Louis Hymel, director of purchasing and marketing for Spice World Inc., headquartered in Orlando, FL, told The Produce News that the company will be showcasing its full line of garlic products with a highlight on its “Grill Garlic-Q” barbeque sauces at the upcoming Southern Exposure Retail & Foodservice Conference & Expo at the Caribe Royale Resort & Conference Center in Orlando, FL, on Feb. 28-March 2.

“Our ‘Grill Garlic-Q’ is an important item in our spring promotional lineup,” said Mr. Hymel. “And the Southern Exposure event is a prime opportunity for Spice World to share the promotion with customers and prospective new customers.Louis Hymel, director of purchasing and marketing for Spice World Inc. Our sales representatives, Drew Caneza and Arden Laughter, along with Chris Whitson, vice president of sales, and me, will be at our exhibition booth, number 804, to greet visitors.”

Spice World, Mr. Hymel added, has been a member of the Southeast Produce Council for six years, and the 2013 Southern Exposure event will be the sixth consecutive year that the company has exhibited at the show.

“We are completely vertically integrated in the garlic industry — from seed to plate,” said Mr. Hymel. “We also offer an organic line of garlic spans the same wide selection as we offer in our conventional line. We offer conventional and organic garlic in a variety of packages and sizes, including bulk, fresh cello or mesh packages, as well as peeled, ready-to-use jarred garlic and, of course, our now famous ‘Squeeze Garlic.’”

Spice World’s “Squeeze Garlic” in a convenient 20-ounce bottle, took the market by storm when it was introduced in 2010. Since then, Spice World has introduced a 9.5-ounce size. Introducing the popular condiment in an organic option was simply the next best move. And in April 2012, Spice World did just that.

Spice World has complete diversity in its customer base and distribution today. Since its founding in 1949, the company’s primary customers were supermarket chains. But Mr. Hymel said, “We now also have foodservice and industrial divisions, demonstrating clearly that no sector of the food industry can do without its beloved garlic.”

Spice World markets and distributes nationwide, and it also exports to other countries. Since its founding, the company’s ongoing goal has been to prove that integrity and innovation harvest incredible quality. From the fertile soil of its farm in the San Joaquin Valley in California, to its coast-to-coast distribution and leading-edge processing plants, Spice World consistently delivers the freshest, most flavorful supply of garlic nationwide. While it does import a small portion of its garlic when needed, the majority is produced in California.

“We have begun selling some Argentina garlic,” said Mr. Hymel. “However supplies are limited because of the high prices out of Argentina.”

Mr. Hymel said that the Southern Exposure event is one that the company always looks forward to because many of its customers attend.

“This expo enables our customers to see all of the Spice World products at one time,” he said. “And because our headquarters are in Orlando, we will have many of our out of town customers visit our facility.

“Southern Exposure draws many people from other parts of the country,” he continued. “At a time when it is typically very cold, they really enjoy coming to sunny Florida for a few days.”

Spice World will host the Southeast Produce Council tour to its facility during the expo, which includes a barbeque luncheon.

A company that evolves and grows as steadily as Spice World must also keep its operational facilities on the cutting edge. In the past year it has installed new packaging equipment that has helped it to increase its efficiencies.

“We have just finished installing a new bag packing line for our peeled garlic in our California operation,” said Mr. Hymel.