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including jackfruit with production year-round; mangosteen and rambutan, with production from May to September; avocados year-round and coming soon cacao and dragon fruit.”
CHASING THE SUN
Grande Produce handles more than 100 products throughout the year. “We have a wide variety of fresh products and dried goods,” says Cano. “Some are year-round. such as peppers, cilantro, limes and avocados; others are seasonal, such as mango, prickly
pear or fresh garbanzo. We follow the seasons in Mexico, especially for such items as Roma tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, and jala- peños. We’ll start the year in Sinaloa, then move to North Mexico, then to Central Mexico and nally back to Sinaloa.”
Though J&D was founded on its mixed wet-vegetable line — including collard, kale, Swiss chard and cabbage — the company also handles herbs, parsley, cilantro and dill. “A lot of our customer base is in Canada so they’re looking for unique things such as
Napa and Bok Choy cabbage and even Methi leaf (an Indian herb),” says Jimmy Bassetti, chief operating o cer at J&D.
J&D handles several proprietary varieties, including its Honey Sweet Onion, grown in Texas, New Mexico, Georgia, Peru and Mexico. J&D maintains supply of this unique variety 12 months a year. “We developed and manage all the production of the seed internally,” Erickson says. “We use the same seed all year round, chasing the sun to have consistent ideal growing conditions, and we plant the same seed no matter which growing location we’re in. This ensures our customers can always count on a consistently mild and sweet onion.”
J&D’s Beta Sweet Maroon Carrot is another proprietary variety boasting a maroon exterior and orange interior. “If you coin it, there is a consistent circle of maroon ringing the exte- rior,” says Bassetti. “We’re seeing a growing interest with the Betasweet due to its avor and exceptional health bene ts.”
J&D’s melon program includes personal seedless watermelon, regular round seedless and honeydews. Erickson points out J&D’s honeydews are the rst domestic honeydews available in the U.S. marketplace, coming in the rst week of May. “We’re particularly proud of the eating quality and avor,” he says. “Our brix averages between 14 to 16 percent.”
PUSHING THE BAR
Leading Texas companies continue to innovate in products, services and resources. Since many Texas operations have exten- sions in Mexico, TIPA’s Galeazzi notes numerous companies are implementing more visibility across their supply chains. “GPS trackers for trucks and temperatures are being used more frequently, as are real-time location updates for shipments and electronic
communications,” he says.
The Texas industry also is seeing a
continued diversi cation of new commodities both domestic and imported. “We’re seeing growth of new items, such as beets and Asian vegetables such as daikon, as well as expan- sions of existing variety lines including sweet red onions, colored cauli ower and the return of Texas honeydews and cantaloupes,” says Galeazzi. “Plus, we continue to see innovations in packaging for many conventional items, including limes, mangos, avocados and jicama – all being driven by a convenience-oriented marketplace.”
At Cabefruit, Cabello observes growth is part of the company philosophy. “This past year we won the award for ‘Most Inno- vative Fruit Product’ at VIVA Fresh with the
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