Colorful Harvest lands exclusive 'Green Giant Fresh' melon deal
Colorful Harvest lands exclusive 'Green Giant Fresh' melon deal
SALINAS, CA -- Colorful Harvest, based here, is now the exclusive grower- shipper for "Green Giant Fresh" melons nationwide.
The deal -- which had been in the works for about a year -- was completed Thursday morning, May 3. Colorful Harvest began shipping cantaloupe and honeydew out of Tampa, FL, and Brawley, CA, on May 7, Colorful Harvest Chief Executive Officer and General Manager Doug Ranno told The Produce News.
Other California shipping points are Mendota and Firebaugh, and melons also will ship from Yuma, AZ, and Maricopa, AZ.
Already there are "pre-commitments of truckload-quantity orders," Mr. Ranno said, adding that Colorful Harvest will "hit the ground running" with its entry into the melon business. Over the past year, the company has been trialing Athena melons and proprietary seed variety melons in Florida and Merced, CA, he said.
Farther down the road, the deal calls for Colorful Harvest to be the exclusive grower-shipper of "Green Giant Fresh" brand specialty melons and watermelons as well, Mr. Ranno said.
"This [deal] has the capacity to be as big as we are now times two," Mr. Ranno said. "We expect it to be a multi-million-package deal over one to three years." Colorful Harvest became a "multi-million-package shipper in less than two years" with "Green Giant Fresh" strawberries, he said.
The deal adds to Colorful Harvest's presence as the exclusive national grower-shipper of "Green Giant Fresh" strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries.
"We intend to keep the food-safety standard program and strong brand integrity in place" in representing the "Green Giant Fresh" label, Mr. Ranno said.
Colorful Harvest recently hired John Chubbuck to oversee its melon program. Mr. Chubbuck most recently was melon category sales manager for Chiquita Brands International Inc.
"We are excited to have someone with John's professionalism and expertise," Mr. Ranno said.
The deal -- which had been in the works for about a year -- was completed Thursday morning, May 3. Colorful Harvest began shipping cantaloupe and honeydew out of Tampa, FL, and Brawley, CA, on May 7, Colorful Harvest Chief Executive Officer and General Manager Doug Ranno told The Produce News.
Other California shipping points are Mendota and Firebaugh, and melons also will ship from Yuma, AZ, and Maricopa, AZ.
Already there are "pre-commitments of truckload-quantity orders," Mr. Ranno said, adding that Colorful Harvest will "hit the ground running" with its entry into the melon business. Over the past year, the company has been trialing Athena melons and proprietary seed variety melons in Florida and Merced, CA, he said.
Farther down the road, the deal calls for Colorful Harvest to be the exclusive grower-shipper of "Green Giant Fresh" brand specialty melons and watermelons as well, Mr. Ranno said.
"This [deal] has the capacity to be as big as we are now times two," Mr. Ranno said. "We expect it to be a multi-million-package deal over one to three years." Colorful Harvest became a "multi-million-package shipper in less than two years" with "Green Giant Fresh" strawberries, he said.
The deal adds to Colorful Harvest's presence as the exclusive national grower-shipper of "Green Giant Fresh" strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries.
"We intend to keep the food-safety standard program and strong brand integrity in place" in representing the "Green Giant Fresh" label, Mr. Ranno said.
Colorful Harvest recently hired John Chubbuck to oversee its melon program. Mr. Chubbuck most recently was melon category sales manager for Chiquita Brands International Inc.
"We are excited to have someone with John's professionalism and expertise," Mr. Ranno said.
