Organics Unlimited, headquartered in San Diego, CA, has grown organic produce since it was founded in 2000. It is particularly well known today as a grower and packer of organic bananas and other tropical fruits. But the family of Mayra Velazquez de Leon, co-founder, president and chief executive officer, has been growing bananas for four generations.

“Organics Unlimited’s primary focus is on high-quality organic bananas,” said Velazquez de Leon. “In addition to the traditional Cavendish banana variety, we also grow red bananas and plantains, all on a year-round basis. And we grow organic coconuts.”

The company produces on extensive acreage in the state of Colima, Mexico, on farms that are owned and operated by Organics Unlimited.

The company also manages other farms and their banana production in both Colima and Michoacán. And it works closely with growers in Ecuador to provide its customers with high-quality organic bananas.

“Distributors are our primary customer focus because they own ripening facilities in which to store our product until they’re ready for distribution to their customers,” explained Velazquez de Leon. “Ultimately they provide our organic bananas to a variety of independent retailers, as well as both small and large chain retailers. We do sell directly to retailers if they have their own ripening facilities and can properly store and ripen our fruit prior to selling to their customers.”

The company’s target distribution range is the United States and Canada and it exports to Japan. In the United States, “Organics Unlimited” and “GROW” branded organic bananas are distributed predominantly throughout the western states. The company, however, has plans on expanding into the rest of the country.

“Our mission is to provide the best quality organic bananas and tropical fruits in a socially responsible way,” explained Velazquez de Leon. “That includes ensuring that we operate in a sustainable manner in order to preserve the ecosystems surrounding our farms. We have implemented two things on our farms to keep our operations sustainable; expanded farm composting programs and changed the irrigation systems to wells, which gets away from some of the health and plant issues that can occur from using standing water.”

She added that the company’s logistics chain and carbon footprint is always considered when it expands operations.

“In Organics Unlimited farm areas in Mexico, an effort to expand to land not previously cultivated helps us to be less disruptive of the environment,” she pointed out. “In other words, we create sustainable farms from the ground up instead of converting conventional farms.”

Organics Unlimited is continually expanding production and taking new orders.

“The last farm expansion was the acquisition of 370 acres in 2014,” said Velazquez de Leon. “We are always exploring other regions for sourcing our product, most recently Peru and the Dominican Republic. Our first priority when looking at new growing areas is maintaining consistent product quality.”