Giumarra/Nature’s Partner is not only one of the world’s largest table grape producers, but has also grown to become an agro-industrial giant in global produce. With operations spanning two continents and partnerships sprouting up from Argentina to New Zealand, this “family owned” business has seen its empire grow immensely in the past 10 years. Farm workers, however, have yet to enjoy the fruits of this success.
Giumarra plays an important role in the distribution and marketing of peaches, melons, avocados, berries, asparagus and several other items from all over the world—especially off-season produce from South America. Most of these fruits and vegetables carry the Nature’s Partner label and can be found in stores both large and small.
Picking up on consumers’ growing desire to feel more connected to the origins of their food, Giumarra is jumping on board the marketing trend of selling “food with a story” with its Nature’s Partner brand fruits and vegetables. They are using the Nature’s Partner website and a whole host of promotional tools to try and get you to believe that they are not only careful stewards of the land, but also strong advocates of public health who are famously friendly to their workers. This image they are trying to portray couldn’t be farther from the truth.
Giumarra/Nature’s Partner is trying to co-opt the language of social responsibility in order to mislead you into thinking theirs is a brand the concerned people of the world can trust. The reality, however, is that this company is not only no better than its competitors, but it is actually worse in many respects. Unionization is one of the best tools we have to help put a stop to this hypocrisy. So long as this company continues to be rewarded for all its image development and clever marketing as opposed to its actual practices, its most important stakeholders—its workers and customers—will continue to lose. Help us keep Giumarra/Nature’s Partner accountable!
