At three months into SunSelect’s first production in Tehachapi, CA, the grower said in a press release that results are exceeding expectations.

SunSelect Produce, a leading British Columbia greenhouse pepper producer known for innovation and sustainability, opened the doors to its 32-acre California greenhouse last October. Expanding with this state-of-the-art U.S. facility evolves SunSelect’s product mix to include cocktail tomatoes and tomatoes-on-the-vine as well as sweet bell peppers during the winter months.

“A great deal of research was done before we settled on Tehachapi as the location for our new facility,” Victor Krahn, SunSelect co-owner, said in the press release. “We anticipated that the low humidity, cool nights and high light levels would translate into favorable greenhouse growing conditions. Even so, our results thus far are even better than predicted.”

SunSelect Produce opened the doors to its 32-acre California greenhouse last October.Krahn said the climate has given SunSelect’s lead grower, Mike Brown, “all the tools to make the tomato production work like a finely tuned machine, with good, consistent yields of truly beautiful tomatoes.”

The conditions have also been optimal for growing peppers. SunSelect is the only large-scale U.S. winter greenhouse pepper producer, according to the release.

“The peppers gain size very quickly in this climate,” he said, noting that four acres are currently dedicated to red pepper production. “This vibrant pepper growth bodes well for the next phase of our expansion, which will entail 24 additional acres of peppers.”

Construction on this second phase is under way, with production of peppers and 8 acres of tomatoes-on-the-vine to begin this fall.

Aaron Quon, The Oppenheimer Group’s executive category director, greenhouse, said in the release, “SunSelect is off to an impressive start in Tehachapi.” Oppy is SunSelect’s marketing partner and an investor in the California greenhouse. “Customers are very receptive to the quality of the product. It delivers everything our retail partners have come to expect from the ‘SunSelect; brand, great appearance, vibrant color and excellent flavor.”

Quon noted that SunSelect’s revamped packaging, that clearly conveys the product’s California origin, has enhanced its appeal with local retailers and consumers.

As well, SunSelect tomatoes-on-the-vine have joined the “Sesame Street” eat brighter! movement under the Oppy umbrella by using truss tags featuring Cookie Monster and Elmo.

“It’s great to be part of this important movement,” said Krahn, who has four children, two of whom are of the “Sesame Street” age demographic. “If the label on our tomatoes can make a change for the better and encourage young families to eat more fresh produce, that’s something we can all feel good about.”