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Optimizing California’s Grape Production with Aloecoat: A Sustainable Post-Harvest Solution

California is the heartbeat of the U.S. grape industry, producing approximately 94% of the nation’s grapes, including table grapes, wine grapes, and raisins.

Valued at over $5.5 billion in 2022, the state’s grape sector is a cornerstone of its agricultural economy, thriving in regions like the San Joaquin Valley, Kern, Tulare, Fresno, Napa, and Sonoma counties.

However, grape production faces challenges such as post-harvest losses, environmental pressures, and operational inefficiencies.

Innovative solutions like Aloecoat, a biodegradable aloe vera-based coating, offer transformative benefits to reduce fruit waste and enhance industry operations.

In this article, we explore the key characteristics of California’s grape production and how Aloecoat can revolutionize post-harvest management.Characteristics of Grape Production in California

Diverse Production and Economic Significance
California’s grape industry is diverse, encompassing table grapes, wine grapes, raisins, and grape-juice concentrates. In 2021, the state harvested 5.75 million short tons of grapes from 829,000 acres, with table grapes alone valued at $1.18 billion at $1,300 per short ton. The San Joaquin Valley dominates table grape and raisin production, while Napa and Sonoma are renowned for premium wine grapes. This diversity supports a robust economy, contributing tens of billions annually through direct sales and wine-related tourism.
Favorable Climate and Growing Conditions
California’s Mediterranean climate, with mild winters (3–40 inches of precipitation) and long, dry summers, is ideal for grape cultivation. The growing season extends from budbreak in March (San Joaquin Valley) or January–February (Coachella Valley) to harvest, typically from July to October, depending on the cultivar and region. However, challenges like heatwaves, drought, and wildfires, exacerbated by climate change, can stress vines and affect yield and quality.
Post-Harvest Challenges
Post-harvest quality is critical for table grapes, which are prized for high soluble solids concentration (SSC) of 14–17.5%, a SSC/titratable acidity (TA) ratio of 20 or higher, and vibrant color for red and black cultivars. Key issues include:
- Stem Browning and Water Loss: Water loss thresholds as low as 2.1% for Flame Seedless and 3.1% for Thompson Seedless cause stem browning, reducing marketability. Long cooling delays during mild weather exacerbate this issue.
- Gray Mold (Botrytis cinerea): This destructive post-harvest disease develops at low temperatures (31°F/-0.5°C), causing berry browning, skin loosening, and spoilage.
- Shatter: Berry detachment from cap stems increases with over-maturity, rough handling, and ethylene exposure (>10 ppm), leading to significant losses.
- Waterberry and Other Disorders: Associated with high nitrogen levels or canopy shading, waterberry causes watery, soft berries, requiring labor-intensive trimming. These challenges contribute to fruit waste, with losses from gray mold alone being a major concern for growers.
Sustainability and Climate Pressures
Climate change poses significant risks, including warming temperatures, extreme heat events, and wildfires, which cause smoke taint and economic losses (e.g., $4.2 billion in 2020 for the wine industry). Drought, a persistent issue, has driven adoption of drip irrigation and soil moisture monitoring to optimize water use. Growers are also embracing sustainable practices like organic and biodynamic farming to meet consumer demand and mitigate environmental impact.
Labor and Operational Dynamics
Grape production is labor-intensive, with workers facing heat-related risks during harvest. The industry relies on precise post-harvest handling, including prompt cooling, sulfur dioxide (SO2) fumigation, and controlled atmosphere storage (90–95% relative humidity, -1.0 to 0°C), to maintain quality. However, operational inefficiencies, such as delays in cooling or rough handling, increase waste and costs.

Aloecoat: A Game-Changer for Post-Harvest Grape Management

Aloecoat, a biodegradable coating derived from aloe vera’s polysaccharides, enzymes, and bioactive compounds, offers a sustainable solution to address post-harvest challenges in California’s grape industry.

By forming a protective, edible barrier on grape surfaces, Aloecoat enhances shelf life, reduces waste, and streamlines operations. Here’s how Aloecoat can transform post-harvest outcomes:

