Vicente Peris, the story of a third-generation family business
Our history is originally associated with the famous piel de sapo melons grown in the agricultural colony of “Cúper or Cuíper”, a neighborhood annexed to the town of Foios. Its cultivation was widespread in our area of origin, with slightly saline marshlands, where orchards and melon groves flourished everywhere. The fame of Foios melons transcended the province, in fact, there are references in the Madrid press of the nineteenth century that praise their high quality. Traders from the big cities came here by cart to buy from local farmers, among them a young Ramón Peris Orts.
After the civil war, with the gradual recovery of economic activity, Joaquín Crumols, owner of an important stall in the Born Market in Barcelona and aware of the quality of his products, asked Ramón to resume the cultivation of piel de sapo melon on a large scale. Ramón was already in another project, so he invited his nephew Vicente to take the reins of the business. Vicente Peris soon needed to expand his farmland due to the success of his melon production.
At this stage, the hectares of land were increased and cultivation began in other areas beyond the huerta of Valencia. Vicente will promote the concept of quality through the different processes of cultivation, harvesting and processing, shaping the personality of the brand, something that has never been experienced before in the piel de sapo melon sector. In 1947 the select brand 18 Quilates was registered and during the 55s and 60s two more brands were born, Peris and Vicentín, which are still in force today.
From 1944 to the present day, the company concept that Vicente Peris shaped and that has defined the keys to the success of the project up to the present day has been kept alive. Vicente Peris’ commercial skills enabled him to understand the needs of traders.
Among his ideas, he understood the role that brands played for consumers and the importance of careful presentation, so he began to present the first 18-carat melons wrapped in rice straw in handmade wooden boxes. This capacity for change was also the key to adopting the novelties that arose and improved production: varieties, fertilizers, treatments, greenhouses, achieving improvements in calibers and constant product quality. The Peris name was already a hallmark of quality among the most experienced fruit growers in the country and its melons were a sure hit with consumers.
The activity continued unstoppably until the end of the 80’s, when the company’s management was replaced. Management falls to Vicente’s eldest daughter, a young Rosa Peris who takes the reins of the family business in a markedly male sector, where she manages to win the recognition of the sector and the purchasing managers of the main distribution chains. To her, her husband, Alberto Montaña, and her brother, Joaquín PerisThe company’s production and commercial capacity is attributed to them.
His work contributed to Peris products achieving an outstanding presence, both in the main markets of Spain and in the first supermarket chains that were beginning to emerge in that decade.
In 2015, the third generation of the family, Alberto Montaña Peris, took over the reins. In the first phase, its work is focused on the development and implementation of the fresh-cut and pre-prepared convenience food project, under the Peris and Frutifresh brands. With this model in place and growing, Alberto Montaña takes over the position of CEO in 2018 and, in 2023, the general management of the company.
A new stage marked by the modernization of work processes and a firm commitment to sustainability and respect for the land, the product and the needs of customers who choose, above all, quality.