Doug Kling is senior vice president and chief marketing officer for Village Farms LP, with U.S. headquarters in Heathrow, FL. The company is a major high-tech greenhouse grower with numerous growing locations in North America.

“We can offer our retail partners a fully integrated custom value proposition using a sustainable marketing platform for our greenhouse-grown varieties through exclusive offerings and customized programs,” said Kling.

Jan Korteland, regional manager for Village Farms West Texas facilities.Village Farms trademarked variety tomatoes currently grown include “Heavenly Villagio Marzano,” “Sinfully Sweet™ Campari,” “Delectable TOV,” “Savory Roma,” “Juicy Beefsteak,” “Lip Smackin’ Grape,” “Rebellion Medley” and “Exquisite Heirloom.”

In its cucumber line, Village Farms markets under the “Luscious Seedless Long English” trade name. Bell peppers carry the “Sweet Bells” label.

Village Farms owns and operates greenhouses in Texas, and Delta, BC. It grows under glass on 260 acres and it produces year-round. Its customers cover the entire gambit of users — from retailers to processors — and its products are distributed throughout the U.S. and Canada.

Debi Street, product innovations director for Village Farms, said the company has launched a new variety. “It is part of our ‘Olde World Flavor Collection,’ and is a medley pack called Rebellion. A revolution in Flavor,” said Street. “‘Rebellion is a unique pack that contains a mix of four to six different flavorful plump varieties. Each has a distinct shape and flavor, and are in brilliant colors ranging from red, orange, yellow, green and brown — a rainbow of distinction. No two packs will be the same, but each is deliciously sweet and intense with flavor.”

Michael A. DeGiglio, president and chief operating officer for the company, said, “These are exciting times at Village Farms. We are nearing completion of our 20-acre greenhouse in Marfa, Texas, that was destroyed during a hail storm in June 2012. We are happy to get back to full production in this facility to further provide great-tasting locally grown products to our customers.”

Village Farms recently launched a new Texas Grown initiative that helps retailers and consumers recognize that a majority of the tomatoes and cucumber varieties the company grows in the state are shipping to grocers locally and purchased within the state. According to Jan Korteland, regional manager for Village Farms West Texas facilities, the company is the largest grower of greenhouse tomatoes in the state.

“It makes sense for us to service the majority of our customers with locally grown product,” said Korteland. “The [Village Farms] Texas Grown seal was developed to be prominently displayed on packaging so consumers can easily identify tomatoes and cucumbers grown in Texas. Thanks to this initiative Village Farms reduces its carbon footprint by keeping a majority of its products local and reducing the need to transport what it grows long distances.”

According to Helen L. Aquino, marketing manager for Village Farms, sustainability initiatives are first nature to the firm. In Canada this is most apparent where the company has been using landfill gas as an additional heat source during the peak months of winter for its greenhouses as an alternative to natural gas consumption.

“The sustainable growing methods we employ are unprecedented,” said Aquino. “We grow 20 to 30 times more per acre compared to growing outdoors. A 50-acre greenhouse can produce the same amount as a 1,500-acre farm. We use 70 percent less land to grow the same amount of tomatoes grown outdoors.”

Village Farms also recycles carbon dioxide, which is a by-product of the very efficient heat boilers used to keep the plants warm. The CO2 is pumped back into the greenhouse where it is converted by the plants into oxygen.

“This helps Village Farms achieve a significant reduction in our carbon emissions,” Aquino added.

The benefits of co-generation are numerous. The company achieves this process with a plant located on site that is owned and operated by Maxim Power.

Village Farms Development Director Jonathan Bos said that co-generation is a feel-good success story.

“It takes landfill methane gas that would have been burned at the landfill and instead turns it into a viable heat source that is safe for people and plants,” said Bos. “This is an ideal example of Village Farms’ tagline ‘Good for the Earth,’ while also being good for business.”

DeGiglio added that Village Farms’ commitment to the research and development of reducing the company’s environmental footprint while furthering sustainable economic vitality for the business as a whole is uncompromising.

“When it comes to sustainability we see this as essentially being in competition with ourselves; competition for better yielding varieties; competition for methods and technologies that reduce costs; and competition for growing products so full of flavor consumers will be compelled to increase their consumption of fruits and vegetables,” said DeGiglio. “This is not an easy task, especially for a company as vertically integrated as we are. But it’s a task we strive to meet every day as one of the largest greenhouse growers, marketers and distributors of fresh fruits and vegetables in North America.”