vinegar is ready, fill a spray bottle with equal parts filtered water and grapefruit-infused vinegar.

 

Citrus Pan Scrubber

 

 

Ingredients:

 

    Orange or lemon halves

    Coarse table salt

Directions: Once the pan in question has cooled, add a few tablespoons of coarse salt. Take citrus halves (for added usefulness, juice them first and use the juice as you wish) and scrub away. Since this cleaner is completely non-toxic, simply wipe off or rinse with water after cleaning.

 

Lemon Microwave Cleaner 

 

Ingredients:

 

    One lemon, halved

    Microwave safe bowl

    2 cups water

 

Directions: Place water and lemon halves in a microwave safe bowl. Cook on high in microwave for 3 minutes. The hot lemon steam will coat the inside of the microwave, and allow for easy removal of debris and food remnants by wiping with a damp cloth.

 

Limoneira Links with Green Cleaning Experts

 

Limoneira has linked with global culinary professionals, beauty experts, nutritionist, and lifestyle gurus to tout the benefits of Limoneira citrus. Here we share some of our  green cleaning professionals that have made it their mission to integrate sustainable cleaning for their customers and business partners. We suggest reaching out to them for help with natural cleaning suggestions.

Nielson Global Home Care International Survey

Recently, the Nielsen Global Home-Care Survey polled more than 30,000 online respondents in 61 countries to understand cleaning and laundry behaviors and sentiments around the world. They examine who's cleaning, the tools they're using and the benefits they're looking for in home-care products. They also explored the underlying macroeconomic forces affecting the home-care industry, and they offer insights into how to adapt to the changing environment by aligning offerings to consumer needs and desires.

26% of global respondents said that all natural or organic cleaning attributes were very important to them.

 

Consumers' shopping habits are shaped by various forces, including cultural tradition, product availability, innovation and financial considerations. They're also influenced by larger socioeconomic dynamics. For the home-care industry, several macro trends are worth noting:

 

Moving Up: The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development predicts the global middle class will increase from 1.8 billion in 2009 to 4.9 billion by 2030. Economic prosperity will be a growth engine for consumption, particularly when coupled with rising aspirations for products and services not previously available or affordable. With greater disposable incomes, consumers will likely trade up for premium cleaning and laundry products, and purchases of appliances, such as washing machines or dishwashers, considered by some to be affordable luxuries, will likely increase, creating greater demand for specialized products.

 

Working women: The Nielsen global survey shows that women still do the majority of housework, even though the number of women working outside the home continues to grow.  (Sad, but true)  According to the World Bank, the percentage of women in the workforce (an average of 51% in the 61 markets included in the survey) grew more than four percentage points on average between 1990 and 2013. With more women balancing jobs, child rearing, household responsibilities and social activities, the need for efficient, convenient cleaning tools and supplies is greater than ever-and as disposable incomes rise, there will be more money to pay for the products that best meet their needs.

 

Living single: As divorce rates and the average age at marriage have risen over the past few decades, there has been growth in single-person households, particularly in developed markets. According to Eurostat data, nearly 33% of people in the European Union member countries lived alone in 2014. In the U.S., Census Bureau data shows that roughly 28% live in a single-person household. These households may desire package sizes that reflect their smaller size. Also, many of these single person households are headed by men, (That's what they get for not helping with the aforementioned housework.)who may desire different product attributes than women.

 

Bright lights, big cities: The United Nations reports the world is currently undergoing the largest wave of urban growth in history. More than half of the world's population now lives in towns and cities, and this number will rise to about five billion by 2030. For many consumers, urbanization will mean smaller storage spaces, which may increase demand for smaller package sizes, concentrates and multiuse/multifunction products. Urbanization may also increase the importance of lighter and easy-to-transport products, as few consumers will want to carry heavy packages through crowded city streets. Finally, urbanization in developing markets may lead to greater adoption of modern cleaning appliances-and the products that support them-as urban residences are more likely to have the infrastructure needed to support these machines, such as electricity or a constant and reliable water source.

 

Life in the fast lane: Today's consumers are moving in hyperspeed, and the need for products that reduce the time spent on cleaning tasks is strong. Life isn't likely to slow anytime soon, so products that are easy to use, clean quickly and deliver superior results will remain in high demand.

 

Shopping 2.0: Omnichannel is the new retail reality as many consumers use digital devices to aid and/or complete their shopping experience. To succeed in the new retail landscape, manufacturers need to use a combination of online and offline strategies not only to help consumers make more informed decisions, but also to add value throughout the entire shopping experience-wherever and whenever that happens to be.

