PORTLAND, OR - Highly sought-after fresh produce categories from Mexico have been a staple of the spring season, making their way to the produce aisles across the country. As Mexico winds down for companies like Bridges Produce, I got in touch with Sydney Fairchild, Marketing, Sustainability, and Compliance, to learn more about the grower’s successful Mexican harvest that has allowed it to meet its retail partners’ demands during a tight market.
“Mexico provides an essential fresh produce component on the world stage, and this spring we provided our customers with a wide range of organic items including zucchini, yellow squash, eggplant, melons, hard squash, chili peppers, bell peppers, and cucumbers,” Sydney says. “Our ability to handle logistics, sales, and customer relationships is even more important than ever during these unprecedented times. With the constantly changing and evolving market, our focus on long term relationships allows more consistent sales for our grower partners as well as better service for our customers.”
With trade shows on hold and in-person meetings out of the question, for the time being, having a strong customer base with relationships built on trust also proves immensely beneficial to grower partners.
Bridges’ Mexican produce program will ramp back up in late September, and while that might seem like an entire season away, we all know how time flies in fresh produce.
“Come September, we will be shipping from the state of Sonora in Northern Mexico,” Sydney tells me. “Once the temperatures in Sonora begin to fall, we transition south to Sinaloa and finally move back to Sonora for the spring season.”
Limited supplies of melons, chilies, and a few other items will be available in the upcoming weeks but Bridges will have butternut squash available through June. Bridges’ organic Mexican cucumber program will also extend through the summer and merge with its fall program, making the grower’s Mexican cucumber program year-round.
“It is our first item out of Mexico to be year-round, and it adds to our year-round offerings which also include hard squash, apples, pears, potatoes, onions, and blueberries,” Sydney continues.
Most of Bridges’ Mexican partners are Fair Trade certified. Fair Trade is also available on all items by pre-order, so plan ahead and plan soon!
During the winter and spring months, Mexico offers great land and optimal weather to produce the volume of fresh produce needed to stock grocery store shelves with items such as squash, cucumbers, and peppers. The great variance in weather conditions across the country’s different regions of Mexico allows Bridges to take full advantage of its organic programs from early fall through late spring.
It sounds to me like a harmony of categories ready to put on a show for Bridges’ retail customers. Keep checking back as ANUK brings the latest in fresh produce.
