(June 12) There’s a new player marketing colorful fruits and vegetables as well as some Green Giant Fresh products, and Doug Ranno, former vice president of produce and floral for Wild Oats Markets Inc., Boulder, Colo., is at its helm.

On June 9, Salinas, Calif.-based Green Giant Fresh/The Sholl Group II announced the start of an independent sales company, Colorful Harvest LLC.

Ranno, 44, is the chief operating officer and general manager. He said the company has two goals.

First, it will introduce a line of unique and colorful products like violet broccoli, orange cauliflower and sweet red corn, of which Colorful Harvest has exclusive rights to the seed. These products will be marketed under the Colorful Harvest label.

Secondly, the company will develop a direct sales marketing business that will source and sell select Green Giant Fresh-branded products different from the current product line.

“Over the next several months, we will be researching the opportunities for (Green Giant Fresh) berries, strawberries and artichokes,” Ranno said.

The Sholl Group will continue to look for other business opportunities and license other growers to use the brand, Ranno said.

“But we are excited about Colorful Harvest and having select Green Giant (Fresh) products that we will be marketing,” Ranno said.

Colorful Harvest is one of three independent companies operated under The Sholl Group umbrella, which also consists of Potandon Produce and The Sholl Group II. Ranno said the company has five equity partners: himself, Jeff Sholl, Tom Remick, Art Davis and Dave Knutzen.Sholl owns the majority of the business.

Through February, Colorful Harvest will operate out of Monterey, Calif. Then it may move to Salinas, Calif.Ranno said the company will pull product from about 2,000 acres within 2½-hour drive of Salinas.

“We hydrocool, ice pack and farm load for freshness,” Ranno said.

Ranno, a 27-year produce veteran who has spent the past three years with Wild Oats, said this was the opportunity he had been searching for.

“I have worked as retailer (with Raley’s and Wild Oats) and a grower-shipper, as a buyer, a merchandiser and a marketing manager,” Ranno said. “This gives me a really well-rounded spectrum of industry perspective. Working at Wild Oats was great exposure, it was fun and we accomplished a lot, but ultimately, the last thing I haven’t done yet is own part of a business.”

Ranno said Colorful Harvest received a lot of interest from participants of the Produce Marketing Association’s Retail Produce Solutions Conference June 7-9 in Monterey.

“We are really excited about marketing seed exclusivity products. It’s a perfect time for customers to create theater and buzz for these products in their stores,” Ranno said.