According to company President Fred Koornneef, Koornneef Produce continues to enjoy steady growth in 2014. He named spreading knowledge of the business and a new complete packing line as key factors driving that growth.

The company specializes in greenhouse vegetables and local tender fruit. The packing line packages mini-cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers under the Koornneef and private label brands. Koornneef Produce has also added some well-received new products this summer.

“The packaging program is going very well,” said Koornneef. “We’re also selling something new that we’re really excited about. It’s Boston and mixed lettuce — green leaf, red leaf and red oak — grown in rockwool, so it’s still living.”

Koornneef Produce will be the exclusive distributor of the product from Roelands Plant Farms, based in Lambton Shores, Ontario. The table top lettuce is rooted in natural and compostable rockwool and then packaged in a plastic sleeve, still in the growing medium.

The company has been selling the lettuce for over two months and has had a very good response. “We’re into the major retailers, the small independents and some food service companies,” said Koornneef.

He was enthusiastic about his company’s local tender fruit deal this year as well. Favourable weather with good moisture levels mean the size and yield of the crop will be excellent. Koornneef Produce sells peaches, pears, plums, grapes, strawberries, apricots and cherries.

“We’re also selling local blueberries, which is new for us this year,” said Koornneef. “Growers find us and they contact us through word of mouth from other growers. I only accept growers who pack up a premium product, and we pick and choose. This grower does a great job and has a premium product, so we bring it in.”

That emphasis on quality is a core value of Koornneef Produce. Koornneef said the company philosophy is simple: “Treat people the way you want to be treated. Treat them fairly and stick with a premium product. Keep your standards of quality high.”

The family-run company has an advantage in maintaining those standards. “Everyone has a vested interest in the success of the business,” said Koornneef.

His brother and partner, Adrian Koornneef, manages the Grimsby warehouse, and his son Marcus and nephews Bryan, Brad and Dylan all work for the company.

“The third generation is not just coming in; they’re taking over,” said Koornneef with a laugh.

Koornneef Produce started at the Ontario Food Terminal in 1970 on the Farmer’s Market section. In 2009, they purchased two stalls in the inside terminal.

The company services Ontario and the Atlantic provinces and is eying expansion into the U.S. market.