California Grapes Lean on Consistency as Global Competition Intensifies

California table grape growers are entering the heart of their 2026 marketing season facing an increasingly crowded global marketplace, making consistency, international promotion and continued investment in production technology increasingly important to the industry’s competitive position.

The California Table Grape Commission plans promotional activity in 23 international markets this season as growers seek to reinforce a reputation built around dependable supply and eating quality.

“The California table grape continues to have high demand globally because of that dependability that the California grower has built with the relationship with their trading partners,” said Ian LeMay, president and CEO of the California Table Grape Commission.

Mexico moved ahead of Canada to become California’s largest export market last season. Canada ranked second, followed by Taiwan, Japan and Australia, and LeMay expects that group to remain important during 2026.

Additional resources through the federal America First Trade Promotion program will allow the commission to increase activity in several markets, including Australia, Canada, Mexico and the United Kingdom.

The U.K. represents an interesting opportunity after California reduced its market presence there several seasons ago.

“We see a window that we would like to try to see if we can fit back into later this season,” LeMay said.

Sports partnerships are also being incorporated into international promotions. The commission is working around the Los Angeles Rams’ game in Melbourne in September, while activities in Mexico will connect with the San Francisco 49ers’ November game there. Efforts in Western Canada will concentrate on strengthening relationships with retailers.

Those investments are particularly significant as other grape-producing countries expand their own export ambitions.

“I would say that it’s the hyper-competitiveness of the global grape trade,” LeMay said of one of California growers’ biggest challenges. “Over the last decade or so, we’ve definitely seen more countries not only growing table grapes, but also beginning to increase their export programs.”

Rather than building its marketing around specific cultivars, the commission takes a broader approach to differentiation.

“Here at the commission, we say we’re variety agnostic,” LeMay said. “We encourage our retail partners and consumers to look for and ask for California grapes at large.”

That means promoting the strongest green, red and black grapes available rather than attempting to elevate one proprietary variety above another. LeMay believes California’s growing environment and the experience of its multigenerational farming families provide a larger point of distinction.

“If the grape comes from California, the consumer should really expect a high-quality eating experience,” he said.

Technology is becoming another part of maintaining that competitive edge.

California growers are exploring soil-moisture monitoring, vineyard robotics, spectral imaging for evaluating vine health and new technologies connected with grape breeding. The commission maintains a mechanization and automation research committee that works with private companies to evaluate emerging tools before encouraging wider adoption.

LeMay cautioned that innovation has to produce practical value rather than simply introduce technology for its own sake.

“You have to vet these technologies out,” he said. “You have to make sure that the technologies are cost-effective and hopefully cost-saving in the long term for the grower base that we represent.”

Still, he considers technology an increasingly important component of the industry’s future.

“Ag tech is a necessary partner for our industry,” LeMay said.

Sustainability is closely connected to that long-term thinking. LeMay said California’s multigenerational farms view sustainability partly through their ability to maintain viable operations that can be passed from one generation to another.

“There’s nothing more sustainable than creating farming practices and business practices that allow for this industry to be passed on from generation to generation,” he said.

California’s regulatory environment adds extensive environmental expectations, while pressures involving water, labor and weather remain recurring realities of farming.

The 2026 crop itself is running approximately two to two-and-a-half weeks earlier than normal, but strong quality has given the industry a positive foundation heading into its most important selling months. Historically, about two-thirds of the California crop is harvested after Sept. 1.

That leaves growers and marketers with a lengthy window to put their broader strategy into action: promote California origin, reinforce dependable quality and make sure the state remains competitive wherever consumers are buying grapes.