Gourmet Veg-Paq ramps up operations
Gourmet Veg-Paq ramps up operations
Increased consumer demand for organic products has prompted Gilroy, CA-based Gourmet Veg-Paq Inc. to ramp up operations accordingly.
The company is doubling its square footage in El Centro, CA, with the expected November completion of a 40,000-square-foot facility. The company is also building a new facility in Hollister, CA, near Gilroy. The company plans to move into the Hollister location when it returns from El Centro.
"The production rooms, holding rooms and loading docks are done," said Oscar Contreras, sales manager for Gourmet Veg-Paq. Upon completion, the Hollister facility will be 35,000 square feet, he said.
Gourmet Veg-Paq's harvest in El Centro, where the firm has 500 acres, runs from November to April. The company also has 500 acres in the Hollister-Gilroy area.
Gourmet Veg-Paq grows 100 percent organic items. Spring mix is its biggest seller, but the company also grows such items as spinach, baby lettuce, heirloom tomatoes and arugula. The company sells a little to retailers, but the majority of its sales go to wholesalers in the United States and Canada, Mr. Contreras said. Wholesalers in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay area combine to represent half its sales. The company packs under its own Gourmet Veg-Paq label but would like to do private-label packing for retailers, Mr. Contreras said.
The 12-year-old operation has experienced considerable growth in sales in the past three years, Mr. Contreras said, and the company is expanding its operations to meet demand. We have to plant more acres to meet demand, Mr. Contreras said.
The company has several new packaging options, including packing with clamshells used for spring mix and baby spinach. The clamshell options are one pound and five ounces. The company also recently launched cello spinach, which is prewashed and in pillow packs, with four pillow packs of two-and-a-half pounds each.
The company is doubling its square footage in El Centro, CA, with the expected November completion of a 40,000-square-foot facility. The company is also building a new facility in Hollister, CA, near Gilroy. The company plans to move into the Hollister location when it returns from El Centro.
"The production rooms, holding rooms and loading docks are done," said Oscar Contreras, sales manager for Gourmet Veg-Paq. Upon completion, the Hollister facility will be 35,000 square feet, he said.
Gourmet Veg-Paq's harvest in El Centro, where the firm has 500 acres, runs from November to April. The company also has 500 acres in the Hollister-Gilroy area.
Gourmet Veg-Paq grows 100 percent organic items. Spring mix is its biggest seller, but the company also grows such items as spinach, baby lettuce, heirloom tomatoes and arugula. The company sells a little to retailers, but the majority of its sales go to wholesalers in the United States and Canada, Mr. Contreras said. Wholesalers in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay area combine to represent half its sales. The company packs under its own Gourmet Veg-Paq label but would like to do private-label packing for retailers, Mr. Contreras said.
The 12-year-old operation has experienced considerable growth in sales in the past three years, Mr. Contreras said, and the company is expanding its operations to meet demand. We have to plant more acres to meet demand, Mr. Contreras said.
The company has several new packaging options, including packing with clamshells used for spring mix and baby spinach. The clamshell options are one pound and five ounces. The company also recently launched cello spinach, which is prewashed and in pillow packs, with four pillow packs of two-and-a-half pounds each.
