Hortifrut, a Chile-based berries supplier, has announced the appointment of Héctor Enrique Luján Valladolid as its new chief executive. With over a decade of experience at California-based berries group Reiter Affiliated Companies, Luján will take over from Juan Ignacio Allende, who will continue as a board member at Naturipe, the company that markets Hortifrut’s berries in the US.
During his tenure at Reiter Affiliated Companies, Luján served as president and CEO, demonstrating strong leadership qualities and industry expertise. Hortifrut chairman Nicolas Moller expressed gratitude to Juan Ignacio for his exceptional performance, leading the company to become the top blueberry company globally with sales exceeding US$1bn.
Looking ahead, Moller extended a warm welcome to Héctor, stating confidence in his ability to drive Hortifrut to new heights of growth. Hortifrut currently operates in 13 countries, including the US, Spain, Portugal, Morocco, China, and India, with products distributed in over 30 countries.
In 2023, the company reported a revenue of $1.03bn, a 6.6% increase from the previous year. The revenue boost was fueled by an average price increase of over 16%. Despite a 10.7% decrease in volumes due to lower supplies of blueberries from Peru, Chile, and Morocco, the company saw a 22.8% rise in EBITDA to $169.3m. However, annual profits took a 46.5% dip, landing at $13m.
