Hapco Farms is looking forward to the start of its domestic watermelon deal, with product from south Florida expected to begin shipping late April.

Raquel Mello, who is in watermelon sales for the Riverhead, NY-based company, said that Florida melons have gotten off to a slow start this year due to colder-than-normal temperatures. Hapco is currently shipping Mexican and offshore melons.

“Our domestic melon program will run from late April through Labor Day, and we anticipate a good crop this year that is plentiful for all major holidays,” she said.

Hapco offers private-label graphic bins that can hold 700 pounds of fruit, making it a turnkey buy for retailers.Production out of central and northern Florida is expected to pick up in May, resulting in a good amount of fruit on the market, she said. The company distributes fruit throughout the East Coast, especially in the Northeast.

Mello said Hapco stands out as a watermelon shipper because it ships from 800 acres of watermelons and maintains strong grower relationships, enabling it to deliver fruit for the full summer season — Memorial Day to Labor Day — without anticipated gaps or shortages.

“And we not only supply the watermelon, but we also work with retailers on packaging,” she said. “We offer private-label graphic bins that can hold 700 pounds of watermelon, making it a turnkey buy for retailers.”

Mello said that retailers can also use one of Hapco’s specialists to run the watermelon program for the season, including handling inventory management, logistic tracking, category performance evaluations, purchase orders, and short and spot buys.

“Hapco has been shipping watermelons for over 25 years, so we have a great deal of expertise we can offer to our customers,” she said.

On the food-safety front, Hapco has a dedicated quality-assurance team to support the category manager in an effort to ship the finest product available.

Mello said that all Hapco growers adhere to state and federal growing regulations prior to harvest, as well as safe handling in the post-harvest process.

Additionally, Hapco maintains a team of field inspectors at each shipping point during the buying cycle to ensure that quality standards are maintained throughout. Traceability of shipments is monitored daily through internal systems and lot identification, and all product is inspected on inbound and outbound shipments at Hapco facilities.