ARVIN, CA - Relationships are an essential part of our business. And these days, the right partnership can create opportunities out of obstacles and generate momentum and value for retail partners. Country Sweet Produce (CSP) is a team that knows this type of vision well. Every day the team is out in the fields checking up on their 2020 onion crop so that they never miss a beat. Growing and packing south of Bakersfield, California, CSP and the Valpredo Farms group are proudly supplying organic and sweet onions from their family of growers, as they have been for almost 50 years.
“It’s remarkable and we are extremely proud to carry on the summer tradition here,” Michael Valpredo, fourth-generation family steward and the President of CSP, shares with me. “My dad was just telling me about how they used to field pack in the early 1970s. Things have really changed!”
CSP has risen to meet the needs and the demands of today’s changing market and consumer landscape over the past decade, as it builds value, brand loyalty, and consistency into its relationships along the way.
“From packing equipment to the types of packaging, so much has advanced, and especially on the farm side where we are really getting dialed in on the right varieties for what grows best here at the southern end of California's Central Valley,” Michael reflects. “Our sweet onions speak for themselves as they are truly a testament to a commitment by the entire team and their dedication through the years. We are very excited to get started here shortly.”
All early signs this year point to strong yields and an on-time harvest, which is set to start mid-May. Here in late April, Prescott Leyba, CSP Sales Account Manager and point person on the onion programs, offers his outlook for the upcoming season.
“More than anything, we are keeping an eye on the weather forecast and hoping for warm, sunny days. Our farm team does a tremendous job, and as soon as they say we’re ready, we plan on hitting the ground running into another successful season,” Prescott tells me.
The team at CSP looks forward to a long and successful onion campaign beginning in late May and extending through Labor Day.
If you ask me, the time is now to start bolstering those retail onion programs to respond to the consumer desire for high-quality onions in their shopping baskets.
