Sunfresh Farms puts Guatemalan flowers on the map

They were the first flower farm in the world to be certified by Rain Forest Alliance, one of the first companies in Latin America that are shipping flowers by sea, doing it for 20 years now, and recently was named Guatemala's National Exporter of the Year 2023. The farm in question is Sunfresh Farms in Guatemala. In this article more about the farm and how they have developed and grown over the years.

90 ha of flowers
For more than 25 years, Sunfresh Farms is growing flowers in the high mountains of Guatemala, a great place to produce flowers, Lizzy Montero, the farms' Sales and Marketing Manager, explains. "The growing area known as the Alto Plano is famous for its rich volcanic ash soils and cool nights. This combined with high intensity sunlight, produces great quality flowers."

Currently, they grow flowers on 90 hectares and their main crops are the rose, spray rose, gypsophila, lily, freesia, dianthus, sunflower, statice, stock, and gerbera. They also produce blueberries for the local market. Their flowers mainly go to the USA, Canada, and Central America.

Holidays good for local community
With Christmas around the corner, Sunfresh Farms is pleased with the demand. Christmas is an important holiday, but Valentine's Day and Mother's Day are by far their biggest holidays. And not only for them, also for the local community. Montero: "These holidays allow us to hire additional people in our local communities. The additional income offered for the people in these rural communities is a big boost to the local economies. We are proud of the important role we play in the fabric of the surrounding communities."

They are preparing 5 to 6 months before each holiday, she explains. "From the plants, till the the packing material, the spaces in airlines, boats and trucks, it all takes organization."

Putting Guatemalan flowers on the map
Sunfresh Farms is dealing with several challenges, like many other growers, but one major challenge they are dealing with is to position Guatemalan flowers in the market. "Guatemala is not as well-known as Colombia or Ecuador in the production of flowers. Those countries do a great job and have for a long time. So, we decided to focus on the things we can control. Our goal is to continue to produce great quality flowers from Guatemala. We feel that our consistency and quality will help to continue to position Guatemalan flowers in the same conversation with Colombia and Ecuador. We feel like we have some very strategic advantages. We continue to define the crops we should be producing in Guatemala based on those advantages. That means trying new varieties, and new cultivars and then evaluating if this adds value to the overall flower market. We don’t only consider how well it does from a farm standpoint, but does it add value to the overall flower market."

Continue expansions, but at a historical pace
Over the last two years, they expanded rapidly in order to keep up with the demand that increased significantly during the pandemic. For the coming years, they are planning to continue growth, but more at a historical pace.