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FRUITICANA PRODUCE LTD.
Fruiticana Produce Ltd., Surrey, BC, opened its first store 24 years ago, and it featured wall-to-wall produce in a 2,000-square-foot
space. Today, Fruiticana Produce has expanded to include 17 stores in British Columbia and Alberta, with the average produce department alone spanning anywhere from 5,000 to 7,000 square feet.
Some stores in the group still are around 80 percent produce, says Tony Singh, pres- ident of Fruiticana Produce; most stores are around 60 percent produce.
Singh says the chain of stores stands out from its competition because of its focus on freshness.
“We get produce rolling in daily out of
California and Mexico and get it off our warehouse floors quickly with two deliv- eries to stores per day,” he says. “When product comes from farm to customer in 10 to 12 hours, the flavor is great.”
Singh says the retail stores purposely don’t have storage space to keep produce for longer than eight hours so that fresh product is always in the department.
He says everybody in British Columbia is looking for healthier lifestyle options these days.
“They want to look and eat healthier,” says Singh. “They are shying away from processed foods. We’ve seen a huge increase in our produce business as a result. Kids who used to pick up a bag of chips are now grabbing an apple instead.”
Fruiticana Produce stores also focus on merchandising what’s in season. For instance, Mandarin oranges from Pakistan
and Navel oranges from California are prominently displayed during the winter, as customers need extra vitamin C to keep their immune systems strong, he says.
H.Y. LOUIE CO.
Market-branded stores in Surrey and Vancouver.
Kent Disher, director of fresh programs for H.Y. Louie Co., says the Fresh St. Market stores place high importance on acquiring as much locally grown produce as they can.
“We also try to carry as much variety as possible as we move through the seasons,”
H.Y. Louie Co., Burnaby, BC, closed down its wholesale business in 2016 but continues to operate 28 IGA stores and three newer Fresh St.
BOOTH REVIEW
BOOTH 421
BOOTH #539
BOOTH #127
BOOTH #230
BOOTH #1025
NATURESEAL, INC.
NATURIPE FARMS
OKANAGAN SPECIALTY FRUITS INC.
Summerland, BC,
Okanagan Specialty Fruits Inc. (OSF) develops novel tree- fruit varieties with exciting supply chain benefits. Our flagship products are nonbrowning Arc-
tic® apple varieties that are coming to Canada next!
BOOTH #251
SILVER CREEK SOFTWARE
Boise, ID
The makers of Visual Produce, an accounting program for the fresh produce industry, Silver Creek offers unique capabilities to wholesalers, distributors, packers, brokers and growers. Services include lot control, Vi- sual Online ordering, customer menus, contract pricing, route accounting, landed cost, trace- ability solutions and more.
PACIFIC INTERNA- TIONAL MARKETING
PEAR BUREAU NORTHWEST
Milwaukie, OR
Pear Bureau Northwest (USA Pears) represents 88 percent of fresh pear crop grown
by nearly 900 families in Washington and Oregon. We help promote retail, catego- ry development and build demand throughout Canada. Visit Trade.USAPears.org
BOOTH #853
TOM LANGE COMPANY, INC. Springfield, IL
We proudly represent
a worldwide group of partner- ing growers, shippers and car- riers that share our commit- ment to freshness and quality. Our integrated divisions boast year-round availability, innovative packaging and private label solutions That’s what makes us true experts at Simplifying Fresh!
Westport, CT
NatureSeal Inc. continues to expand fresh-cut produce op- tions for processors with new formulations to maintain the fresh qualities
of root veg- etables after cutting.
RENAISSANCE
FOOD GROUP
Rancho Cordova, CA Renaissance Food Group is a national fresh food company that creates, markets and dis- tributes high-quality products for consumers via the retail and foodservice channels.
Salinas, CA
Naturipe
Farms is a
grower-owned producer and marketer of healthy, premium berries and avocados. An industry leader for more than 100 years, Naturipe produces healthy and delicious fruit, and value-added products.
BOOTH #746
SAGE FRUIT COMPANY
Yakima, WA
The growers at Sage Fruit Company have been delivering the best apples, pears and cherries to customers for more than three generations, spe- cializing in both Organic and Conventional product.
Salinas, CA
and conventional produce, assuring your customer of a year-round supply of what they want when they want it.
BOOTH #414
THE NUNES COMPANY
Salinas, CA
The Nunes Company is a family-owned, grower-shipper of conventional and organic vegetables that represents farmers growing in California, Arizona, Nevada and Mexico. We offer a complete line of conventional and organically grown vegetables and straw- berries under the Foxy brand name.
Pacific International Marketing has a complete line of organic
BOOTH #1221
BOOTH #619
WELL-PICT BERRIES
Watsonville, CA
Well-Pict Berries supplies conventional and organic lines of premium strawberries and raspberries. Their proprietary berries are known for superior flavor, size, and color, and are available year-round. Stop by booth #619 to taste the excellence yourself, and visit wellpict.com to sign up for our Well-Pict Berry Academy, where retailers can learn profit-making tips to take back and share with their store teams.
CANADA PROFILEPRODUCE BUSINESS / APRIL 2018 / 13