Crema Of The Crop

A Mexico native and public accountant by training, López and her family moved to the United States six years ago. Not long afterwards, a friend and former colleague reached out, wanting to start a new business to distribute produce. He gave her $5,000 and told her to create the company and to let him know when he could send his first load of Persian limes.

“I had no experience in this industry, even though I had been involved in sales in Mexico,” López recalls. “I had to ask how to do everything and where everything was, even where the produce market was.” Fortunately, she was able to consult with a cousin who had sold limes, and in 2012 Alamo began operating at the Los Angeles wholesale market.

The company now sells three to four loads of Persian limes per week all year long, and has expanded its offerings to include bell peppers, avocados, Serrano chiles, and tomatoes. López’s goal is for Alamo Produce to become a major importer and distributor of Mexican fruit and vegetables. “I’m proud of being able to bring in what we grow and create jobs in both countries,” she says.

Her biggest challenge has never been about being a Latina, which she sees as a distinct advantage. Rather, having been raised in the family-centric Latin culture, the challenge has become how to manage a work-life balance (for more information on this subject, see our feature article, “Life’s A Beach,” in the main issue). Thanks to technology, López and her husband, the company’s sales manager, can work from virtually anywhere as long as there’s cell phone service and an Internet connection. “The hardest thing is having the discipline to separate time for family and time for work.”

Georgina Felix
Fresh Produce Association of the Americas
Georgina Felix is a Mexico native who grew up in Guanajuato. Her passion for produce comes from watching her father, an agronomist, work in the field. In addition, her mother was ahead of her time—she actively encouraged her daughters to be independent.

“My mom is a great role model because she has her own business,” Felix says. “She always told us that whatever we wanted to do, we could do it, and that girls had exactly the same chances and opportunities as boys.”

Georgina went on to study industrial engineering and, after graduating, took a job at the Ministry of Agriculture in Mexico City. She eventually moved to Nogales, AZ with her husband and went to work for the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas (FPAA) in 2006.

As director of foreign affairs, Felix specializes in maintaining relations with the Mexican government, customs and regulatory agencies, and even her former employer, the Ministry of Agriculture—basically any organization or agency with an impact on the movement of Mexican produce to and through the United States.