 

There's an app for that: The on-demand economy has arrived in many markets. Consumers can summon just about everything with their mobile device. Home-cleaning and laundry services are no exceptions, with everyone from entrepreneurs to major product manufacturers jumping in on the trend. While the on-demand segment is still in its nascent stages for the home-care industry, its popularity in other segments (such as transportation) will likely have far-reaching implications for shopping in general. Consumers are changing their expectations of the shopping experience, and they're growing accustomed to getting want what they want, when they want it.

5 Ways to Use Cara Cara and Blood Oranges-Specialty Citrus are the Flavors of Spring at Limoneira Ranch

At Limoneira, it's no secret that we think lemons are the zest of life - but our orchards are no one-trick-pony. This spring, we're putting a special spotlight on a different kind of citrus - our beautiful Cara Cara and Blood oranges, to be precise.

As with most types of citrus, Limoneira oranges are versatile, delicious fruits with a seemingly endless array of possible uses. We've put together an array of recipes featuring these delicious, seasonal citrus fruits.

Uses for specialty citrus:

 

   

   

   

Around the World with Limoneira

Around the world, whether preparing a delicious healthy meal at home or enjoying an outing with family and friends -Limoneira citrus is on hand to add just the right flavor.

Recently, we caught up with consumers throughout Limoneira's One World of Citrus and they were happy to share their experiences with us. Soundbites London, Paris, Stockholm, St. Petersburg, Russia, Santiago, Chile, Buenos Aires, Capetown South Africa, New York, Chicago, Malibu, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Shanghai and Seoul Korea will be compiled into a new 30 second spot to demonstrate that it really is a small world (of Limoneira citrus) after all.

Southern California Leadership Network Visits Limoneira

On February 10th, members of the Southern California leadership network visited Limoneira Ranch and the Company's Visitors Center and Lemon Packinghouse. The diverse group of attendees learned about the intricacies of growing, harvesting, selling and marketing citrus world-wide and also got a glimpse of sustainability practices (State-of-the-art water treatment,  Integrated Pest Management, Solar Energy, green waste recycling and more. Limoneira also had an opportunity to learn from these professionals representing a wide variety of industrial sectors.

About the SCLN

Southern California Leadership Network advances the region and the state by inspiring, preparing and connecting leaders to drive change. SCLN does this through its signature Leadership Fellowships, continued leadership development opportunities and other events to promote lifelong leadership learning.

In 2006, the Leadership L.A. Foundation (founded in 1987) and the Southern California Leadership Network (founded in 1989) joined forces in a partnership with the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce.

Programs merged under one umbrella organization, the Southern California Leadership Network, which is the premier provider of issues-based learning, skill development and network activities for community, regional and statewide leaders. Coro Southern California provided training for Leadership Southern California from 1991-2006.

The Stem of Farming's Future

On March 31st, The Ventura County Agriculture Commissioner's office will hold a summit on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) practices that will showcase for participants the future of farming and how agriculture and technology are intertwined and how they are key to sustaining Ventura county agriculture.

Several local, innovative AGTech businesses and local Ventura County agriculture entities will showcase their STEM-related operations, innovative technology and/or product as well as to facilitate career recruitment of local talent for internships and employment. 

The Summit's keynote speakers include:  Gabriel Youtsey, Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of California and California Assembly member Jacqui Irwin and Dr. Greg Gillespie, President of Ventura College, will moderate a panel discussion with business participants.  Representatives from Limoneira will be on hand and will discuss the Company's innovative agricultural practices.

City Impact Holds Fundraiser at Limoneira Bocce Ball Courts

Limoneira's bocce courts were the scene of madcap mayhem on Saturday February 25th as 64 teams from throughout Ventura County competed to raise much needed funds for our regions at-risk youth and families. The visionary leaders behind this Corn Hole event were City Impact's Executive Director  Betty Alvarez Ham and Santa Paula City Councilman and owner of Garman's Pub, Clint Garman.  

The Mission of City Impact is to promote the educational, physical, and emotional well-being of the children, youth and families that the organization serves through their programs.   

Limoneira Winner's Block

This month our lucky winner is Simone from Orlando, Florida. As our monthly winner,  Simone  has won a Limoneira Orchard Fresh or Lifestlyes Gift.  Congratulations Simone !!!

For your chance to win, make sure you're on our mailing list to be entered into our monthly drawing. To join  click here  or visit our website at  www.Limoneira.com.

Be sure to check out our other contests and drawings for additional changes to win prizes.