But in 1992, Mexico opened its doors to foreign competition. Suddenly, the bottom dropped out of the apple market, and his 7,000 trees turned into problems. The stores were flooded with Chilean and Washington State fruit. Some of his fellow growers accused outside interests of using Mexico as a dumping ground for their product. All Francisco new was that he could not even grow apples at supermarket prices. The only other outlet for domestic growers was the vastly oversupplied concentrate market.

A matter of survival
Unless he could find a way to put some profit back into his crop, his years of investment and hard work would count for nothing. Francisco came up with a bold solution. When it came to apple juice, Mexican consumers' only choice was pale, clarified liquid product. Could a high quality, flavorful, natural juice from organically grown apples compete on the store shelves?

Francisco heard about Goodnature Products through a university contact. "It was one of the few companies offering a complete line of pressing equipment with capacities ranging from small to large. They were able to provide a machine that exactly matched our desired output requirements. As a result, we were able to keep our start-up costs within reason." Goodnature's SX200 Squeezebox press was selected. The manufacturer also had the expertise to design a complete turnkey plant, including equipment for receiving, pressing, and bottling. Due to the unique circumstances of the plant's location, power generation equipment and trucked-in propane were required. Provisions also had to be made for trucking in and pasteurizing water. Within three weeks of the equipment's arrival the facility was in operation.

No compromise on quality
The orchard's entire crop is handpicked. No drops are allowed. The crisp, nutritionally rich fruit presses beautifully. A cold storage capability extends the pressing season. During that period up to 38,000 bottles per week are processed. "At Guadalupe Orchards, we strictly adhere to organic production methods that comply with our personal ecological principles," says Franciso. "The quality of the juice is excellent. No press aids are used during the extraction process - the press provides acceptably high yields without them - and no additives are introduced." The light, honey colored juice is pasteurized at temperatures low enough to provide extended shelf life without damaging color and flavor. The product is so low in solids that no filtration is required. Benefits are twofold: capital and operating costs can be maintained at a comparatively low level. Also, valuable juice is not lost to filtration media, thereby increasing actual in-the-bottle yield.