About Us
Welcome to the California Table Grape Commission website. A summary of the commission mission and its categories of activities is provided below. The California Table Grape Commission was established by an act of the state’s legislature in 1967. Approved by a grower referendum in 1968, the commission has been affirmed through grower referenda every five years since its inception. The commission’s importance to the state and its mandate – to maintain and expand markets for fresh California grapes and to create new and larger intrastate, interstate, and foreign markets – was reaffirmed and its authorities broadened by the legislature in 1995, 1997 and again in 2001. The commission’s activities are divided into five areas: Research, Trade Management, Issue Management, Education and Outreach, and Advertising. Research: consumer, trade, viticulture, nutrition, technical, and industry research – and its accompanying analysis – designed to identify, target and manage the key challenges and opportunities impacting the fresh California grape industry. This is the foundation of the commission’s work, providing the knowledge needed to understand complex issues, solve problems, and ultimately drive demand. Trade Management: working with the trade to increase volume movement for the fresh California grape category. Trade management work utilizes a variety of strategies to expand usage of California table grapes primarily at the retail and foodservice levels. Issue Management: working with key stakeholders and decision makers to keep trade flowing both in the United States and internationally and to respond to short-term incidents and long-term issues that threaten the economic strength of California’s fresh grape industry. Issue management involves working with agencies of the U.S. government at the county, state, and federal levels and their counterparts in export markets – as well as with industry groups, health authorities, and non-industry organizations. It involves using a variety of disciplines to ensure the long-term continued movement of fresh California grapes field to market. Education and Outreach: programs designed to provide education, training, and general information to: retailers, foodservice operators, growers, researchers, consumers and others such as teachers, editors, authors, doctors and nutritionists. Nutrition, usage, storage, handling, availability, product characteristics, technological advances, and statistical analysis are among the types of information provided through a variety of outreach methods designed to create demand. Advertising: campaigns to reach consumers and other audiences with paid messages designed to motivate purchase and create demand for fresh California grapes.
