Kevin Weaver joins Global Organics
Sarasota, FL-based Global Organics, a full-line distributor of certified-organic fruits, vegetables, nuts, coffee, milk and eggs, recently hired KEVIN WEAVER as its director of sales and new business development.
At Global Organics, Weaver is responsible for working with existing customers to maximize their results and working with new customers to get organic produce into the homes of as many people as possible.
Florida's wintertime strawberry production leads the nation
Florida Strawberry Growers Association Executive Director Ted Campbell talks about Florida’s $400 million winter strawberry deal as the season ramps up to full volume this month.
The area within a 20-mile radius of FSGA headquarters in Plant City, FL, is home to 95 percent of domestic winter strawberry production.
Ecoripe Tropicals expanding offshore sources to ensure supplies for increasing demand for ethnic produce
Ecoripe Tropicals in Medley, FL, carries a widely diverse line of tropical fruits and vegetables. The line was originally developed specifically for the wide range of Chinese, Indian, Hispanic and Southeast Asian cuisines, but these foods have become highly desired by mainstream foodies who want to experience new, interesting and flavorful dishes.
Marc Holbik, director of grower relations for the company, said that this year its tropical vegetable program is being sourced from three different growing areas.
Watermelons, hard squash are core items for Harrison Fresh
Harrison Fresh is “a new company this year” in Nogales, AZ, and is “a work in progress,” said Brent Harrison, president of the new entity, in an interview with The Produce News.
Harrison is also president of Al Harrison Co. Distributors, a long-established multi-generation family company in the Nogales deal. “At this point, we are going to operate” under the Harrison Fresh name,” he said. Because the organizational aspects of the business were in a transitional state, he did not go into detail beyond that announcement.
Grower Alliance adds hard squash, expands some existing programs
Grower Alliance LLC in Nogales, AZ, which was founded seven years ago, has “been able to grow little by little” from its inception, and that growth continues for the 2013-14 season with expansion in several commodities, according to Jorge Quintero Jr., managing partner.
“Euro cucumbers we just started this week,” Quintero said Nov. 19. “That is our big deal,” and it has expanded significantly this year. “We are doubling our production from last season, so that is something huge. That is all out of Culiacán” in the Mexican state of Sinaloa.
Divine Flavor to break ground on 90,000-square-foot warehouse
Divine Flavor LLC, which is located in the Rio Rico Industrial Park north of Nogales, AZ, is building a new 90,000-square-foot state-of-the-art warehouse and office complex on a 22-acre site on Mariposa Road in Nogales, which is expected to be ready next October in time for the 2014-15 season, according to Pedro Batiz, vice president of sales.
“We are breaking ground next week,” Batiz told The Produce News on Nov. 25.
“It is going to be a green warehouse” with solar panels, he added.
Agenda shaping up for fourth annual ATPC
Organizers of the America Trades Produce Conference announced that Christopher Wilson, associate at the Woodrow Wilson Institute's Mexico Institute, will be the keynote speaker at the fourth annual conference.
"We are delighted with how the agenda and speaker lineup is developing," Lance Jungmeyer, president of the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas, which runs the conference along with the Texas International Produce Association, said in a press release.
Pacific Trellis to buy Dulcinea Farms business from Syngenta
Syngenta announced Dec. 17 that it has signed an agreement to sell its Dulcinea Farms business to Pacific Trellis Fruit LLC, a Fresno, CA-based grower and marketer of fresh produce.
Based in Ladera Ranch, CA, Dulcinea was formed in 2004 in partnership with Tanimura & Antle, initially as a vehicle for branding proprietary mini-watermelon and specialty melon genetics directly to consumers through national food retail chains. Syngenta took full control of the company in 2005 and annual sales have since increased to around $80 million.
New warehouse enables Veggies Inc. to increase repack, production services
A little over a year ago, Veggies Inc. relocated to a new 25,000-square-foot facility, 75 percent larger than the company’s previous facility, that includes offices and a fully refrigerated warehouse with 13 loading doors, compared to just eight at the previous location, according to Marco Barrerda, vice president of the company.
The new facility has enabled Veggies Inc. to increase its cross-docking and sales business, Barreda said. “For that, we had to increase, as well, our fleet of trucks,” he said. “We added a couple of refrigerated bobtails and a couple of semis as well.”
Pura Vida Farms hires Jake Erickson
JAKE ERICKSON joined Scottsdale, AZ-based Pura Vida Farms earlier this year.