Interview with Carlos Guillem, CEO and Founder of Pilmifresh

We'd love to start with your story. Tell us about your journey, where it began, and how you got to where you are today.

To sum it up, the story really begins when I moved to London for my first professional experience, working for a company called Isango, an online platform specializing in tours, activities and travel experiences. I was in charge of price comparison project for hotels and other services, which was later implemented on their website. That experience started shaping me professionally. A colleague there told me about a scholarship program with Spain's Institute of Foreign Trade (ICEX). Everyone said it was very difficult to get in, but I thought: what do I have to lose? So, I applied, passed the exams, and got in.

The ICEX program was structured around three stages. The first year is a master's degree in Madrid. In the second year, I was sent to Norway, where I worked in the trade office of the Spanish embassy, ​​helping Spanish companies build networks in Norway and establish themselves there. In the third year, you must join a Spanish company's international division. That's how I ended up at FTN (Fruit Tech Natural), where I spent seven years. That was really where I did my true master's degree:

After almost fifteen years living Away from Valencia, I decided to move back, where I'm originally from. One of the main reasons was that my grandmother was already 96 and I wanted to spend more time with her. The wonderful news is that she recently turned 102, and I am still lucky enough to enjoy her company

That was when I decided to put everything I had learned into practice and build something of my own. I founded Pilmifresh in January 2019, and that was the beginning of a completely new adventure.

Tell us about your family, who was around you growing up, and what role did family play in shaping the business and the person you became?

I think family has played a very important role. My father is a doctor with a strong reputation and strong connections in Valencia. I always wanted to carve my own path, and that's actually part of why I chose to go to London. I didn't know exactly what I wanted, but I knew I wanted to define my own direction through the process itself.

Since I was 13 or 14, my parents never let me stay in my comfort zone. They always pushed me to go abroad. I spent time in the United States and in Australia. It taught me how to adapt to unfamiliar situations and build relationships across different cultures. Those experiences have helped me ever since.

Then there's my mother, who, as I always say, is the only person who can make me nervous in five seconds flat. She gave me very thick skin and prepared me to deal with pressure. There's a good example from a previous company: A colleague, during a tense moment, started yelling aggressively in front of the whole team. I looked him in the eye and said, I understand what you're trying to do, but you're not going to make me nervous. The only person who can do that is my mother, so let's calm down and talk this through. He laughed because he didn't know how to respond.

Overall, my family gave me patience, the ability to connect with people, and the ability to talk to all kinds of different people, and all of that has helped me throughout my time at Pilmifresh.

Was there a moment that changed everything for you, a turning point in your journey that you still think back on?

I think the main one was joining Fruit Tech Natural, because that's where I learned the entire industry. It's worth mentioning my former boss, Arturo, who became a good friend. When I joined, he interviewed me with a green apple. He just handed it to me and said, sell it to me. I improvised for about five minutes, talking about the apple’s origin, its color, its shape, its quality, and why it would taste better than any other apple. When I finished, he told me, I don't know what you just said, but you sold me the apple, you're in. That was the first real turning point. I like to say I owe a lot of where I am today to a green apple.

The other big factor was simply that those seven years at FTN gave me the commercial, technical and logistical knowledge I needed to grow professionally.

Eventually, though, I felt I'd hit a ceiling and stopped feeling the same excitement in day-to-day operations. There's a story from when I was about 12 or 13 that connects to that. A friend of my father's asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up: a doctor, a businessman, something like that. I told him, all I know is that I don't want to be bored. At the time he thought it was a silly answer, but I still think it's one of the smartest things I've ever said, because avoiding boredom is genuinely what drives me. When I started feeling bored, that's when I knew it was time for something new.

What keeps you going, day to day? What's the part of this work you're personally most passionate about?

Without a doubt, it's the commercial side: building relationships, understanding exactly what the client needs, matching them with the right product, and following the process from the first conversation to a successful result and a relationship that continues to grow. That's what I enjoy most.

The other part I love, after so many years in the industry, is watching how relationships evolve between clients, suppliers, competitors and partners. I always say this industry is like a rollercoaster of emotions, constantly going up and down. Prices change; the market changes. Nothing stays the same, no two days are alike, and that's exactly what I like about it. I'll also say this business isn't for everyone. You need a bomb-proof heart.

How do you see the global market for fruit ingredients and beverages evolving right now?

Right now, we're in a genuinely complex moment. Prices are shifting, raw material availability keeps changing, and there's a political backdrop that's far from irrelevant, with the rules of the game changing almost daily. In moments like this, I think companies like Pilmifresh, with flexibility and real market knowledge, matter more than ever.

A good example: A few years ago, Brazil, the world's top producer of orange concentrate, been badly affected by the citrus greening and had significant drop in supply, as a result, prices rose dramatically in a very short period and it was hard to absorb, and it pushed a lot of companies to start producing FCOJ and overstocking. few years later, when market conditions change with more stable prices, many players found themselves in difficult positions. Some lost, while others benefited. You see the same pattern with pineapple, aronia, and lemon. I think the real challenge in this business is maintaining very good relationships with clients and suppliers, keeping communication strong so you get good information, understanding which direction the market is heading, and trying to secure supply to keep serving your clients well.

Which regions or trends are you watching most closely, and why?

Right now, I'm most focused on Europe and Asia. Europe is the obvious one. For Pilmifresh, being based in Europe gives us a strategic advantage in terms of logistics and proximity. It allows us to offer faster service and closer communication. Buying activity in Europe has slowed, and customers have become more cautious because of market uncertainty, but I still think it is essential to maintain a strong presence there.

We're also strong in, and increasingly focused on, Asia. That's a market where you need to build medium-to-long-term relationships, but the potential is huge and the growth is strong, so it's important to be there.

