Loren Queen, marketing and communications manager for Domex Superfresh Growers in Yakima, WA, said that the company's volume of organic apples and pears continues to grow in response to marketplace demand. "Every apple we produce conventionally, we produce organically," he told The Produce News Jan. 14. According to Mr. Queen, Domex Superfresh Growers marketed 15 percent of Washington’s organic apple volume during the 2009-10 season and 28 percent of the state’s organic pears.

I Love Produce in Kelton, PA, continues to promote organic Peruvian ginger, according to Jim Provost, chief executive officer for the firm. "It's flavorful, fresh, beautiful and healthful, and the price point is amazing," he said. “This heirloom ginger is grown by the indigenous population in the Andes Mountains. The income from the organic certifications has provided a better lifestyle for these people. This ginger is available to ship nationally, and we offer it year round.”

Kern Ridge Growers LLC in Arvin, CA, which grows, packs and ships carrots year-round and also offers citrus, bell peppers and chili peppers seasonally, has been packing organic carrots for several years under the "All Natural" label. “We do organic baby peeled carrots and organic cello carrots,” said Chris Smotherman, a sales representative for the company. “We have been doing it for several years now, and I think we have our product tuned in pretty well. I think the product speaks for itself.

Wholesum Family Farms Inc. (formerly Cris-P Produce) in Nogales, AZ, recently adopted its new name and also rolled out the new "Wholesum Harvest" brand as part of a marketing effort to better communicate the “values and … core strengths” of a family business that now focuses exclusively on organic products,” according to Ricardo Crisantes, general manager. “On the marketing side, we have done a lot, but we still have a lot to do” to tell the company's story to customers and consumers, Mr. Crisantes told The Produce News Jan. 17.

DETROIT — Impressed by their zeal, Jeffrey J. Abrash, president of Andrews Bros. Inc., here, lauded the Detroit area's produce retailers and their aggressive and successful marketing efforts, which in turn buoy his business, which supplies them.

"We have a lot of really great retail customers that are marketing the heck out of produce, and we are very happy to be supplying them," Mr. Abrash said. “The Detroit [Produce] Terminal is a great source of supply for the retailers. We have a lot of aggressive retail customers, and they want to buy more so they can sell more.”

DETROIT — Ben B. Schwartz & Sons Inc. on the Detroit Produce Terminal, here, has just completed the best year in its long history and is looking to the future as the next generation of leadership at the company is finding its footing.

Nate Stone, chief operating officer of the 105-year-old company, said that 2010 "was a blockbuster. This company has been in business over 100 years; that was the best year in the history of the company."