Reducing Fruit Waste
- Moisture Retention: Aloecoat’s moisture-retaining properties minimize water loss, preventing stem browning and shriveling. By maintaining berry firmness and reducing water loss below critical thresholds (e.g., 2.1% for Flame Seedless), Aloecoat ensures grapes remain visually appealing and marketable for longer.
- Botrytis Control: The coating’s antimicrobial properties, inhibit gray mold growth, reducing spoilage during storage and transport, even at low temperatures. This decreases reliance on SO2 fumigation, a common but chemical-intensive method.
- Shatter Reduction: Aloecoat strengthens berry attachment to cap stems by creating a protective layer, minimizing shatter caused by rough handling or ethylene exposure. This preserves cluster integrity, reducing losses from field to retail.
Extending Shelf Life
Aloecoat slows respiration and ethylene production, extending the market life of table grapes. With respiration rates of 1–2 ml CO2/kg·hr at 0°C, grapes coated with Aloecoat maintain freshness longer under recommended storage conditions (-1.0 to 0°C, 90–95% RH). This is particularly valuable for long-distance markets, where California grapes are shipped globally.
Enhancing Sustainability
As a biodegradable, non-toxic, and plant-based coating, Aloecoat aligns with California’s push for sustainable viticulture. Unlike synthetic coatings, it reduces environmental impact and meets consumer demand for clean-label products. By minimizing the need for chemical treatments like SO2, Aloecoat supports organic and biodynamic farming practices, enhancing market appeal.
Improving Operational Efficiency
- Streamlined Handling: Aloecoat’s ease of application (e.g., dipping or spraying) integrates seamlessly into existing packing lines, reducing labor-intensive processes like trimming waterberry-affected berries.
- Cost Savings: By reducing waste and extending shelf life, Aloecoat lowers losses from unsellable fruit and decreases the frequency of equipment maintenance caused by corrosion or scale buildup in storage systems.
- Market Competitiveness: High-quality, long-lasting grapes enhance California’s reputation in global markets, supporting the industry’s $1.18 billion table grape sector and boosting profitability.
Climate Resilience
Aloecoat helps mitigate climate-related challenges by protecting grapes from heat-induced quality degradation and smoke taint from wildfires. Its antioxidant properties, derived from aloe vera’s phenolic compounds, help preserve grape flavor, color, and aroma, ensuring premium quality despite environmental stressors.

The Future of California’s Grape Industry with Aloecoat

California’s grape industry faces a dynamic landscape of opportunities and challenges. While its favorable climate and diverse production solidify its dominance, post-harvest losses from water loss, gray mold, and shatter, combined with climate pressures, threaten profitability.

Aloecoat offers a cutting-edge solution, leveraging aloe vera’s natural properties to reduce fruit waste, extend shelf life, and enhance sustainability.

By integrating Aloecoat into post-harvest protocols, growers can improve operational efficiency, meet consumer demand for eco-friendly products, and maintain California’s leadership in the global grape market.

At aloegel.biz, we are committed to advancing sustainable agriculture with innovative aloe-based solutions.

Please read our blog for more details on AloeCoat properties and benefits.

Main Benefits of AloeCoat- Post Harvest Solution for Fruits and Vegetables

Advantages of AloeCoat for Fruits and Vegetables to the Fresh Produce Chain

Contact us to learn how Aloecoat can elevate your grape production, reduce waste, and drive profitability in an ever-evolving industry.

For purchase orders, enquiries and quotations please contact with us or write to aloetrade (at) gmail.com

Many thanks!

Advantages of AloeCoat for Fruits and Vegetables

aloecoat extends fresh produce shelf life

Advantages of AloeCoat for Fruits and Vegetables

AloeCoat is a 100% natural, plant based edible coating for use in fruits and vegetables.

AloeCoat is made from purified extracts of aloe compounds, creating a biofilm on fresh produce, reducing respiration and perspiration, protecting from fungi and bacteria and thus extending shelf life of the products.

While it is true that AloeCoat offers a definitive solution to the great problem of food waste, it actually offers different solutions to each participant in the fruit and vegetable chain.

AloeCoat offers different advantages and benefits to producers, packaging, brokers, distributors, importers and consumers as a whole. Below we explain the main advantages of the product and to the different actors in the fresh produce chain.

1. Advantages of Our Edible Coating for Fruits and Vegetables Compared to Traditional Waxes

Strictly speaking, our product has an indirect competition with waxes, since vegetable, animal or mineral based waxes only provide preservation or polishing functions, but do not offer antibacterial or anti fungal functions.

Within this category, vegetable waxes are the most accepted in the market, since animal waxes are expensive (beeswax for example), and mineral waxes, as they come from petroleum, have a bleak future, since consumers tend to demand healthier products every day and therefore, they demand the elimination of waxes and food coatings from petroleum based materials, as it is the case with paraffin based waxes.

However, our AloeCoat edible coating is a green and sustainable option, not compared to conventional waxes, since it offers more benefits and advantages not only to the fruit or vegetable but to the food chain too (including commercial and logistic phases), as explained below.

When compared to waxes, our technological solutions contributes to climate change efforts. AloeCoat minimizes food waste and food loss, improving food safety and quality, thus saving a high volume of GHG emissions.

2. Advantages of our Edible Coating for Fruits and Vegetables compared to controlled atmosphere bags

Our technological solutions has also indirect competition with controlled atmosphere bags. This product only offer shelf life extension to fruits and vegetables, but do not offer anti fungal or antibacterial functions like our aloe-based solution.

