Sun-Glo continues participation in Fresh Solutions Network
Sun-Glo continues participation in Fresh Solutions Network
It has been just about a year since Sun-Glo of Idaho Inc. in Sugar City, ID, joined the Fresh Solutions Network. As described previously in The Produce News, the network is “a partnership of multi-generational potato and onion companies committed to driving profitable category growth through innovative marketing, category management and operational solutions.”
The network comprises grower-packer-shippers “from the key strategic growing regions across the United States and Canada,” according to a statement in an October 2012 press release by Fresh Solutions Network president and CEO Sherrie Terry.
“We are continuing that relationship,” said Weston Crapo, a salesman at Sun-Glo, in an interview with The Produce News. “We look forward to opportunities this next marketing year to leverage our relationship with our network partners and take care of our current customers and new customers as well.”
According to the Sun-Glo website, the company has been solely owned by the Crapo family since 1999. “The Crapo family has been producing quality Idaho potatoes for four generations.”
About five or six years ago, Sun-Glo undertook “a major remodel” of its packing facility, “and we upgraded all of our equipment,” Crapo said. Those facility improvements have worked out really well, he added.
“Food safety, sustainability, traceability, and increasing efficiencies in conserving our resources [were] the driving force of our expansion,” according to the website.
When The Produce News talked to Crapo, the Norkotah harvest was under way and the Burbank harvest was still a couple of weeks off. “The Norkotah crop looks really good this year” with “a good, even size profile, not too big, not too small,” he said. “We have had a good growing season — good weather.”
The Burbanks were “still in the ground, of course. We are killing the vines right now,” he said. But he expects “a really nice crop on the Burbanks as well.” Growers have told him that they “have had some really nice test digs.”
The potatoes are typey —“blocky and not too rough” —and it appears to be “just a good even crop,” judging from what had been dug so far with a shovel.
The company’s acreage is quite similar to last year, but down “just a little bit,” he said. “I don’t think we are going to have the huge sizes that we did last year.” Rather, the crop appears to be following “more of a historical trend line.”
On sales at Sun-Glo, along with Crapo, is Jill Cox.
Sun-Glo, which packs in the “Sun Supreme” and “Martha’s Garden” labels, offers potatoes in an assortment of poly and mesh bags as well as cartons, according to the company website.
