What Unica Group does

Unica Group (legal name UNICA GROUP, S.C.A.) is a second-tier agricultural cooperative society headquartered in Almería, Spain, founded in 2008 and operating as a Sociedad Cooperativa Andaluza under CIF F04657466. The cooperative aggregates 19 member cooperatives spanning Almería, Granada, Huelva, Cádiz, Córdoba, Murcia, and Alicante, with 25 warehouses, 5,000 growers, 12,000 field workers, 9,000 hectares of production area, and approximately 500 million kilograms of annual output across 100+ SKUs organized into five product families: Vegetables, Leafy Greens, Melon and Watermelon, Fruit (including berries), and Snacks. Unica bills itself as the operator of the world's largest selection of spicy products and has been Spain's #1 horticultural exporter since 2013, with export revenue of 496 million euros in 2023 (19% year-over-year growth) and total turnover exceeding 800 million euros by 2025.

The cooperative generates revenue through B2B sales of fresh and value-added produce to European retail chains, food service operators, and wholesalers across 25+ countries, reaching approximately 25 million European consumers daily. Its go-to-market combines a sales-led motion with major supermarket chains, a channel-partner motion through its member cooperatives, and a growing branded product portfolio (SOLOH premium snack tomato, La Caja Saludable healthy box, Freshquita, Soy de Unica app). Unica's technology stack integrates biological pest control, nanotechnology-based inputs (GO BIODIF nanofertilizers), AI and Big Data for precision agriculture (GO RENTIA), and decision-support tooling for irrigation and fertigation (INV-DSS), with R&D conducted in partnership with Universidad de Almería, COEXPHAL, CNTA, and the GO BIODIF consortium under EU Horizon 2020 funding. The company is led by President José Martínez Portero and General Manager and Founder Enrique de los Ríos Porras, and it maintains GlobalG.A.P., GRASP, BRC, Naturland, and IFS certifications across its supply base.

Name

Unica Group

Legal name

UNICA GROUP, S.C.A.

Website

https://unicagroup.es

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Unica Group is a Spanish agricultural cooperative society (S.C.A.) headquartered in Almería that aggregates 19 member cooperatives, 5,000 growers, and 500M kg of annual fruit and vegetable output for B2B sale to European retailers across 25+ countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Fresh Produce Distribution

NAICS

Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Merchant Wholesalers (424480), Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Merchant Wholesalers (42448), Fruit and Vegetable Preserving and Specialty Food Manufacturing (3114), Vegetable and Melon Farming (11121)

SIC

Wholesale-Groceries, General Line (5141), Food And Kindred Products (2000)

akta.pro primary industry

Farmer Cooperatives & Co-op Retail (AFABAJAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Member-Owned Food Cooperatives (CRAHALAA), Fresh Produce Distribution (CRAOABAB), Fresh Produce Wholesale (Fruit & Vegetables) (AFAIABAE)

Keywords

• Fresh produce distribution
• Agricultural cooperative
• Horticultural exports
• Fruit and vegetables
• Biological pest control

Headquarters

HQ city

Almería

HQ country

Spain

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Fresh Produce Sales: Core revenue from growing, packaging, and selling fruits and vegetables through the cooperative network. Products sold to European retailers, food service companies, and wholesalers. Revenue streams from 19 member cooperatives aggregating produce from 5000 growers.
2. Branded Product Lines: Value-added products including La Caja Saludable (healthy box) with the 'Producto Cooperativo' (Cooperative Product) seal, premium snack products like the SOLOH tomato conceived as a premium snack, and vegetable snacks

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Unica Group is an agricultural cooperative (Sociedad Cooperativa Andaluza) that produces, aggregates, packages, and distributes fresh fruits, vegetables, leafy greens, melons, watermelons, and snack products through a network of 19 member cooperatives spanning 5,000 growers and 9,000 hectares. The company centralizes commercial operations, export, quality control, and food safety certification (GlobalG.A.P., GRASP, BRC, Naturland, IFS) to supply European supermarket chains, food service operators, and wholesalers with traceable, sustainably produced fresh produce.

