Colorful, fresh, scrumptious and mouth-watering might best describe what is conjured up when looking at a platter loaded with fresh specialty vegetables from Babé Farms Specialties, a leading producer and shipper of high-quality specialty vegetables, headquartered in Santa Maria, CA. Every season it brings something bright and delicious to its customers across the country.

Ande Manos, marketing and business development director, told The Produce News that this season one of those special items is full-size beets.

“We will be showcasing our full spectrum of gourmet specialty vegetables at the PMA Foodservice Conference & Expo in July,” said Manos. “But while Babé Farms is well known for its wide variety of couture baby vegetables, we also grow and pack full-size beets. The summer is the peak of the season for beets, from baby to medium, large and jumbos, packed in 25-pound sacks.”

Every year Babé Farms increases its acreage on its bulk beets as the popularity of this versatile vegetable continues to grow. Manos said with the fresh earthy flavor, beets are perfect on every menu.

“They are great roasted, raw or juiced,” she pointed out. “Babé Farms offers all three beet categories — gold, red and stripe, or Chioggia, as they’re also known. Regardless of the category, beets marry well with sharp creamy cheeses, caramelized onions, citrus and avocados and even peppery greens like arugula.”

Beets, she added, also continue to be a popular component in fresh juice drinks, smoothies and soups.

Babé Farms offers baby-size beets year-round. The larger sizes are offered primarily in late spring through early fall. The company offers bunched packs of beets in 12-count and 24-count packs. Bulk beets without tops are available in 25-pound sacks.

Visitors to the PMA Foodservice event can find Babé Farms at Booth No.110. In addition to Manos, representing the company at the event will be Chris Cordero, vice president, and Rocio Munoz, sales representative.

With over 600 SKUs and growing, Babé Farms is one of the busiest specialty vegetable farming operations on the West Coast.

The company continually expands its line of couture vegetables.

“We now grow and harvest over 70 different varieties of specialty vegetables, lettuces and greens, in addition to organic kales, spring mix and spinach,” Manos pointed out. “We invite anyone interested in our very special line of high-quality products to contact our sales team for current pricing and availability, and to follow, like and share Babé Farms on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Pinterest.”

Babé Farms and Gold Coast Packing have developed a joint venture called Fresh Venture Foods.

The new company provides great synergies for both companies as well as its customer bases.