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Marvelous Jackfruit as meat substitute,” she says. “We also are marketing Mangosteen Tea.” Rio Fresh also nds innovation through being a woman-owned company. “As a woman- owned business, we bene t from diversity in our leadership and the viewpoints that shape our business and the decisions we make,” says Morley. “A lot of our customers and consumers are women. Having that viewpoint represented strongly in our business allows us to serve our
markets even better.”
FOOD SAFETY AND INFRASTRUCTURE
Companies recognize the need for pushing the norm in food safety, logistics and tech- nology. J&D has invested heavily in infra- structure and sta ng over the past decade according to Erickson. “We were fortunate to hire a well-respected director of food safety, Eduardo De la Fuente, who leads a sizeable team of managers and food safety techs.”
Cano of Grande Produce says, “Food safety is crucial for us. Our customers need to know they can trust the quality and integrity of what we sell and deliver them.”
Morley has seen a demand for more locally grown produce and supply chain transparency. “End users want to know their produce is fresh, where it came from, and that it was packed in a safe environment,” she says. “With freight costs and restrictions increasing, there is also a bene t to shipping more within our state.”
In February, Cabefruit is planning a grand opening for its cold storage facility. “We’ll have around 19,000 square feet with 10 docks,” says Cabello. “We are planning a consolidation program for existing and new clients.”
Grande Produce o ers originality in servicing customers through its Mix-and- Match program, as well as related companies. “Customers can order any amount of boxes for any of the products we carry, and we mix and match pallets,” says Cano. “We also have a sister trucking company on the Mexico side. So, if customers want orders ful lled directly from Mexico, we can do that as well – straight from the grower to their door. Soon, we’re also starting re-packaging to o er customers more options.”
The pacesetters continue to improve. “The future for us, and a lot of the industry, will be mechanization and automation,” says Erickson. “We will need to nd those areas where we can implement some of this.”
Morley of Rio Fresh adds, “On the growing side, we are always trying new varieties, new irrigation and fertilization techniques and di erent harvesting methods,” she says. pb
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