“We moved here to the new building in July, and we now have more space to accommodate the team, as well as more state-of-the-art cold storage space for our growing product line,” Espinoza told The Produce News in mid-November.

Produce House originally made its name as a hard squash specialist, and Espinoza said hard squash is still at the core of its business. “We offer that every month of the year except during the summer,” she said. “But our goal is to expand that and include our own domestic production here in the U.S. to provide our clients with a year-round supply. I feel like that is the last missing piece.”

She said Produce House continues to offer its other key commodities, including cucumbers, honeydew and cantaloupe, and tomatoes, along with citrus and garlic, which are relatively new to the company’s lineup.

“My business partner started a citrus program a few years ago and we are looking to develop that more as part of our offerings,” said Espinoza. “We started in a light way, and trees still have to mature before we can offer a substantial volume, but it’s looking very promising, and I am very excited about that since it will offer us an opportunity to diversify.”

Espinoza said the citrus line, all grown in Mexico, will include organic grapefruit, Valencia oranges, Mandarins and lemons. Produce House is also working to add a conventional Persian lime program.

As for its Mexican garlic line, Espinoza said Produce House is now in its fifth year with the item and she anticipates stepping up the volume in the coming years.

“We’ve had the same garlic acreage year-to-year, but we’re learning more about it and are excited to be able to offer it to our customers as one of our core items sold directly from our farms,” she said.

Espinoza added that working with smaller growers, as in the case of its garlic program, is her passion.

“I know the mechanics of what is involved,” she said, “and I love seeing it through from seed to market, while creating jobs on both sides of the border. That said, with our garlic program we want to grow at a steady pace and not get too big too fast.”

Staff additions

Espinoza said as Produce House heads into its 10th year in business, she is thrilled to announce new additions to her staff.

Luis Valdivia joined the Produce House sales team in March, bringing more than 20 years of experience. Prior to Produce House, he spent four years with Berry Girl, five years with Ruby J Farms, and most recently, 13 years with Giumarra, all in sales roles.

“Luis has really complemented our team well and he is a perfect fit,” proclaimed Espinoza.

Valdivia joins Emma Hobbs on the sales desk, and Espinoza was equally ebullient about her.

About Hobbs, who has 15 years of sales experience, the last five with Produce House, she said, “Emma does an amazing job for us and it is nice to have another strong woman in sales.”

Hobbs has also been something of a mentor for Espinoza’s daughter, Camila Mendivil, who joined Produce House two years ago and is learning all facets of the business. This season, she is taking a more forward role in the sales efforts.

Espinoza also is excited to announce that her other daughter, Sabrina Mendivil, who recently earned a BFA from the University of Arizona, joined Produce House and will use her artistic and creative background to bolster the company’s marketing efforts.

“Sabrina is very artistic – she is a painter and a sculptor and has an incredible design sense,” said Espinoza, who proudly boasted that Sabrina was the talent behind the custom gifts given to retailers who attended the 2024 SWIPE. For this year’s SWIPE, she will be designing a custom poster that will be featured throughout the event.”

Finally, Espinoza said she would be remiss in not mentioning Gracie Aguirre, who supports all functions of the business.

“We have an outstanding team and the future looks bright!” Espinoza proclaimed. “Sure, there will be challenges along the way, but we will persevere and live up to our mantra that, ‘We Keep on Growing!’”

Photo: The Produce House team at the company’s new office in November. Shown are Sabrina Mendivil, Raquel Espinoza, Gracie Aguirre, Camila Mendivil, Emma Hobbs and Luis Valdivia.