A Peach of a Business
A Little Taste of Texas Delivers a Great Taste of Success
When you bite into your first Texas Hill Country peach this summer, the name Frank Davis is not likely to be on your mind. But, it probably should be. That’s because Davis is responsible for marketing the vast majority — 90 percent or more — of Fredericksburg-area peaches to grocers and restaurants across the state. And the 30 growers who rely on his Fredericksburg Peach Company to market their products wouldn’t have it any other way.
From Computers to Peaches
As a youngster, Davis remembers his family’s annual summer treks from Houston to buy Fredericksburg peaches. On the 225-mile drive, they’d talk about some day moving to Fredericksburg and growing peaches themselves — a dream his family achieved in 1981.
By the time his family had their own peach orchard, Davis was grown, married and working at a fast-paced Austin computer firm. But as soon as the first peaches were harvested, he found himself again driving to Fredericksburg. This time, rather than buying peaches, he and his wife would take the family’s Muller Orchards peach crop to the Travis County Farmers Market in Austin.
 “We’d have people lined up before we even opened in the mornings,” he says.
For the young entrepreneur — who had started his first business, a computer company, at the age of 18 — the overwhelming consumer response pointed out a market need and a business opportunity. While many of the other area peach growers continued to market their crop through a local cooperative, Davis expanded his direct sales model from farmers markets, to selling to individual grocery stores in Austin, and to grocery chains in Texas. “I was able to get my family more money for their product than the co-op could,” he recalls.
New Approach to Marketing
Local growers began to take note of Davis’ marketing success. While they relied on the co-op selling mainly to the San Antonio market, Davis was steadily reaching out to markets in Houston, Dallas and other areas throughout the state — one of which was Whole Foods’ first store in Austin.
“These growers were all friends, but they were cutting each others’ throats price-wise, in order to move their own product,” says Davis. “None of them had the ability to hold what they were harvesting each day, so they were forced to sell it or lose it. They were barely making enough money to survive until the next year.” Even so, the growers’ initial reaction to the young, fairly inexperienced agri-marketer was skepticism.
One by one, however, they began approaching Davis to market their products, and in 1986, The Fredericksburg Peach Company was born. “The growers I did start marketing for became my free advertising,” he says. “They were the ones with the new trucks, the new equipment and the ability to provide for their families.”
Business on a Hand Shake
In the current business environment of contract negotiation and litigation, doing business on a handshake is almost a thing of the past. But that’s precisely how Davis chooses to operate. “There are no contracts, these are all friendships built over the past 25 years,” says Davis, who has established a reputation for honesty and integrity among both growers and buyers.
“Texas farmers are the hardest working people I have ever met in my life,” says Davis.
“I see all the adversity they have to face on a daily basis … weather, the rising costs of fuel, fertilizers, etc., … and they just keep battling. I am proud to market their product.”
Texas consumers want more locally grown, better-tasting produce, he contends. The crowds at farmers markets and stores such as H-E-B Central Market and Whole Foods, which carry large quantities of Texas-grown produce, make that evident. “The produce buyers at the grocery store chains in Texas know what their customers want, and I can honestly say every one of the buyers I deal with really wants to support Texas agriculture,” Davis says.
Since 1986, H-E-B has been one of The Fredericksburg Peach Company’s most loyal customers — along with Whole Foods, Kroger, Wal-Mart, Randall’s, Tom Thumb and numerous restaurants, to name a few.
 Growth Leads to Distributing Company
The growth meant Davis could no longer keep up with direct store deliveries on his own. “We used to pick up peaches in my dually truck and race-car trailer, bring them to Lakeway (where he lives) and then to grocery stores in Houston,” Davis says.
To accommodate distribution as the number of buyers expanded, Davis founded The Great Taste of Texas distributing company. Today, a dozen 18-wheelers and a staff of 14 commercial drivers haul fresh produce seven days a week. In addition to delivering Fredericksburg products, The Great Taste of Texas contracts with H-E-B and Whole Foods to deliver produce to their stores from growers in California and elsewhere.
Diversifying Into Other Crops
Although Texas Hill Country peaches were the original source of Davis’ success, he and his family knew firsthand that not every season yields a good peach crop. “We have so many bad-weather years, I encouraged the peach growers to diversify into other crops … yellow squash, zucchini, tomatoes and okra. Then if you have a late freeze or hail on your peaches, you still have other crops to generate income.”
 The Fredericksburg Peach Company, in fact, has grown to become the largest yellow squash and zucchini shipper in the state, in large part due to Davis’ insistence on quality and branding. “To create the same romance for squash and these other products, we started branding everything ‘Texas Home Grown,’” he says.
In addition, organic produce holds great promise, he believes. “Organics are the No. 1 thing we are focusing on right now,” he says. Plans are in the works to plant 150 acres in organic vegetables on property he is in the process of acquiring with the help of Capital Farm Credit.
Farm Credit Finances New Ventures
Davis’ next entrepreneurial dream is being cultivated now: the development of a 20-acre tract on Highway 71 west of Austin, which will become home to both the current businesses plus some new ones. His longtime commercial bank was not interested in financing the venture, and referred him to Capital Farm Credit in San Antonio.
“About five to six years ago, he met with us, interested in buying some property outside the city limits of Austin,” says Hal Herbelin, Jr., Capital’s vice president of business development. “We were impressed not just with the financials he presented, but with him. He has no contracts with anyone; all these producers rely on him to get the best price for their products, and they don’t need something in writing. You mention his name and they rave about him.”
Capital Farm Credit financed the land purchase of what will become The Ranch at Fall Creek, and also provided the construction loan for the building and improvements. The eastern portion of the building, complete with loading dock, three coolers and truck maintenance facilities, houses both The Fredericksburg Peach Company and The Great Taste of Texas. Open space is earmarked for a future farmers market, outdoor weddings and receptions, all with ample parking.
 A 1,500-person-capacity live music events center, dubbed Big Hat – No Cattle, is also under construction. It will include a dance floor, stage, catering kitchens and a gigantic stone fireplace. It is slated to open in summer 2008, along with a 10-room bed and breakfast, The Lodge at Fall Creek.
Standing back and surveying the projects, Davis gives credit to his lending partner. “Farm Credit has been absolutely phenomenal,” he says. “They, to me, are true bankers. They looked at me and at the land, and they believe in me and stand by my vision,” he says.
Get the Best Price for Your Product
Frank Davis’ Marketing Tips To Growers
1. Focus on what you do best – growing a quality product. Find someone else to handle the sales and distribution.
2. Focus on the quality of the packaging. Put only the best in the box and you’ll come out light years ahead in price.
3. Focus on branding. Promote that your product is Texas-grown, or organic. Label it. Don’t try to save 10 cents a box by putting your product in an unlabeled plain brown box.
4. Focus on consumer safety. Ensure your product is cleaned well before putting it in the box.
Article by Sue Durio
Photos by Jim Lincoln |