The plastic bags offers protection in the complete packing, i.e. to the overall set of fruits that are packed inside the bag, but does not offer individual protection to each product.

The problem is, when an individual fruit is contaminated with fungus, the result is that a large percentage of the fruit packed in a controlled atmosphere bag is immediately contaminated.

By opposition, our products do not allow such fungal contamination. AloeCoat offers a shelf life extension, an antibacterial and anti fungal function, but those advantages are granted to each fruit or vegetable individually, since the coating cover each fruit and vegetable in particular, while the bag offers general protection, that is, the set of fruits and vegetables inside a box.

Besides it, the bag still is a plastic, and there is another problem for its disposal, causing concerns and damage to environment. AloeCoat is green and sustainable, environmentally friendly, having positive impact on the environment.

This allow AloeCoat to be at the forefront compared to other products in terms of advantages and benefits for the preservation of fruit and vegetables.

That is why we say that AloeCoat has no specific direct competition.

There is a long list of advantages of our Aloe based coating. In the conservation of vegetables and fruits, our products prolong the shelf life of the treated products, which allows increasing profitability, while reducing the cost for fruit and vegetable packaging companies, since they combine the function of wax with the added value of bactericidal, antiseptic and anti fungal properties.

3. Economic Advantages of using AloeCoat

Our product offers various advantages and benefits to all participants in the food chain. In general, there is a tendency to think that the advantages in the use of our product reach the agricultural growers or the fruit and vegetable packing companies.

This is correct, but these benefits also reach the other participants in the value chain, reaching the final consumer.

In other words, the benefit of using our AloeCoat for the protection of fruits and vegetables goes from the producer to the final consumer. From farm to the fork.

Very few products can account for such a wide range of benefits, and above all, that these benefits reach all the participants in an industry, reaching the consumer until the end user. This happen with AloeCoat.

Advantages for Fruit and Vegetable Producers

AloeCoat extends the life of the product, so there are fewer rejects and returns, and the producer receives increased sales revenue and income.
The use of AloeCoat allows the producer to reduce the cost to purchase bactericides, antiseptic and anti fungal products, since our coating provides antibacterial, antiseptic and anti fungal functions.

Advantages for Fruit and Vegetable Packing Companies

Lower associated cost, higher sales revenue, therefore higher profitability for the business.
AloeCoat allows products to be better preserved when they have long transportation journeys by truck, rail, ship or plane, meaning fewer losses and higher sales revenue and income.

Advantages for Brokers, Distributors and Importers of Fruits and Vegetables

AloeCoat extends the life of the product, which means fewer rejections and returns, and the broker has a greater margin for selling more products.
The use of our coating allows the broker to have less product loss due to contamination or fungal attacks, a situation that can occur frequently and that affects an important part of the shipments, reducing their final volume for sale.
With AloeCoat, the broker, distributor or importer has a greater opportunity to sell shipments and full loads, generating higher sales revenue.

Advantages for Fruit and Vegetable Retailers – Hypermarkets, Supermarkets, Stores and Retail Markets

AloeCoat extends the life of the product, which means fewer rejections and returns.
The retailer has lower administrative and logistical costs involved in the merchandise return process, and it has more opportunity to sell all the product received, generating higher sales.
The use of our coating allows the retailer to receive the merchandise in good condition, without damage from bacteria or fungi.
The retailer can keep their product fresh and in good condition.
The retailer has no complaints about the use of polluting products such as mineral waxes.
The retailer has no disposal costs for controlled atmosphere bags. The bags are made with polyethylene that comes from petroleum, and must be confined, which generates a cost for the retailer. With AloeCoat, retailers do not have such disposal costs as it happens with the controlled atmosphere bag.
AloeCoat is biodegradable in a matter of minutes. On the contrary, Xtend type controlled atmosphere bags are degradable in a period close to 400 years!!!
With the use of AloeCoat, the retailer can show an environmental friendly approach before society and related communities, which adds value to its company. This situation does not happen with conventional coating products.

Advantages for Fruit and Vegetable Consumers

AloeCoat extends the life of the product, so there is less risk that a decrease in supply will raise the price of the product and harms the consumer.
The use of our coating does not increase the price of the product, so the consumer receives benefits without paying a higher price for it.
AloeCoat is a natural product, green and sustainable option, which is highly and widely valued by consumers.
AloeCoat is manufactured with renewable resources, generates a positive environmental impact, is a totally sustainable product, friendly to the environment, and manufactured under the process of a socially responsible company, which gives a higher value to consumer satisfaction.

Main Benefits of AloeCoat- Post Harvest Solution for Fruits and Vegetables

Aloecoat main benefits

by Daniel Avaro, CEO, Aloetrade America LLC

Main Benefits of AloeCoat- Post Harvest Solution for Fruits and Vegetables

AloeCoat is an edible coating whose main objective is to keep food safety and preserve fresh produce. AloeCoat provides additional benefits and advantages compared to conventional waxes, additives or synthetic preservatives used in the industry.