Beyond regions, right now Pilmifresh is really focused on the organic segment. Demand for organic products keeps growing, and what's changing is that clients are asking for much greater traceability. You must be much better prepared to serve organic products. More broadly, the market is moving increasingly toward clean-label products.

What advice would you give to other companies that want to build long term success in this industry?

First, producing & sourcing the raw material itself is complicated, but moving a product from point A to point B looks simple from the outside. It really isn't. The whole process is complex: doing it right, making sure every detail has the proper documentation, and that everything follows the right procedures.

But the point I consider fundamental, from my own experience, is service. It sounds easy, but I think it's the main challenge, and when you get it right, you stand out from everyone else. To deliver great service, you need excellent communication with your suppliers and excellent communication with your clients, so that responses to raw material needs are fast. And you need a team that's built around that, always ready to respond to suppliers, to clients, to logistics companies, so everything flows and you build a strong reputation. That reputation, in the medium-to-long run, is what lets you grow, sustain the business, and stand apart from the rest.

If you had to describe Pilmifresh to someone who's never heard of it, what would you say?

I'd say Pilmifresh is a Valencia-based company specializing in fruit ingredients for the food and beverage industries, including concentrates, NFC juices, purées, essential oils, fruit cells and IQF frozen fruit. We have our own sourcing and R&D teams, and we work closely with strategic production partners. This allows us to maintain close oversight of raw-material sourcing, product development and production, according to Pilmifresh's standards.

Our main strength is developing tailor-made solutions according to each client's needs, whether that means adjusting the flavor profile, reducing sugar, optimizing cost or meeting specific technical requirements.

That's the first key point. The second, which I mentioned earlier, is service. which I believe truly sets us apart. Our clients & partners know that when they contact us, they will always receive a response and find a team willing to help. That's a real differentiator.

Pilmifresh has grown from a regional supplier into a company exporting to over 50 countries. What was the key turning point in that expansion?

I don't think there's one single turning point. I'd highlight two things instead. First, the strong relationships we've built over the years with both clients and suppliers, focus on open, transparent communication. That builds a lot of trust and ultimately lets us deliver a much better service. Second, Pilmifresh's internal culture. We focus on keeping people motivated. We're a team of ten, and given how many countries we're present in, everyone's role has a real impact. That's a big responsibility, and I feel our team carries it with a lot of motivation, which in turn is what lets us deliver good service on behalf of the company. Those are the two things I think have really driven our growth.

Across your portfolio, which category is currently seeing the strongest growth, and what's driving it?

The category showing the strongest growth for us is organic fruit ingredients. Demand is increasing because clients are placing much more importance on certification, full traceability and clean-label products.

Orange remains our historical strength and our largest category, thanks to our location in Valencia and our deep knowledge of the product, from concentrate and NFC juice to fruit cells and essential oils and tailor-made products for clients

We are also seeing strong growth in deionized fruit concentrates. Depending on the application, they can be used as a fruit-based sweetening ingredient without changing the taste or appearance of the final product. and in many cases helps in cost optimization.

What would you say is the biggest challenge facing fruit ingredient suppliers today?

The biggest challenge in the industry right now is uncertainty. It's not just that prices aren't staying stable, it's knowing when the right moment to buy is. On top of that, there are real availability issues with raw material. Right now, for example, it's happening with banana puree: for 20 years there was always supply available from different origins, and this is the first time in long time that we are seeing such limited availability.

For the last 20 years, supply has been consistently available from different origins, but this is the first time in a long time that we are seeing such limited availability

Logistics is another piece. Freight prices have been swinging wildly, and that affects how buyers position themselves, how much uncertainty they're carrying, and whether to buy long or short. I think that's the main challenge right now. To deal with it, you really have to understand the market deeply, maintain open and regular communication with different suppliers and clients, understand what they need, try to stay ahead of what's coming, and diversify your raw material sourcing so you're not dependent on a single origin and don't end up without product. It's a lot more complex than it used to be, and on top of that, there's global warming, which ultimately affects the fruit itself this create much more uncertainty across the market. The war in Ukraine and the conflict involving Iran are two clear examples of how international events can affect global trade. They can increase production and logistics costs, extend transit times, disrupt supply chains and create much more uncertainty across the market

What has been one of the biggest challenges Pilmifresh has experienced, and how did you overcome it?

I can point to two. The first, and it's something that's hard to fully appreciate at first, is the value of your team, your people. Building a stable and committed team has been one of our biggest challenges. we went through several changes before finding the right structure and the right balance. Over the last two years, we have achieved real stability, and that is visible across every department and throughout the business

The second big challenge was about three years ago. We were growing quickly, but we were too dependent on a small number of clients, which works fine short-term but is a serious risk over the medium and long term. We responded by changing our commercial perspective, investing more resources in business development and diversifying our client portfolio. Today, we're a much more diversified company in terms of our client base, which makes us healthier and means we're not dependent on any single client. Those were the two toughest challenges we've faced. There have been others, but those stand out.

We responded by changing our commercial mindset, investing more resources in business development and diversifying our client portfolio

What is the best piece of advice you've ever received in your professional journey?

It's actually a funny story. The advice came from someone who was a supplier of ours and later became a client. During a heated discussion we had, he told me, Carlos, you need to understand that nothing that happens in this business is personal, it's all professional. At the time it annoyed me, but over time I've really taken it to heart. This industry is volatile, relationships shift constantly, and so do circumstances. Everyone is ultimately looking after their own business interest. It's easy to take things personally, and it can even affect your health. Once you learn to separate a commercial disagreement from the personal relationship, you make better decisions and you also live much better. You can strongly disagree in business and still sit down for a beer afterwards. That was, for me, the best advice I ever received.