International Fruit Genetics (IFG)

International Fruit Genetics, LLC (IFG) is a private American fruit-breeding and licensing company specializing in the development, patent protection, and commercial licensing of new table grape and sweet cherry cultivars. The company's historical headquarters were located in Bakersfield (California, USA), while its primary breeding and research campus spanning 160 acres (Fruitworks — The IFG Discovery Center, commissioned in 2022) is situated in McFarland (California).

History and Key Researchers

International Fruit Genetics was founded in 2001 (with actual breeding program initiation starting in 2000) in Bakersfield by a group of U.S. viticulture industry specialists: plant breeder Dr. David Cain, grape grower and Grapery founder Jack Pandol, and Sunridge Nurseries owners Glen, Terrie, and Craig Stoller.

The key scientific figure who shaped IFG's breeding strategy was Dr. David Cain, a former researcher with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in Fresno and former director of the Sun World breeding program. IFG's work relied on classical generative hybridization without genetic engineering (non-GMO), drawing extensively on genetic diversity from the USDA National Clonal Germplasm Repository in Davis (California), including interspecific hybrids and muscadine (Vitis rotundifolia). Following David Cain's retirement in 2020, leadership of the company's breeding operations passed to Dr. Chris Owens.

Over the course of the program, more than 45 table grape varieties were developed and patented, licensed for cultivation in 18 countries, and marketed across more than 30 nations. In August 2023, a consortium led by the Spanish group AMFRESH, alongside investment funds EQT Future and Paine Schwartz Partners, completed the acquisition of IFG and merged it with the Spanish breeding holding Special New Fruit Licensing (SNFL) into a single entity, BLOOM FRESH International.

Main Breeding Directions

• Breeding for non-traditional flavor and aroma profiles: Development of seedless cultivars featuring pronounced caramel, vanilla, berry (strawberry), and complex muscat notes (the Novelty series).
• Improvement of marketable and technological traits (the Core series): Breeding large-berried seedless varieties with firm, crisp flesh, high productivity, resistance to berry cracking, and extended shelf life during transport and cold storage.
• Distinctive berry morphology: Fixation of elongated, finger-shaped, and tubular berry shapes with an indented tip in the genotype.

Most Notable Releases by IFG

• IFG Seven (Cotton Candy™): An early-to-mid-season white seedless cultivar with a characteristic caramel-vanilla cotton candy aroma (patented in 2010, developed in collaboration with the University of Arkansas).
• IFG Six (Sweet Sapphire™): A black seedless variety with long tubular berries and a distinctive dimple at the blossom end.
• IFG Ten (Sweet Globe™): A large-berried mid-season white seedless cultivar with crisp flesh and a neutral sweet flavor, which has become one of the most widely planted commercial varieties globally.
• IFG 68-175 / IFG Three (Sweet Celebration™): A large-berried red seedless cultivar with firm, crisp flesh.
• IFG Nine (Jack's Salute™): A red seedless variety with large oval berries.
• IFG Eleven (Sugar Crisp™): A white seedless cultivar featuring a firm, crisp pulp texture.
• IFG Nineteen (Candy Hearts™) and IFG Twenty-one (Candy Snaps™): Red seedless cultivars with a pronounced fruity-berry aromatic profile.
• IFG Twelve (Funny Fingers™): A black seedless variety with elongated, curved berries.