OXNARD, CA - Freska Produce is beginning its transition from the southern regions of Mexico into its Southern Sinaloa packing facilities, which pack fruit from Southern Sinaloa, Nayarit, and Jalisco, marking the next phase of the Mexican mango season.

The company has been strategically preparing for this transition to ensure a seamless supply of fruit for customers throughout the summer months. While overall volumes in the regions Freska is transitioning into are forecasted to be lower than normal, the company has planned ahead to maintain promotable volumes across its mango program.

"Our team has been actively preparing for this transition to ensure our customers continue receiving the quality fruit, reliable supply, and dependable service they expect from Freska," said Gary Clevenger, Managing Partner of Freska Produce International, in the recent release.

In addition, the Los Mochis Fly-Free Zone Ataulfo program is scheduled to begin next week, providing an uninterrupted flow of fruit into the United States and supporting a smooth transition into the next stage of the Mexican mango season.

Looking ahead, Freska will continue offering a full range of conventional and organic mango varieties, including Ataulfos, Kents, and Keitts. The company will also continue providing customers with multiple fresh mango packaging options, including cartons, cartons with lids, clamshells, and masters, while also offering its organic dried mango products in bags to meet the needs of retail, wholesale, and foodservice partners.

As a leading mango importer and exporter, Freska continues to leverage its strong grower relationships, packing operations, and year-round sourcing network to ensure a reliable supply of premium mangos for its customers throughout every stage of the mango season.

WATSONVILLE, CA - As we prepare for the 2026 Organic Produce Summit (OPS), now is the perfect time to reflect on the amazing growth that has taken place in the organic segment. In the berry category specifically, Driscoll’s is one supplier that is leading the charge.

“Driscoll’s entered into organics in the late 1980s at a time when consumer demand for food grown without synthetic inputs was still emerging,” Garland Reiter, Jr., Chief Commercial Officer, began telling me. “By 1997, Driscoll’s had established certification with California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF), embedding rigorous standards, third-party verification, and continuous improvement. Organic was not treated as a niche product line, but as a distinct production system requiring new agronomy, closer coordination with growers, and a deeper investment in soil health, biodiversity, and long-term farm resilience.”

According to Garland, Driscoll’s built the organic business by listening to the consumer. He explained that Gen Z and millennials now buy organic produce more often than any older cohort, and they are the most willing to pay a premium relative to other generations. For these consumers, organic reflects a broader focus on health, transparency, and how food is produced. That shift is visible in the category itself: Berries are now the No. 2 organic produce category in the U.S. by volume, and have delivered growth that outpaces most leading organic produce categories in recent years.

“At the same time, availability and price remains a barrier for many consumers reinforcing that the opportunity ahead is not to create demand, but to build the supply at the right place to meet it. Retailers can drive organic berry growth by positioning organic offerings at the first point of purchase within the berry display and using clear merchandising cues that reduce shopper friction and accelerate product discovery,” Garland continued.

He noted that organic berries are more complex to produce, with lower yields, higher costs, and fewer tools to manage disease, pests, and weather. Expanding supply, while improving efficiency and affordability, is the central challenge for the industry.

“Driscoll’s addresses that constraint through genetics, geography, and production technology. Its breeding program focuses on naturally vigorous, disease-resistant varieties that perform under organic conditions,” Garland explained. “It matches crops to geographies where climate and soil conditions naturally reduce pest and disease pressure. And it invests in evolving production systems that can improve resource efficiency and support earlier, more reliable output for growers.”

Driscoll’s teams and independent growers focus on soil health through crop rotation, cover crops, and composting. They use beneficial insects instead of synthetic pesticides and manage biodiversity through farming practices that support pollinators and natural pest control.

“Looking ahead, Driscoll’s sees organics not as a niche, but as a critical component of the future of fresh produce. The opportunity is not simply to grow more organic berries, but to build more resilient and efficient systems that make organic more accessible to more consumers over time,” Garland pointed out. “As the segment scales, there is a clear path toward improving efficiency and narrowing the price premium that today limits broader adoption.”

Driscoll’s has also articulated a long-term aspiration to expand organic production in key growing regions—an effort that would require sustained collaboration across growers, communities, and public partners.

The organic segment demonstrates Driscoll’s continued promise to deliver exceptional berries while building a system that works better for people and the land. For a closer look at what the supplier is doing to create a more formidable category, be sure to stop by the booth at OPS.

CHARLOTTE, NC - TruSource announced its official launch as a fresh produce collective bringing together leading regional operating companies with deep market expertise established customer relationships, and a shared commitment to service, quality and reliability.

Founded in early 2025, TruSource currently includes Freshway Foods, Forestwood, and Nickey Gregory, representing more than 100 combined years of fresh produce experience serving over 4,000 customers with a distribution network that reaches 26 states east of the Mississippi River, and continues to expand. Through TruSource, each operating company retains its name, people, customer relationships and local presence while gaining access to shared resources, broader sourcing strength, operational support and additional capabilities to serve customers across a growing national footprint.

TruSource was created for a fresh produce marketplace that increasingly requires local agility, broader sourcing strength and more resilient supply chain capabilities. According to a press release, it is designed to strengthen regional operating companies without replacing the local relationships, leadership, and service models that customers know and trust.

“Fresh produce distribution has always been a relationship business,” said Elton Evans, founder, chairman and CEO of TruSource. “TruSource was built on the belief that scale creates value only when it strengthens the people, relationships and local service customers rely on every day. Our role is to preserve what makes strong regional distributors successful while adding the capabilities, resources and strategic support needed to compete and grow.”

For customers, TruSource is designed to bring greater reliability, expanded capabilities, and continued local service. Customers will continue working with the local teams and operating company brands they know, while operating companies gain shared support to strengthen sourcing, distribution, processing, value-added services, quality, technology and commercial capabilities.

“Customers need partners who can deliver consistency, reliability and responsiveness across an increasingly complex fresh produce marketplace,” said Kristie Waters, chief commercial officer of TruSource. “TruSource gives our operating companies the ability to stay close to their customers and markets while gaining the broader capabilities, resources and support needed to serve them even better. It also enables us to build long-term, sustainable supplier partnerships that strengthen our supply network and create value for both our customers and suppliers.”

TruSource will continue to grow through a thoughtful selection process focused on operating companies with strong leadership, customer-first service cultures, and the ability to contribute meaningfully to the collective.