Vital Berry Marketing S.A. (VBMSA) was established in 1989 by six raspberry growers in the south of Chile. Their goal was to grow, pack and ship the best quality raspberries out of Chile.

Eventually, due to a high level of customer satisfaction and an outstanding reputation earned by the VBMSA label, Vital Berry decided to expand its line of products and become the finest berry and exotic fruit exporter in Chile with 50 percent of its exports produced by its own shareholders.

According to Juan Ignacio Allende, general manager of VBMSA, Chile’s highly advantageous, wide-ranging climate, and small amount of production-affecting diseases, has enabled VBMSA to greatly extend its area of cultivation.

Chile’s geographical isolation helps protect its agricultural industry from disease. Chile is a narrow territory limited in all its extension by the Andes Mountains on the East, the Coastal Range and Pacific Ocean on the West, the Atacama Desert in the North and the Antarctic ice fields to the South. This allows a consistent, extended and healthy supply during off-season to the Northern Hemisphere.

Chile’s fresh fruit industry helps maintain year-round fruit supplies in the U.S. and Canada. This has been all-important in increasing the per capita consumption of particular fruits.

Today VBMSA offers more than 15 different products, including raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, asparagus, chirimoyas, persimmons, and figs. Owing to such companies Chile has been able, not only to increase its level of production year after year, but increase per capita consumption in other international markets besides the USA. In this aspect, it should be pointed out that VBMSA has been the main exporter of Chilean blueberries to the main Asian market of Japan, where the demand for both American and Chilean product has been increasing constantly.

“In our search for trying to satisfy our customers and especially the final consumer of our products around the world, in year 2001 we developed Vital Berry Marketing’s web page (www.vitalberry.cl),” said Allende. “The response to this web page has been very positive and it has allowed us to gain direct contact with the consumers of our products.” The site has also been very helpful in orienting the company’s marketing efforts towards the future.

VBMSA’s latest development has been the certification of growers under all of the new hygiene safety regulations “GAP” (Good Agricultural Practices). “We are working with all of our growers to make sure they comply with these regulations,” said Allende. “The company has hired an independent auditing firm to make sure that everything is executed in the proper manner.”

Because of the efforts and vision of Vital Berry’s shareholders and its staff, in addition to the company’s commitment to quality and service, VBMSA has become one of the largest fresh berry and exotic exporters in all of Chile.
www.vitalberry.cl