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BLAST FROM THE PAST
Produce history preserved in early labels
Long before the days of online branding, logo creation and digital marketing, to get noticed in produce, companies turned to a more tangible medium to sell their products: labels.
They became the ultimate visual vehicle to sell more fruits and vegetables ... and link a company to those boxes and the delicious items inside. The current marketing whizzes at companies across North America owe a lot to the early risk-taking pioneers of produce branding.
Those clever designers captured the eyes of clients and con- sumers with their vivid pictures, bold fonts and splashes of deep, bright colors. You can still see some of that bygone era portrayed on some cartons today.
Many years ago, Produce Business received a package from Albert Del Masso, the original founder of wholesaler Bay Cities Produce in San Leandro, CA, that contained some striking early produce labels. His intent: to have each member of the industry who received them show off these works of art but also preserve them.
“With the advent of wax paper cartons in the late 50s and 60s, the labels became obsolete and fell out of use,” said Del Masso (who opened his business in 1947 and managed it with son Steve
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until passing away in 2014) in the accompanying letter. “Give them to your families and friends. We only ask that you take care of them.”
What you see here are four of the labels Mr. Del Masso sent to us — Sun Smile brand pears from the Colfax Fruit Growers Association in Calfornia; Valley Home purple plums, distributed by Nash Finch Company in Minneapolis; Piggy Pears from Highcroft Orchards in Medford, OR; and Donner brand pears from Auburn Fruit Exchange in California. They are still in very good condition, having survived years in a bustling office and during a recent office move.
We’ve heeded Mr. Del Masso’s cautionary words of advice: “Please be sure to store them in a safe, flat, dry place so they do not get damp, bent or wrinkled, because when these are gone, we don’t know if they’ll ever be replaced again.”
We promise to our best to try to keep that history preserved. As for Bay Cities, they’re still going strong, with Steve leading the way as company president along with two other Del Massos — Diana as chief financial officer and Vince as vice president. They provide top-quality produce, including unusual specialty items, across the entire foodservice industry and retail. pb