HOUSTON — Mary Velasquez, general manager for Coast Tropical was among In Bloom's honorees at its inaugural awards program. In Bloom, a Texas International Produce Association organization for women in produce, recognized Velasquez during In Bloom's “A League of Their Own”-themed event at Viva Fresh.
For visitors to the Owyhee Produce booth, conversations stemmed around onion availability in Georgia, Texas, Arizona, California and Idaho.
“We want to make it as easy as possible to find what you need and save on freight,” said Shay Myers, CEO of the Parma, Idaho-based company.
Myers said conversations also stemmed around saving foodservice and retailers money, too, with Owyhee Produce's capabilities.
“We can peel onions cheaper than you can at the back of the processing plant and restaurants, and it's another way to save customers money,” Myers said.
At the D Produce Co. booth, conversations stemmed around the forming of a lime marketing board.
“We have more industry support and more organizations,” said Diego Morales, sales manager for D Produce. “We're not a corner item anymore.”
Morales stressed the importance of a lime board, noting that more than 780 loads of limes cross the border from Mexico into the U.S. weekly.
As visitors stopped by Topline's booth, they learned about the company's plans to reach further south and further west.
“We have a good complement with production out of Mexico and out of Canada with surety of supply,” said Chris Veillon, vice president of marketing for Topline.
Veillon said visitors also learned how Topline's offerings aren't seasonal and offer retailers healthy, sustainable and quality produce, noting a major conversation point is, “How do we effectively and efficiently communicate our surety of supply?”
Soli Organic debuted new Chimichurri and Wellness Tea herb blends at Viva Fresh. The company also showcased its basil bouquet.
Chris Herberg, account manager for Soli Organic, said visitors to the booth learned about its controlled environment agriculture-grown herbs produced in Arizona, Texas, Washington and South Carolina.
“We just started our living organic herb palates in store,” Hedberg said.
It was all about sustainability and Rainforest Alliance certifications at GLC Cerritos' booth.
Giovanna Cavaletto, U.S. division president for GLC Cerritos, said many conversations at Viva Fresh surround GLC Cerritos' geographic divisions for critical mass sourcing of avocados. Cavaletto said a large amount of production is in the Mexican state of Jalisco, but the company also sources from all over the country.
“Mexico is a large and diverse sourcing strategy for within the avocado category,” he said.