Cal Giant expands blueberry partnership in Florida
Cal Giant expands blueberry partnership in Florida
WATSONVILLE, CA -- California Giant Berry Farms, here, expects to triple its volume from last year in blueberries from Florida to more than 1 million pounds during the seven-week blueberry harvest there this year.
The jump in volume comes as a result of a long-term blueberry venture that Cal Giant has entered into by partnering with Bartow, FL-based land management company Clear Springs. Expansion in blueberry acreage is planned for future years in the district.
The two companies will begin shipping fresh blueberries from Florida in late March. Industrywide blueberry volume out of Florida this year is projected to surpass 7 million pounds during a seven-week period.
Last spring Clear Springs completed construction on its packing facility, and this year marks the first season of the blueberry partnership with Cal Giant. Blueberries will be distributed from the new 100,000-square-foot, state-of- the-art packing facility.
"Last year we dipped our toe in [Florida blueberries]," Cindy Jewell, director of marketing for California Giant Berry Farms, told The Produce News. "This year we're completely there."
Terry Atchley, executive vice president of Clear Springs, said, "Cal Giant's long history of success in berry shipping and marketing, along with [its] expertise in retail sales, will ensure the best service and returns to Clear Springs' growers."
Cal Giant also grows blueberries in New Jersey and California's San Joaquin Valley as well as Santa Maria, CA.
Cal Giant has spent the past three months on the road meeting with its customers and working with them on packaging sizes.
"It used to be that blueberries were an East Coast fruit, but they're growing in consumption across the United States," said Ms. Jewell.
Anthony Gallino, Cal Giant's vice president of sales, said that Cal Giant is "excited about our expansion in growing and supplying blueberries on a year- round basis" and that the company is "extremely pleased with the quality and volume we are able to provide our customers."
Cal Giant has tapped into the talents of Julia Myall, who has worked as a chef in many premier San Francisco restaurants and as a cooking teacher at the U.S. Embassy in Paris. She has developed several new exclusive recipes for Cal Giant utilizing strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries both individually and as medleys.
All of the new recipes are simple to prepare, healthy and versatile, with many of them easy for consumers to modify by substituting one berry type for another or combining favorite berry varieties for a unique twist.
An example of Ms. Myall's talent in the kitchen is a simple fresh blueberry sauce that serves as a topping for breakfast waffles, pancakes or ice cream. That recipe has just been released by Cal Giant in time for the spring blueberry season.
The jump in volume comes as a result of a long-term blueberry venture that Cal Giant has entered into by partnering with Bartow, FL-based land management company Clear Springs. Expansion in blueberry acreage is planned for future years in the district.
The two companies will begin shipping fresh blueberries from Florida in late March. Industrywide blueberry volume out of Florida this year is projected to surpass 7 million pounds during a seven-week period.
Last spring Clear Springs completed construction on its packing facility, and this year marks the first season of the blueberry partnership with Cal Giant. Blueberries will be distributed from the new 100,000-square-foot, state-of- the-art packing facility.
"Last year we dipped our toe in [Florida blueberries]," Cindy Jewell, director of marketing for California Giant Berry Farms, told The Produce News. "This year we're completely there."
Terry Atchley, executive vice president of Clear Springs, said, "Cal Giant's long history of success in berry shipping and marketing, along with [its] expertise in retail sales, will ensure the best service and returns to Clear Springs' growers."
Cal Giant also grows blueberries in New Jersey and California's San Joaquin Valley as well as Santa Maria, CA.
Cal Giant has spent the past three months on the road meeting with its customers and working with them on packaging sizes.
"It used to be that blueberries were an East Coast fruit, but they're growing in consumption across the United States," said Ms. Jewell.
Anthony Gallino, Cal Giant's vice president of sales, said that Cal Giant is "excited about our expansion in growing and supplying blueberries on a year- round basis" and that the company is "extremely pleased with the quality and volume we are able to provide our customers."
Cal Giant has tapped into the talents of Julia Myall, who has worked as a chef in many premier San Francisco restaurants and as a cooking teacher at the U.S. Embassy in Paris. She has developed several new exclusive recipes for Cal Giant utilizing strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries both individually and as medleys.
All of the new recipes are simple to prepare, healthy and versatile, with many of them easy for consumers to modify by substituting one berry type for another or combining favorite berry varieties for a unique twist.
An example of Ms. Myall's talent in the kitchen is a simple fresh blueberry sauce that serves as a topping for breakfast waffles, pancakes or ice cream. That recipe has just been released by Cal Giant in time for the spring blueberry season.
