Grimmway Farms, carrot producer and organic vegetable producer, is exhibiting new products and sustainable packaging initiatives this week at the first-ever virtual Produce Marketing Association Fresh Summit Conference & Expo. Exhibiting for the 23rd consecutive year, Grimmway has transformed its in-person booth, typically stocked with a market’s worth of fresh produce, to a virtual experience that allows visitors to tour their diverse growing regions and learn about their expanding carrot and organic farming operations.
While the company’s booth takes a different shape this year, Grimmway is more focused than ever on bringing innovative products to the market, reducing waste among packaging materials, and helping the industry make fresh produce available to everyone.
“Innovation has always been the root of our growth,” said Eric Proffitt, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Grimmway. “We listen and work closely with our customers to create items their shoppers want, and we’re committed to rigorous testing to develop products that will sell.”
The company is showcasing new items from its organic division, Cal-Organic Farms, including Rainbow Carrot Chips in 12-ounce retail packs and Baby Bok Choy in 3-count clamshell containers. Cal-Organic’s colorful carrots chips are an exciting new option for fresh produce snacks, conveniently packaged in a resealable bag. The baby bok clamshell packaging protects the vegetable’s delicate quality through transit, which is especially helpful considering an increase in online grocery shopping and delivery.
Cal-Organic is also promoting their upcoming seasonal red carrot program as well as their new crop potato, dry onion and sweet corn programs. The company’s exclusive red bunch carrots will be available from December through March and its spring potato, onion and sweet corn crops are slated to begin shipping in May.
“Growth of organic produce continues at a strong pace, and despite economic challenges consumers show no indication of shifting their purchases away from organic fruits and vegetables,” said Jeff Huckaby, President of Grimmway Farms. “We continue to expand our certified organic acreage and we’ve established programs in the Pacific Northwest and the Southeast to extend our growing seasons.”
Also on the horizon for Grimmway and Cal-Organic are packaging initiatives centered on improving the sustainability of materials used throughout the product lifecycle. The company has converted more than 25 products to ship in cases with optimized dimensions, reducing materials used while improving palletization. They have also engineered a case made of polypropylene (PP) which is 100% recyclable and weighs about half as much as a competing wax and fiber carton.
The shift to a virtual venue presents a silver lining everyone in the industry can support—new event sponsorship opportunities that directly benefit charity. This year Brighter Bites was selected as the first-ever nonprofit recipient of the annual Sunset Rocks concert and Grimmway is proud to sponsor the virtual benefit.
For more information:
Valorie Sill
Grimmway Farms
Tel: +1 (661) 845-5222
Email: VSill@grimmway.com
www.grimmway.com