As IMG Citrus expanded from a Florida citrus grower into a year-round importer, its quality control operation had to keep pace.
The company was managing more produce, more inspection processes, and a broader network of grower partners. Yet much of its quality data still lived across Google spreadsheets, while reports were compiled and distributed manually.
IMG Citrus needed a quality control system that could support continued growth without requiring its QC workload and headcount to rise at the same rate.
By implementing Clarifresh, the company brought more than ten daily inspection processes into one platform, automated reporting, and made quality data easier to use across the business.
IMG Citrus: Scaling a year-round citrus operation
IMG Citrus is a family-owned citrus grower and importer based in Vero Beach, Florida. Alongside its Florida citrus operation, IMG Citrus imports fruit throughout the year.
As the business experienced significant year-over-year growth, its leadership began reviewing which internal processes would need to scale with it. Quality control quickly became a priority.
“We were seeing significant year-over-year growth, and we knew that we needed to look into all of our processes and identify what areas we really needed to dive deep into to support the current growth and years to come,” said Becca McMurray, Director of Business Development at IMG Citrus.
The challenge: Quality data spread across spreadsheets
Before Clarifresh, IMG Citrus managed quality control through Google spreadsheets.
Inspectors entered information into separate files, while QC and commercial teams had to move between spreadsheets to understand inspection results. Reports for grower partners also had to be compiled and sent manually.
The system captured data, but reviewing and sharing it took time.
Key challenges included:
- Quality information spread across multiple spreadsheets
- Manual weekly reporting for grower partners
- Limited visibility across inspection processes
- Increasing complexity as the business grew
- Pressure to support higher volumes without overloading the QC team
IMG Citrus spent around 18 months looking for a platform that could organize quality data, improve reporting, integrate with existing systems, and remain practical for inspectors to use.
One platform for inspections and reporting
IMG Citrus implemented Clarifresh across more than ten daily quality control processes.
These included arrival inspections for Florida-grown and imported citrus, line-process inspections, aged-inventory checks, and the company’s two-stage Florida grading process.
Inspectors now capture quality data through the Clarifresh mobile app. Once an inspection is complete, the information becomes available in the centralized platform and can flow into IMG Citrus’s Power BI environment.
The platform also allows one inspection to be compared against multiple saved standards. This helps IMG Citrus determine which fruit is best suited to each customer.
Becca described the process as putting together a puzzle:
“We’re always putting all the pieces together to make sure that the right fruit gets to the right customer.”
QC, sales, and operations teams can now use the same information when deciding how to route fruit, reduce waste, and meet customer and grower expectations.
Citrus quality control software that unlocks more capacity with the same resources
One of the most immediate changes was the automation of recurring reports.
IMG Citrus’s growers require weekly quality reports. Previously, the QC team compiled and sent each report manually. With Clarifresh, the team can set the recipients and schedule once, after which reports are generated and distributed automatically.
Internal teams also receive scheduled line-process and inbound reports at set times each morning.
This has reduced repetitive administrative work and given teams faster access to detailed quality information.
The operational benefits include:
- Automated weekly reports for grower partners
- Scheduled daily reports for internal teams
- Faster access to inspection data
- Less time spent compiling and emailing reports
- Greater capacity to support rising volume
- Better coordination across QC, sales, and operations
IMG Citrus introduced automated reporting across its Southern Hemisphere grower network ahead of the season. The company also created guidance explaining how to interpret the reports, helping ensure consistent communication across suppliers.
According to the team, most growers were able to use the reports without requiring additional explanation.
The shift has also helped IMG Citrus support growth without increasing QC resources at the same rate.
“We’re able to do more now with the same amount of resources that we could before,” Becca said. “As we continue to see significant year-over-year growth with the volume, it allows us to have that confidence to support that growth.”
A Quality Program the Team Can Adapt
IMG Citrus can also update inspection processes and quality standards directly within the platform.
The team can add measurements, change process steps, and adjust standards without relying on software development support. Those changes are then reflected in the inspector app.
This gives IMG Citrus more control over its quality program while Clarifresh’s customer success team remains available when additional support is needed.
What Comes Next
IMG Citrus plans to continue expanding the quality data it manages through Clarifresh.
For the next Florida season, the team intends to add taste-profile data such as Brix and acidity readings to its reporting. The company is also exploring how field-inspection data could be integrated into the same platform.
The long-term goal is to bring more of the information used by QC, sales, and operations into one place, giving teams a fuller picture when making product and customer decisions.
See how citrus quality control software can help your operation scale with less manual work. Book a call today.
