sept-2017

78 79 NATURE’S TOUCH FROZEN FOODS help bymaking it more affordable,which is a big issue for many families,thenwewill try to achieve that goal of making it more accessible,competing on the quality attributes of fresh,and inmanycases,beating the qual- ityattributes of fresh.This is the goal of our company.” Tentomas elaborates onwhat he believes areNa- ture’sTouch’s advantages in the industryandwhy it currentlymaintains a 70 to 75 percent market share in Canada in consumer retail frozen fruit.“I thinkone of our biggest attributes is the fact that we actuallygo to the farm level and the processing level,andwe under- standwhere everything comes fromvery,verywell.We have direct relationships with our suppliers,whereas manyother competitors heavilydepend upon the traders,likewhat I used to do,to source their product for them,whichmakes them,inmyopinion,one step behind in their understanding of the attributes of the fruit.And if you have that one step removal,are you re- ally looking at the safetyprofile of the product theway you should be,if you don’t see,feel,and touchwhere you’re getting it from? So,that’s always a concern.I’m not saying that they’re not doing that,but we feel it’s an important factor to have direct contact. “Then there are the qualityattributes.Manycom- petitors service both food service,industrial,and retail, and the qualityand service attributes are verydifferent among these channels.We don’t service food service, we don’t service industry; we strictly service consumer retail,and therefore,our entire culture for the company is based on servicing that customer.So,those are some of themajor differentiating points fromour competi- tion.” AlthoughTentomas considers Nature’sTouch princi- pallya fruit company,supplyingmainlycherries,blue- berries,strawberries,raspberries,andmangoes,frozen vegetables are also included in its portfolio: broccoli, corn,green beans,kale,peas,and spinach.“We do some vegetables,”he says.“And if you lookat thewaywe