HENRY AVOCADO CORPORATION

Our long history briefly stated…

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Henry Avocado was founded in 1925 by Charles Henry and his wife Florence, who were among the first to plant avocados in San Diego County. Their sons Gil and Warren joined the company after Gil’s service in WWII and Warren’s service in the Korean War. Along with their mother, they took on added responsibilities when Charles was fatally injured in an accident in 1953. Later in the 1950’s, their cousin, George Schoeffel joined them as sales manager. Over the years, additional partners were added to assist with the expanding business and replace the retiring original partners. The current managing owners are Phil Henry in administration and marketing, Don Hoey in sales, Rick Opel in farm management, and Vic Varvel in packing operations. The original Henry farm has been in continuous avocado production since 1925 and still serves as the location for the company’s headquarters.

Key Dates and Events

  • Pioneered: Custom-ripening of avocados in1983. Today Henry has 100 ripening rooms at the distribution centers in Escondido (2) and Milpitas, CA; Phoenix, AZ; Charlotte, NC; San Antonio and Houston, TX.
  • Promoted: In early ’50s, Henry planted and promoted the Hass variety, which became the industry standard by the ’70s.
  • Customer Focused: Year-round marketer and distributor of custom-ripened fresh conventional and organic avocados sourced from California, Mexico, Peru and Chile.
  • Markets: Serving foodservice and retail customers throughout the U.S.
  • Purpose: To consistently provide customers with superior quality fresh avocados and service.
  • Introduced: Certified organic avocados to product line in 2010.
  • Brands: Bravocado and Green Goddess.
  • Farm Management: Consistently producing superior cost-effective results for grove owners.
  • Certifications: Primus GFS and CCOF Organic in U.S. and Fair Trade in Mexico.
  • Product Integrity: Modern equipment and practices in place to ensure the integrity of the cold chain.