Product overview

UNICA Group is an agricultural cooperative consortium (S.C.A.) operating as a second-level cooperative with 19 member cooperatives, 5000 growers, and 12000 field workers across Spain. The company offers a unified product portfolio organized into five families: Vegetables (the company's specialty including the world's largest selection of spicy products), Leafy Greens, Melon and Watermelon, Fruit (including berries since 2022), and Snacks (including the premium SOLOH tomato launched in 2026). Beyond fresh produce, UNICA operates digital products including the Unica Fresh mobile app and La Caja Saludable e-commerce platform. The company functions as a centralized marketing and commercial entity for its member cooperatives, handling export (496M EUR in 2023), quality control, and international distribution to reach 25 million European consumers daily.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• UNICA Bienestar: Corporate wellness initiative promoting healthy lifestyles and employee wellbeing, awarded Premio Estrategia NAOS in 2025.
• Freshquita
• Soy de Unica
• La Caja Saludable
• SOLOH

Products and services

• Vegetables

Quantifiable outcome

• 19% increase in exports to 496 million euros in 2023
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Andalusian Tennis FederationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partnership to integrate sport into the corporate environment. Co-hosted pickleball sports and wellness day at UNICA Group headquarters, officially inaugurating a pickleball court. Provides introductory sessions, coaching, and practical demonstrations for staff as part of UNICA Bienestar corporate wellness initiative.
• Bioline AgroSciencescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration agreement for the joint development of innovative and sustainable solutions in the horticultural sector. Focus on biological control methods and integrated pest management to reduce chemical inputs and improve sustainability.
• COEXPHAL - Association of Fruit and Vegetable Producer OrganizationscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUNICA participates in CO-FRESH Horizon 2020 project through COEXPHAL. CO-FRESH aims to redesign and pilot innovative approaches to agri-food value chains for improved economic, social, and environmental outcomes. 26 partners from 10 European countries.
• Universidad de AlmeríacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partner in Horizon 2020 CO-FRESH project and other R&D initiatives. Collaborates on precision agriculture, nanofertilizers, and sustainable farming practices.
• GO BIODIF ConsortiumcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner8-entity consortium including UNICA, CSIC, NanoIntec, UPA, Fundación Cellbitec, and others focused on biofunctionalization of tomato, corn, and olive crops using nanotechnology and nanofertilizers.
• CNTA - Centro Nacional de Tecnología y Seguridad AlimentariacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLead coordinator of CO-FRESH Horizon 2020 project. UNICA participates as a pilot partner in this 7.5M euro, 42-month EU-funded innovation project.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Bonduelle: French family-controlled group and one of Europe's largest processed and fresh vegetable producers. Comparable to UNICA as a European-scale vegetable producer serving retail and food service, though Bonduelle leans more heavily into processed/canned vegetables and branded packaged goods.
• Greenyard: Belgian-listed fresh, frozen, and prepared fruit and vegetable supplier to European retailers. Directly comparable to UNICA as a B2B fresh produce distributor at scale with a European retail customer base and similar category mix.
• Dole plc: Global fresh produce leader with significant European operations. Comparable as a large-scale B2B fresh fruit and vegetable supplier, though Dole has a wider global footprint and tropical produce mix than UNICA's Mediterranean focus.
• Total Produce (now part of Dole): Irish-headquartered fresh produce distributor with extensive European operations prior to merger with Dole. Closely comparable to UNICA in B2B distribution model and European retail focus.

Direct peers

• SanLucar: Premium fruit and vegetable brand headquartered in Valencia, Spain, with a multi-country European retail presence. Comparable to UNICA as a Spanish-origin, brand-led fresh produce supplier targeting European retailers with a focus on quality and premium positioning.
• Caparrós Nature: Spanish fresh produce company based in Almería with vertically integrated farming, packaging, and distribution for European retailers. Direct regional peer to UNICA, sharing the Almería production cluster and European retail focus.
• Grupo AN: Spanish agricultural cooperative based in Navarra, aggregating production from member cooperatives across fruits, vegetables, and other categories. Closely comparable to UNICA in the cooperative-of-cooperatives model serving Spanish and European retail.
• Frutas Esther: Spanish fresh produce packer and exporter based in Almería, focused on tomatoes, peppers, and other greenhouse vegetables for European retail. Direct competitor to UNICA in the Almería export cluster with overlapping product mix and customer base.
• Florette (Agrial): French fresh prepared salad and vegetable company owned by Agrial cooperative. Comparable to UNICA in fresh vegetable category, cooperative ownership structure, and European retail customer base.

Emerging players

• NatureSweet: Premium branded greenhouse tomato and snack-vegetable producer with North American and growing European presence. Comparable to UNICA's SOLOH tomato and branded snack ambitions in the premium fresh snack segment.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/unicagroup
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCEgBbH80arv9y2r6uf3NmPw
• Facebookfacebook.com/unicagroupsca
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/unica-group
• Instagraminstagram.com/unicagroup

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries19 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Unica Group