FRESNO, CA - Any great festive feast should include fresh produce, and Baloian Farms is working to ensure a cornucopia of the healthy veg retailers and consumers are looking for. With the grower’s Coachella, California, harvest currently underway, I tapped Richard Cowden, Sales/Business Development, to gauge how Baloian’s crops are shaping up and what the grower has in store for retailers amidst holiday demand.
“Right now, we are harvesting our bunched spinach and beautiful cauliflower in Coachella. We expect dark green leaves and fully packed spinach cartons, and our cauliflower has a beautiful white color. Also, we will continue to carry romaine hearts, celery, and green onions, which will be shipped out of Coachella too,” Richard shares.
With Thanksgiving just days away, Baloian Farms is keeping its production and harvesting in check to meet consumer demands. As the grower continues its annual holiday pull, Richard notes that leafy greens will have a tighter market, and the cauliflower category is currently in flux.
“We have been experiencing some elevated pricing in the leaf category as California’s Coastal and Central Valley areas come to their corresponding harvest conclusions. The cauliflower market continues to dance and will reach a plateau as new production areas start within the next two weeks,” Richard explains. “We forecast some gradual market easing as the Thanksgiving holiday pull finishes, and the desert regions in Yuma, Arizona, and Coachella begin to expand their harvest capacities.”
Celery production has been heavy leading into the holiday. Retail opportunities for celery should continue well after Thanksgiving and with widespread availability. Promotions in the wet veg category look favorable as December—and the next set of holidays—approaches. To bolster its wet veg promotions, Baloian Farms will roll out its newly redesigned graphics for its romaine heart bags at the beginning of December.
“These bags are designed with dual language in both French and English to accommodate Canadian requirements,” Richard tells me. “It’s a stunning and bold new look for our romaine hearts!”
Baloian’s romaine lettuce, green leaf, red leaf, and butter lettuce are in the final stages of growth and should be ready in early December. Bok choy, Napa, and daikon will also be available to compliment leaf orders, making the grower a one-stop holiday shop. In addition, Baloian’s facility in Coachella will continue to harvest green and red peppers.
Many growers in California faced extreme weather conditions this year from fires to fluctuating temperatures. However, Richard assures me that the grower is well on track to meet both customer and consumer demands.
“Weather presents its own challenges, as always, from heat to rapid cooling, but our field teams keep us on schedule to give our customers a premium pack,” Richard explains. “Our stellar food safety reputation in Fresno and Coachella is important to us, and our teams put in great effort to uphold that.”
With suppliers like Baloian Farms as a fresh partner this season, retailers are in good hands for the holidays coming up, so get in touch while there’s still time left!
