At FICKS, we believe that telling the story of our ingredients is important. The people, land, and climate that are responsible for the fresh taste of our hard seltzers and cocktail mixers are all vital to the quality of our products. We source our ingredients where they're grown best, from grapefruits in our home state of California to Mexican and Peruvian mangoes. When you drink a FICKS hard seltzer or make a cocktail with FICKS all-natural cocktail mixers, you become part of this Farm to Fizz journey.
I recently visited Seley Ranch, a grapefruit farm in Borrego Springs, California that grows the famously sweet red grapefruits used in FICKS Paloma Cocktail Mix and grapefruit hard seltzers. You'd be shocked to see how lush and green the farm is, despite being located in one of the hottest parts of the state.
Seley ranch has been growing grapefruits since the 1950s, and their farm is a lush and green oasis in an otherwise desert climate.
California is well-known for its delicious grapefruits, and I had the chance to learn more about what goes into growing these succulent fruits by walking the fields with Mike Seley, the third-generation owner and farmer of the ranch, as well as farm manager Zane Smiley, to learn more about the care that goes into growing these world-class grapefruits.
You'd be surprised to learn that this unforgiving desert climate in Southern California is ideal for grapefruit growth and that the soil here is rich in nutrients that help the fruit to develop its signature sweetness. Mike and Zane also shared with me their commitment to using sustainable growing practices to reduce water usage in this dessert climate and further reduce the carbon footprint of their operations.
As you can see in the video, it takes a lot of hard work and dedication to growing delicious grapefruits. We hope you enjoy this behind-the-scenes look at how FICKS sources grapefruits for our cocktail mixers and hard seltzers. If you have any questions about our farming methods or want to know more about where your cocktails come from, please don't hesitate to reach out to us. We love talking about our farms and the juicy fruit they produce!
- Ron
FICKS Cofounder