The main constituents of aloe provide many beneficial effects to fruits and vegetables.

AloeCoat main benefits and properties are the following:

Shelf Life Extension

AloeCoat acts on fresh produce by creating a bio film on each fruit or vegetable, while the aging process of a product is delayed. This gives longer product shelf life, with the consequent economic advantages that means for the supermarket. More time to sell the produce, reducing losses and increasing revenues.

Anti bacterial function

AloeCoat offers a wide bactericidal function, since aloe main constituents possess antibacterial action, thus avoiding the proliferation of bacteria that degrade fruits and vegetables.

The bacteria that attacks fruits and vegetables is inhibited quickly when AloeCoat is used. The combined saponin, lignin, salicylic acid, cinnamic acid and chrysophanic acid present in the aloe creates antibacterial effects of immediate action. Cytotoxic characteristics of aloe respond quickly releasing unwanted bacteria.

Aloe is effective against bacteria such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, Salmonella paratyphi, Streptococcus agalactiae, Klebsiella pneumonae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Serratia marcescens, Enterobacter cloacae, among others (Benigni, 1950; Bruce, 1967; Golding et al., 1963; Lehr et al., 1991; Zawacki, 1974). In short, AloeCoat reduces the growth of bacterial species.

Anti fungal function

AloeCoat also has anti fungal action in fruits and vegetables. Such property is carried out mostly by acemannan and other two constituents contained in aloe, cinnamic acid and chrysophanic acid.

The cinnamic acid produces a germicidal action against fungi that attack fruits and vegetables. The anti fungal activity of aloe is well documented, including its effectiveness against pathogens such as Penicillium digitatum, P. expansum, Botrytis cinerea and Alternaria alternate.

Antiseptic function

AloeCoat contains various antiseptic agents, namely the lupeol, salicylic acid, urea, cinnamic acid and phenols. They all have inhibitory action on fungi, bacteria and viruses. However, there are three relevant antiseptics elements present in aloe, and they are saponins, cinnamic acid, and salicylic acid.

Saponins are glycosides and are very particular. The saponins present in AloeCoat have purifying, antiseptic and antimicrobial actions that are not destructive to the surrounding cell tissues. Meanwhile, cinnamic acid, an organic acid is excellent antiseptic and germicidal activity, as well as the salycilic acid.

Moisturizing properties

One of the main problems of fruits and vegetables is that water loss by transpiration eventually leads to the wilting of the product. Therefore, the product is dehydrated, turns white and withers. This is so because the water deficit affects the turgidity of plant tissues.

Mucopolysaccharides contained into AloeCoat , help keep moisture in the skin of fruitsand vegetables. The aminoacids present in AloeCoat also contribute to this process.

AloeCoat reduces moisture loss since their higroscopic properties allow create a barrier between the plant and the surrounding environment.

Easy adherence to fruit and vegetables

AloeCoat is a mucilaginous based edible coating made with aloe polysaccharides and aloe certain compounds from inside the aloe leaf. Those polysaccharides are natural polymers that also offer high viscosity, all of which provides gelling features that allows easy adherence to the skin of fruits and vegetables.

Respiration rate reduction

AloeCoat significantly reduces the respiration rate of fruits and vegetables that are treated with the product. The decline in production and lower CO2 respiration rate translates into longer life of the product. Aloe compounds are used in different ways for each formulation, since fruits or vegetables have different respiration rates, and the objective is extend shelf life without altering flavor, odor or color of the fresh produce. Thus, AloeCoat for mango is a different formula than AloeCoat for papaya, for instance.

Gives Firmness to Fruit and Vegetables

Treatment with AloeCoat, significantly reduces loss of firmness during cold storage and shelves at average temperatures of 20°C, depending on fresh produce and environmental conditions.

Improves healing of small wounds or cuts on the skin

Treatment with AloeCoat, improves the healing and regeneration of small wounds made to the fruit or vegetable at packing process, avoiding ultimate leakage and preventing bacterial or fungal attack.

No Changes in Color, Flavor or Smell

AloeCoat does not modify color, flavor or smell in any fruits or vegetables where is used.

Food Safety

AloeCoat is a new tool to enhance food safety in fresh produce. Such functions are performed in two ways:

Improves shine to the product

AloeCoat improves shine to every fruit or vegetable.

Keep product in good conditions for long transport journeys

Thanks to above benefits and properties, AloeCoat maintains fresh produce in good conditions when long journeys are required to reach foreign markets.

Reduces Food Waste

Application of AloeCoat implies more fruit or vegetable in good condition, which in turn means less and reduced food waste for the planet.

Improves quality and marketability of fresh produce

Application of AloeCoat means better quality fresh produce and higher acceptance by the markets and final consumers.