Though Freska Produce International continues to maintain a leadership role in U.S. mango imports with its signature commodity, a series of strategic partnerships over the last several years has allowed it to diversify its product range, improve its supply chains and evolve with a changing produce industry.

The West Mexico vegetable deal, including virtually all the tomato SKUs, were experiencing depressed markets in mid-February with supplies exceeding demand, even though there was not an overabundance of product.

Bob Huskey, who joined Costco in 1994 as an 18-year-old cart pusher, is an example of how the company’s culture and philosophy develops leaders from the ground up.

In fact, Huskey noted that as he evaluates employees for promotion into leadership roles, one of the traits he looks for first is that candidates “embrace and live our culture.”

The Costco Wholesale vice president of produce follows the mandate that came from Costco co-founder Jim Sinegal, “Culture isn’t the most important thing, it’s the only thing.”

Costco is well-known for its limited SKUs with about 95 specific products populating the produce section of the average warehouse, but that doesn’t mean it is a stagnant list.

In a prominent position in Costco’s headquarters building in Issaquah, WA, stands a stainless steel sculpture featuring five salmon and the retailer’s famous Salmon Story.

It is a story that highlights the company’s Mission Statement of continually providing its customers with high quality products at the lowest price level. A search of the internet reveals that this story has been broadly circulated and has come to exemplify the Costco experience.

The original strategy for Costco Wholesale when the chain was launched four decades ago was largely based on creating a very efficient model to pass on savings to their customers, giving them the lowest price point possible, but always striving for top quality.