ProducePay, a California-based provider of distribution and financing solutions to domestic and international produce farmers, has partnered with Four Star Fruit, a producer of conventional and organic table grapes, to launch a direct-to-retail fresh produce supply chain program.

Through this partnership, Four Star Fruit will use ProducePay's network of Mexican and South American growers to expand its production capacity into late fall and winter. ProducePay will also provide services such as quality enforcement, order tracking, and trade mediation to ensure timely delivery from its grower network and provide retailers with price stability through multi-year fixed-price contracts. The program also uses ProducePay's Quick-Pay solution to pay participating growers immediately upon quality acceptance of their shipment.

As part of this partnership, the two companies will also jointly invest in Latin American communities to expand production through increased acreage and new technologies, provide access to scarce table grape varieties, implement sustainability practices, provide educational programs, and offer competitive wages.

Analyst QuickTake: The supply chain program is the latest addition to ProducePay's "Sustainably Sourced" initiative, which strives to establish a global standard for sustainable supply chains in the fresh produce industry. The first initiative integrated into ProducePay's program was the carbon offset program, launched in 2022 through a partnership with ALLCOT , focusing on primary crop farmers.