Louis Hymel, director of purchasing and marketing for the Orlando, FL-based Spice World, told The Produce News that the company will be exhibiting at booth number 129 at the Produce Marketing Association Foodservice Conference & Expo in Monterey, CA, on July 26-28.

“Mitch DiMarco, our vice president of foodservice, will join me at the expo,” said Hymel. “We’ll have all of our popular products on hand, including our line of fresh and processed garlic and our extensive line of spices and herbs.”

Spice World is a leading grower, packer, processor and shipper of a wide range of spices, and a major producer, shipper and marketer of high quality fresh, chopped, minced, roasted and whole peeled garlic products.

Hymel also broached an issue that could have a major impact on the garlic industry in the coming year.

The Spice World family of Squeeze Garlic products will be on display at the PMA Foodservice Expo.“China is reporting that its crop is up by 30 percent this year,” said Hymel. “The crop in that country was low for the last two to three years, which caused some price increases on what was available in the world. Because China has such huge garlic production, it affects the global market. They will be shipping to many countries, which creates a slowdown on the demand for California garlic.”

He noted that California’s harvest is under way and had an earlier than normal start, but that it’s still too early to tell what its total yield will be.

“How China can impact the domestic garlic market is an interesting industry cycle,” Hymel added.

A couple of years ago Spice World launched its revolutionary “Squeeze Garlic,” which became an instant success. It later introduced the item in an organic option.

“People are not only using this as a condiment, but also as an ingredient today,” said Hymel. “There are a lot of new garlic users because of this product. Today people put their mustard and ketchup in their picnic baskets, along with a bottle of ‘Squeeze Garlic.’ “

Approximately 10 percent of Spice World’s business is with the foodservice industry. It services the full range of restaurant types and levels, from high-end white-tablecloth restaurants to quick-serve restaurants. Another 10 percent of its business is in the industrial side, which uses its products in food preparation. The remainder is in the retail sector.

The company ships its products throughout North America, and it does some exports to South America and other regions.

Founded in 1949, Spice World continues to prove that integrity and innovation harvest incredible quality. From the fertile soil of its farm in the San Joaquin Valley in California, to its coast-to-coast distribution and leading-edge processing plants, Spice World consistently delivers the freshest, most flavorful supply of garlic nationwide.

The company follows the strictest guidelines and uses only garlic that meets its highest standards. Hymel said that the family-owned company’s product is a leading jarred garlic in American supermarkets today, and the firm provides outstanding service to its customers in all 50 states.

In the past year it built an additional 40,000-square-foot, state of the art, long-term cold-storage facility in California that is helping it to accommodate its continual growth. The company continually adds new, more efficient packaging equipment and it consistently increases its facility efficiencies. It always has new products on its research and development table.

“We’re currently exploring new ways of packaging peeled garlic,” said Hymel. “When we get near the launch point we’ll let the news out.”