Alastair Hulbert (left) and Snow Hardy (right) with ENZA grower Mark Gore (center) at his orchard in Chelan, Washington.

In our business, great geographical distances separate us from our suppliers, our product from our customers, and even our own employees from each other. But when it comes to the companies — and people — who work in the produce industry, suddenly the world is a very small place. Add New Zealand to the mix, and those six degrees of separation are reduced to one. Enter Delica. Headquartered in New Zealand, it’s a company much like Oppenheimer — but with a Southern Hemisphere twist.

“We focus on the export, rather than the import, of fresh produce from around the world,” said Delica’s former CEO Michael “Snow” Hardy, on a visit to the Pacific Northwest with current CEO Alastair Hulbert. “Our target markets are Australia, Asia, the Middle East, and Russia.”

With offices in the U.S., New Zealand, South America, and Australia, the company’s top items are apples, citrus, berries, stone fruit, grapes and asparagus.

So what else, other than our similar styles of business, do we have in common? New Zealand … and ENZA. Delica manages the import and export of ENZA apples to their markets. In fact, this is the second year they are exporting Washington-grown Pacific Rose™ and Jazz™ to Asia, where the varieties are growing in demand.

“We see a huge opportunity for these apples in our markets, especially in the Asian countries,” Hardy said.

“Not only is the customer base consolidating, but with more supermarkets comes better opportunity for global exports and year-round supply,” added Hulbert. “Customers are becoming more affluent, and the arrival of big European retailers like Tesco and Giant means more global consumers.”

Both see huge potential for ENZA’s newest variety when it debuts in 2010. “ENVY will be a huge hit because the Asian market loves fruit that is big, red and sweet,” Hulbert said.

In 2007 the parent company of ENZA, Turners & Growers — an Oppenheimer shareholder — acquired 70 percent of Delica. And to make our worlds even more intertwined, shortly after Snow Hardy was interviewed for this story, Turners & Growers announced he would become ENZA’s general manager, replacing Dawn Gray as she headed to her new role at Oppenheimer.

New Zealand may just be the center of the universe — for both rugby, and produce.