Over the years, more and more strawberry shippers have diversified their operations by offering berries year round or at least from several different districts. However, that is not the case for Watsonville, CA-based Sweet Darling Sales Inc., which offers its berries under that same brand name.

“That’s up for debate,” said Matt Biscotti, director of sales for the firm. “Some companies think it’s important to be year round but not my owner. He says he does it best here and this is where he wants to concentrate his efforts.”

John Larse has been producing berries successfully in the Watsonville area for more than three decades under the Larse Farms moniker. Sweet Darling strawberry production sites are located about five miles west of the town of Watsonville. The hillside locations overlook the Pacific Ocean on the coastal bluffs.

“Our close proximity to the cold ocean temperature gradient affords fruit ripening at cooler-than-normal temperatures,” the company’s web site states.

This cool ripening temperature, it says, “extends the shelf life of our strawberry by two or more days.” The hillside location and the west facing slope also gives the fruit an additional hour of sunlight over the vast majority of berries grown in the nearby valleys, which the Sweet Darling folks believe produces a superior berry.

Mr. Biscotti said that Mr. Larse continually is experimenting with his crop and is close to producing his own proprietary variety, which could further separate the Sweet Darling berry from the pack. “We are trialing some new varieties from our own breeding program,” Mr. Biscotti said. “The goal is to differentiate ourselves, that’s the name of the game. We’re close [to releasing a new variety] but we have nothing to release right now.”

For this current season, the drier-than-normal weather has allowed Sweet Darling to ship a few pallets of berries in March, but good volume will not start until around April 1. From then, the firm will ship its berries into November, all from the same ocean-adjacent fields.

The one-pound clamshell is the company’s most prodigious shipping package, but Mr. Biscotti said they pack anything that the customer orders. “The one-pound clamshell is the industry standard but we also pack, two-, three- and four- [pound clamshells], as well as some stem berries and even some of the old-school pint box.”

That pint package, which is typically made of plastic, was the standard up until about 25 years ago, but has been in decline ever since. “We still have some wholesalers and a few small chain stores that like it. It is just the way they merchandise,” he added.

Mr. Biscotti said the cooperating weather has produced a very good-quality berry this year as well.