Eclipse Berry’s outstanding growth
Eclipse Berry’s outstanding growth
Strawberry consumption in the United States has been growing at 9-11 percent a year, and Eclipse Berry Farms LLC in Los Angeles has been outpacing that growth by a significant margin.
“Our company has been growing consistently ever year” at a rate of about 18 percent a year, said Stuart Gilfenbain, who handles sales for Eclipse.
The company is in the strawberry business year round, with production out of Oxnard and Salinas, CA, and Zamora, Mexico.
The Zamora program is a winter deal that was winding down when The Produce News talked to Mr. Gilfenbain March 11. “We will be in Zamora through the end of March,” he said.
“We have had a great Mexican deal” this winter, Mr. Gilfenbain said. “The Zamora program was a great program this year, with outstanding quality and good tonnage. We exceeded our expectations in volume out of Zamora.” That product crosses into the United States at McAllen, TX.
In Oxnard, Eclipse is up 20-25 percent in strawberry acreage this year, he said. The company grows seven different strawberry varieties in Oxnard: Benicia, Monterey, San Andreas, Ventana, Palomar, Radiance and Sabrina.
Oxnard will be a major factor for the Easter pull, but peak production for Oxnard will come the last three weeks of April, Mr. Gilfenbain said. Eclipse will be running out of two coolers in that district.
In Salinas, Eclipse has also increased acreage, with a jump of about 20 percent. Varieties are Albion and Monterey, with most of the increase being in Monterey. The company is also growing some experimental varieties in Salinas, he said.
