Kern Ridge Growers LLC in Arvin, CA, which grows, packs and ships carrots year-round and also offers citrus, bell peppers and chili peppers seasonally, has been packing organic carrots for several years under the "All Natural" label. “We do organic baby peeled carrots and organic cello carrots,” said Chris Smotherman, a sales representative for the company. “We have been doing it for several years now, and I think we have our product tuned in pretty well. I think the product speaks for itself.

Wholesum Family Farms Inc. (formerly Cris-P Produce) in Nogales, AZ, recently adopted its new name and also rolled out the new "Wholesum Harvest" brand as part of a marketing effort to better communicate the “values and … core strengths” of a family business that now focuses exclusively on organic products,” according to Ricardo Crisantes, general manager. “On the marketing side, we have done a lot, but we still have a lot to do” to tell the company's story to customers and consumers, Mr. Crisantes told The Produce News Jan. 17.

DETROIT — Impressed by their zeal, Jeffrey J. Abrash, president of Andrews Bros. Inc., here, lauded the Detroit area's produce retailers and their aggressive and successful marketing efforts, which in turn buoy his business, which supplies them.

"We have a lot of really great retail customers that are marketing the heck out of produce, and we are very happy to be supplying them," Mr. Abrash said. “The Detroit [Produce] Terminal is a great source of supply for the retailers. We have a lot of aggressive retail customers, and they want to buy more so they can sell more.”

DETROIT — Ben B. Schwartz & Sons Inc. on the Detroit Produce Terminal, here, has just completed the best year in its long history and is looking to the future as the next generation of leadership at the company is finding its footing.

Nate Stone, chief operating officer of the 105-year-old company, said that 2010 "was a blockbuster. This company has been in business over 100 years; that was the best year in the history of the company."

DETROIT — R.A.M. Produce Distributors LLC has launched a line of organic produce under its own brand, "Organic Girl." The firm is developing the line slowly, employing a strategy of crawling before walking.

“We just started it, so we are in the crawl stage before we walk,” Mike Badalament, sales representative, told The Produce News in early January. “Organics are not for everyone because of the price. It is a huge commitment [to develop an organic line], but we see growth [and potential] there. We have been handling it the right way, which has been very conservatively.”

DETROIT — Devoting more attention to foodservice business in recent years, Rocky Produce Inc. on the Detroit Produce Terminal, here, is seeing its efforts pay off as that segment of its business grows.