Helen Peacocke meets an exuberant student whose work search truly bore fruit

There’s no desk in Rebecca Jardine’s office, no windows and no walls either, but the joy she experiences on entering every morning is second to none when ripe oranges fall around her feet as she walks and a gentle breeze ripples through the trees.

Rebecca, an Oxfordshire girl who went to Bloxham School, has lived in Clifton her entire life. But her Business Management and Spanish degree at the University of Nottingham — she’s in her third year — requires her to spend a year working abroad.

Just 21, this exuberant young woman is now the UK Orange Ambassador for the Naranjas del Carmen orange farm near Valencia, a business which has been run by the Urculo family for three generations.

Though a small company, it has already taken traditional trading away from supermarkets, roadside stalls and grocery stores. The family’s promise is that the box of fruit delivered has been picked no more than four days previously.

Rebecca admits her grand title carries no weight with British Airways when she tries to get an upgrade, but giggles at the idea she’s entered the diplomatic corps so young.

In reality, her job is to raise the profile of the family’s business in the UK.

While her friends at home are bogged down with final-year exams or working in monotonous jobs, Rebecca spends her days wandering through the orange groves, something she never imagined.

Rebecca stumbled across the company while seeking work experience. The Urculos were looking for an English speaker to be their UK Orange Ambassador — to help with the UK market and take charge of PR, client relations, marketing and social media.

After two interviews over Skype, Rebecca was offered the job and started this year.

She says the job is perfect: “I write product proposals to businesses, write the UK blog and am in charge of researching and sourcing new customers.”

Rebecca has so much responsibility she’s really appreciated as key member of the team. As she loves oranges she sees it as a win-win situation.

“What the company do is truly amazing,” she said. “They are Web 2.0 farmers who are transforming the way people buy fresh produce.

“They are so transparent, traceable and honest that our customers love the fact they can put a face to the farmer who cultivates, collects and delivers their produce.

“The three Urcolo brothers, Gonzalo, Gaby, Fer, along with Patricia, who are my bosses are a pleasure to work with, always laughing and making the working atmosphere fun. “And what’s more, because they take so much pride in what they do, they produce something of such amazing quality that we have customers returning time and time again.” The siblings inherited the farm from their grandfather in 2010 as a poorly- maintained plantation in real need of investment.

Sale prices of oranges remained the same as the prices charged by their grandfather in the eighties, but production costs continued to increase. Right from the beginning it was clear that if the brothers wanted to keep the farm and make it profitable, they would have to create a brand with clear objectives: to stand out from the market, they needed quality over quantity. They had to pick fruit and send it to customers the same day, taking the traditional trade away from supermarkets and grocery stores and onto the internet. Now, through naranjasdelcarmen.com, they sell products in 16 European countries. Their philosophy is to offer seasonal produce and ship directly to consumers without no third party involved.

Rebecca said the estate was situated just 20km from Valencia. “It is from here that we grow, collect and send oranges around Europe.

“Our location enables us to grow our oranges in an ideal microclimate — sun and heat during the day followed by cooling temperatures at night. These temperature variations are what gives the fruit its sweet, zesty flavour.”

Customers are informed of the whole process, from the planting of new trees, or the weather to which they are exposed, to the process of ripening, collection and delivery. Due to the siblings’ honest and transparent approach, Rebecca says, they have achieved levels of loyalty which are otherwise difficult to obtain in the traditional marketplace.

They do not use post-harvest treatment and they employ organic techniques, all of which means that their oranges have more juice and flavour.

To young people in the UK who are looking for an internship, Rebecca recommends openmindedness, adventurousness and the willingness to take a risk. “Your year abroad is about learning, developing, maturing and most importantly having fun. This is certainly what I’m doing and loving every moment.”

For information, or to order oranges, contact rebecca@naranjasdelcarmen.com