Corporate commitment to sustainable agriculture and the highest food-safety standards are hallmarks at H. Brooks and Co., based in New Brighton, MN. The family-owned business has been in operation for more than a century.

President Phillip Brooks said the company sells more than 800 fresh, fresh-cut fruits and vegetables and specialty products.

Product is sourced domestically and internationally, and Mr. Brooks said its customers are located in Minnesota, neighboring states and the Lake Michigan region.

H. Brooks’ warehouse is certified as a sustainable operation by the Midwest Food Alliance and was the second company in the nation to be so designated.

“We have become a regional hub and packinghouse for a number of organic lines,” he told The Produce News on Nov. 12.

The company is also certified for kosher and rated over 98 percent on the Primus Labs GFSI standard. H. Brooks is also certified to sell product to the military.

Mr. Brooks said the company was one of the first in the United States to innovate with fresh-cut product, and a wide variety of fresh-cut bowls, trays and consumer packs are available to customers.

The fresh-cut sector is seeing good growth. “Sales of fresh-cut products are growing,” he stated. “Customers are attracted by our experience with fresh-cut — which goes back to the 1960s — and our reliable quality and food safety are attracting clients.”

H. Brooks was one of the first businesses in the United States to invest in state-of-the-art pressurized ripening rooms. “We are continuing ripening bananas, plantain, avocadoes, mangos and pears,” Mr. Brooks noted.

He is proud of their Carnival caramel apples, which were named the winner of several taste tests this fall. 

“The caramel recipe was developed by a master candy maker in 1958,” he said. “In addition to the great flavor, new packaging — with the original 1958 clown — brings smiles to consumers.”

In 2011, Dr. Baxter was the recipient of the International Leadership Institute’s International Immigrant Achievement Award. Mr. Brooks said Cut Fruit Express will be announcing some product line additions in the coming weeks.

In 2010, both the Minnesota Grocers Association and the Wisconsin Grocers Association recognized H. Brooks and Co. as the Vendor of the Year. And Mr. Brooks was invited to serve on the Minnesota Healthy Food Charter Steering Committee during 2012-13.

In 2010, the company joined forces with Brings Onions. “Brings Onions is a local packing hub for Midwest grown onions, conventional and organic, and features onions from the best shippers in North America and throughout the world,” Mr. Brooks commented.