Dandrea Produce Inc., headquartered in Vineland, NJ, entered into a partnership with Watsonville, CA, strawberry growers Humberto Gonzalez and Rafael Rodrigues that gives Dandrea a solid presence in the California strawberry deal.

"We are very excited about this new partnership," Frank Dandrea, president of Dandrea Produce, told The Produce News. "These are long-time producers have a wealth of experience in producing high-quality strawberries. A new partnership will give Dandrea Produce a solid presence in the California strawberry deal.We began shipping the berries about two weeks ago and have already moved somewhere between 30,000 and 40,000 packs. The fruit is extremely high quality, and movement has been as smooth as silk."

The new strawberry program melds perfectly into Dandrea Produce's business model approach to be involved in growing operations around the world. The model enables the company to control everything from financing to distribution, and from the farm to retailers' shelves. Its growing partners are responsible for producing high quality product and Dandrea handles marketing and logistics.

This is its major entrance into California production, although Mr. Dandrea said the company dabbled lightly in some grapes from Coachella last year.

"Our California grape program this year, which will start in May, will be substantial in comparison to what we handled last year," said Mr. Dandrea. "It will consist of 600 to 800 acres of grapes."

For the moment, however, the company is strongly focused on its new strawberry program. And it has developed a logo around its classic "Dandrea" brand, which features a little guy holding a basket of the commodity in the package in his arms.

Mr. Dandrea added that the variety of strawberry being produced for the company in Watsonville is the Albion.

"It is the highest-quality strawberry grown in this region of California, much of which is attributed to the climate and soil," he said. "Our partners have been producing for about 50 years, so they really know their business. It was a natural fit for Dandrea Produce. They are sound business people who function strongly and effectively, and that reflects on how we do business."

Dandrea's strawberries are being packed in one-pound clamshells, eight to a case; or two-pound clamshells, four to a case. They are available to all of the company's customers located from Texas to Wisconsin and from Maine to Florida.

The company's new strawberry program will be followed in the future by the addition of blackberries and raspberries, which, combined with the company's already strong blueberry program, will make Dandrea a full berry house.

"These programs don't come without a lot of effort," said Mr. Dandrea. "They require a lot of time, attention and money. But when they work out as well as this strawberry program has, and we see our customers pleased with the product, it makes it all worthwhile. The strawberry category continues to grow by leaps and bounds, and we could not be more delighted."