Organic watermelon growth is steep
RIO RICO, AZ — Conventional watermelon sales of SunFed Produce, LLC, outnumber by a ten-to-one ration the volume of the firm’s “SunFed Perfect Organic” watermelon brand, according to Matt Mandel, who handles sales and marketing for the family owned firm.
While SunFed’s conventional watermelon program is “doing very, very well,” the organic watermelon label is enjoying a much faster growth rate.
Flavor Tree Fruit Co.’s cherry program focuses on proprietary varieties
In its cherry program, The Flavor Tree Fruit Co. LLC, exclusive sales agent for Warmerdam Packing in Hanford, CA, is best known for its proprietary Sequoia cherry variety. The company also has other varieties, but the focus is on proprietary varieties, according to Maurice Cameron, managing partner.
“Predominantly, our trend for our company is to be in proprietary varietals,” Cameron said. Currently “we have a new one coming up the pipeline.” It has been planted and is expected to be in production in sufficient numbers by next year to be introduced to the marketplace.
Liberty Fruit attains highest food-safety rating
Liberty Fruit Co. Inc. has earned the highest-possible food-safety rating, according to Scott Danner, the firm's chief operating officer.
"We have passed the SQF 2000 Level 3 certification," Danner told The Produce News April 21. "This is the highest food-safety certification one can achieve."
Homegrown Organic Farms has full line of summer fruit, including some new varieties
From the start of the summer fruit season to the finish, Homegrown Organic Farms in Porterville, CA, markets a full line of organic products in the various stone fruit categories, including several new varieties, “as we continue, as a company, to offer a full-service [program of] year-round offerings of organic fruit to customers,” said Stephen Paul, sales manager for stone fruit, specialty fruit and grapes.
Those summer fruit programs are followed by an expanding program of fall fruit.
Giumarra Reedley’s plum pie promotion features ‘Nature’s Partner’ plums
The Reedley, CA, division of Giumarra Bros. Fruit Co. Inc., commonly called Giumarra Reedley, specializes in stone fruit, and this summer, the company is promoting its plums through a program called “Easy as Pie.”
According to a company press release, the promotion features plums packed in “Nature’s Partner”-branded two-pound zip closure pouch bags, which have a peel-off recipe label and a QR code linking to a YouTube cooking video.
Bari stone fruit program is heaviest in early season, prior to grape harvest
“Our tree fruit program has been modeled to have it strong on the front end,” said Justin Bedwell, managing partner at Bari Produce LLC in Madera, CA. The focus is on apricots and on early-season plums, nectarines and peaches. “A lot of our volume is in apricots.”
Valhalla stone fruit program continues heavy in plums and apricots
Valhalla Sales & Marketing Inc. in Kingsburg, CA, is a grower, shipper and packer of a wide assortment of fruit, including stone fruit. In the stone fruit category, the company’s production is heavy in apricots and plums, according to David Stone, president and chief executive officer.
“I’m not heavy” in peaches and nectarines, he said. “We have some” throughout the season, “but that is not one of the major factors of our company.”
Family Tree Farms continues to introduce new high flavor stone fruit varieties
This year, as every year, Family Tree Farms in Reedley, CA, has introduced several new varieties of stone fruit to the market that have come out of the company’s research and development facility, where the focus is on flavor, according to Dave Goforth, marketing director of Family Tree Farms Marketing LLC.
The new introductions for 2014 include five or six varieties of white flesh peaches and nectarines and three new varieties of plumcots.
RJO expects a good year on stone fruit with early start, good quality
RJO Produce Marketing Inc., a fruit broker in Fresno, CA, services customers in three primary areas, according to Clint Lucas, who does sales and inspection for the company. Those areas are category managing, buying and inspection. “We continue to do what the customer needs and asks of us,” he said.
According to the company’s website, RJO is “unlike the traditional agriculture commodity broker. We offer a wide variety of services to help our clients work smart and maximize their profitability.”
Early start for Gourmet Trading’s season
Larger California blueberry volume will translate to increased promotions for Gourmet Trading Co. and its customer base. Marketing Manager Chloé Varennes said the company markets blues throughout North America as well as Europe, Asia and Australia.
Gourmet Trading is headquartered in Los Angeles and has a 125-acre farm in Delano, CA. “Our blueberry farm will be starting two weeks earlier than previous years due to great weather,” she told The Produce News. “The season typically begins in early May, but this year we are due to begin in mid-April.”