LEAMINGTON, ON - R.E.A.C.H. International kicked off its 8th annual Greenhouse Competitions on June 13-14, crowning some of the industry’s Hottest Tomatoes, Coolest Cucumbers, and Perfect Peppers. Greenhouse industry growers, marketers, and suppliers from as far away as British Columbia entered 144 entries into the competitions, a new record. The unique competitions were presented in part this year by Red Sun Farms.
Westmoreland/TopLine Farms took home two top honors at the competition for its Mini Seedless Cucumbers – People’s Choice and Kid’s Choice for Coolest Cucumber.
“This is a great achievement and a testament to our growers,” said Jimmy Coppola, Account Manager/Marketing at Westmoreland Sales. “Being the largest mini seedless cucumber growers in North America, it is nice to be recognized in such a manner to win two awards for our mini seedless cucumbers. What is even better is that the two awards are People’s Choice and Kid’s Choice… The people (and kids for that matter) have spoken… TopLine Farms Mini Seedless Cucumbers are TOPS!”
Mucci Farms captured four of the top awards for its Rustico™ sweet long peppers (Best Specialty Long Pepper), Terreno™ naturally brown tomatoes (Best Beefsteak Tomato), Vero™ premium on the vine tomatoes (Best Cluster Tomato), and Sapori™ sweet cocktail tomatoes (Best Cocktail Tomato).
“Mucci Farms is proud to be recognized amongst many local growers,” said Emily Murracas, Marketing Coordinator at Mucci International Marketing. Our recent launch of the NEW MIDI Sized Cluster has proven to be most well received by our retailers and consumers alike. It comes as no surprise that we received top honors naming our Vero™ premium on the vine tomatoes Best Cluster Tomato. Our Sapori™ sweet cocktail tomatoes continue to be a favorite among tomato lovers, holding true to their name (‘flavor’ in Italian), capturing Best Cocktail Tomato.”
Orangeline Farms won two first place awards in the “Perfect Pepper” competition for its Zing! Orange (Best Specialty Mini Pepper) and Zing! Chili (Best Specialty Hot Pepper).
“These awards underscore our position as a premium grower,” said Jordan Kniaziew, President of Orangeline Farms Sales. “We like that both awards are in the ‘specialty’ category – they represent everything that we do and what we’re all about as a grower of exciting consumer friendly foods.”
Mastronardi Produce/SUNSET® won six awards for its Red Bell Pepper (People’s Choice), Chocolate Pepper (Best Specialty Bell Pepper), English Cucumber (Best English Seedless), “Zima” (Best Overall Tomato and Best Specialty Tomato), and “Romano” (Best Roma Tomato). For more on this story, click here!
Nature Fresh Farms received two awards for its Orange Bell Pepper, Best Overall Pepper and Best Orange Bell Pepper. For more on this story, click here!
Below is a list of all of the 2014 winners…
Perfect Pepper Competition:
Best Overall Pepper - Nature Fresh Farms – Orange Bell Pepper – Entry #13
People’s Choice - Mastronardi Produce /SUNSET® - Red Bell Pepper – Entry # 46
Kids’ Choice - Pure Hothouse Foods – Orange Bell Pepper – Entry #106
Best Red Bell Pepper - Amco Produce – Entry # 2
Best Yellow Bell Pepper - Red Sun Farms – Entry # 4
Best Orange Bell Pepper - Nature Fresh Farms – Entry #13
Best Specialty Bell Pepper - Mastronardi Produce /SUNSET® - “Chocolate Pepper” – Entry # 31
Best Specialty Mini Pepper - Orangeline Farms – “Zing! Orange” – Entry #102
Best Specialty Long Pepper - Mucci International / Mucci Pac –Entry # 12
Best Specialty Hot Pepper - Orangeline Farms – “Zing! Chili” – Entry # 71
Coolest Cucumber Competition:
Best Overall Cucumber - Pure Hothouse Foods – Mini Cucumber –Entry # 17
People’s Choice - Westmoreland/Topline Produce – Mini Cucumber – Entry # 75
Kids’ Choice - Westmoreland/Topline Produce – Mini Cucumber – Entry # 75
Best English Seedless - Mastronardi Produce /SUNSET® – Entry # 7
Best Mini Seedless - Pure Hothouse Foods –Entry # 17
Hottest Tomato Competition:
Best Overall Tomato - Mastronardi Produce /SUNSET® - “Zima” Specialty – Entry # 100
People’s Choice - Lakeside Produce – “Solle” Bite Size Orange – Entry # 24
Kids’ Choice - Double Diamond Acres – “Pink Mambo” Bite Size – Entry #59
Best Beefsteak Tomato - Mucci International / Mucci Pac – “Terreno” - Entry # 27
Best Roma Tomato - Mastronardi Produce /SUNSET® – “Romano” - Entry # 101
Best Cluster Tomato - Mucci International / Mucci Pac –Entry # 94
Best Cocktail Tomato - Mucci International / Mucci Pac - Entry # 107
Best Bite-Size Tomato - Del Fresco Produce - “Orange Bite Size”– Entry # 129
Best Specialty Tomato - Mastronardi Produce /SUNSET® - “Zima” – Entry # 100
Congratulations to all the winners!
