Southern Specialties has made it a business of standing out in a crowded marketplace by offering something different and, at the same time, staying true to its very name.

The Pompano Beach, FL-based company, which services retailers, club stores, wholesale companies and foodservice distributors, focuses on the specialty arena, giving its customers a broad range of products that satisfies an increasingly-diverse consumer base.

Bill Nardelli Sr. wants to be very clear—his 126-year-old company is doing all it can to be as efficient as possible as it continues to produce healthy fruit and vegetables for its customer base during these high inflationary times.

How unique was the winter weather in Florida this year?

For the officials at Scotlynn Sweet-Pac Growers, it was so bizarre that some of them wondered if the state was going to lose the rights to ‘The Sunshine State’, the state’s well-known and often-used motto.

“The Sunshine State.”

Florida’s famous state motto appears everywhere. It is on the state’s license plates, much of the promotional materials issued by state and local governments and even used by many in the state’s ubiquitous tourism industry.

But, what happens when the sun does not shine very often in Florida for an extended period of time?

Smith’s Farm made its name growing broccoli and potatoes in Maine, but Florida has played an important role for the company in building the strategy that continues to fuel its growth today.

Working in Florida historically has been an important component of the produce sector in the United States. In addition to being a major growing area, supplying items like peppers, squash, eggplant, tomatoes and berries, the Sunshine state is the perfect gateway into the U.S. for products grown in South America and Central America.

Florida’s agriculture sector has more than a $132 billion economic impact across the state, while providing more than 2.2 million jobs and local sources of food.