Bill Litvin, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Giorgio Fresh Co. in Temple, PA, said that with consumers doing their research prior to purchasing products at the grocery store today, the current industry trends have produced a positive effect on the specialty produce category.

“We have seen continued sales growth thanks in part to the trends that are consumer driven, such as organics and locally grown,” said Litvin. And that interest extends strongly to more unusual produce like exotic and wild mushrooms.”

Giorgio offers “D’Lightful” Portabella caps and Portabella sliced vitamin D enhanced mushrooms. These products are treated to artificial sunlight to enhance the vitamin D that is already naturally occurring in mushrooms. With this treatment, Giorgio’s vitamin D mushrooms provide 100 percent of the recommended daily allowance.

“Giorgio also offers a line of stuffed Portabella mushrooms,” noted Litvin. “This line includes our ‘Portabella Mushrooms Stuffed with Cheese and Imitation Bacon Bits,’ ‘Portabella Mushrooms Stuffed with Imitation Flavored Crab’ and ‘Portabella Mushrooms Stuffed with Parmesan Cheese, Artichokes and Spinach.’”

The company is a leading grower and shipper of fresh mushrooms. The Giorgio farms, located in the U.S. and in Mexico, grow and ship millions of pounds of mushrooms every week.

“We distribute from Maine to Florida, and west to Iowa, Minnesota and Missouri,” said Litvin. “We also have a joint venture in Mexico shipping into Texas.

“Giorgio is the home to the most recognizable brand names in the fresh mushroom category,” he continued. “Our brands include ‘Giorgio,’ ‘Pennsylvania Dutchman,’ ‘Modern,’ ‘Green Giant’ and many other supermarket brands for which we are a major packer.”

He also said that the specialty produce category continues to see positive effects, thanks in part to the trends of the day like organics, food safety and traceback initiatives and locally grown.

“Sustainability is also on the trend table today,” said Litvin. “Providing our customers with products that are always fresh and delicious requires a fully integrated operation.

“We maintain total control over our entire process, from our farms to our customer deliveries. We’re also on the forefront of Vendor-Managed Inventory to dramatically improve inventory turns, eliminate waste and reduce our carbon footprint in supplying our products to our customers,” he said.

Giorgio, he added, also strives to practice “green” protocols. One of the ways it is supporting environmental sustainability is with its RPET packaging.

RPET stands for recycled polyethylene terephthalate.

Science and environmental specialists report that using RPET as a packaging alternative is a huge step forward on the path toward a greener, safer and cleaner future, he went on to say.

Litvin said that despite the economic downturn, the mushroom category experienced high demand and sustained growth throughout the recessionary years, and that Giorgio Fresh expects demand for mushrooms to grower even stronger and faster as the United States enjoys economic recovery.

“According to the latest shipment report from the Mushroom Council, through the end of April of this year, there was a 5.2 percent increase in mushroom shipments in the United States in comparison to the same time period in 2012,” Litvin pointed out.

“Because of this, the Mushroom Council has predicted that if this progress continues, the mushroom category will have a record-breaking year for the greatest annual shipment increment in history,” he noted.