Castellano joined the company in early October.
Castellano had been with Herb Thyme Farms of Pico Rivera, Calif., for several years until 2009 after having owned her own company, New England Herb Co., in Claremont, N.H., for 28 years.
Castellano succeeds Mike Henry, who shifted to Special Projects with Harvest Sensations.
Homegrown Organic Farms hires two
Porterville, Calif.-based Homegrown Organic Farms has added two employees, said Cherie France, sales and marketing assistant.
Craig Morris is now citrus category manager, and Gunnar Avinelis is sustainable systems/business intelligence coordinator.
Morris replaced Seth Tillery, who is the company’s regional grower and operations manager for the San Joaquin Valley.
Jacobs Farm/Del Cabo shipping Fair Trade
Pescadero, Calif.-based Jacobs Farm/Del Cabo, a grower of organic specialty produce and culinary herbs, is shipping organic and Fair Trade-certified Cavendish bananas grown in Peru year-round.
Bananas and other Fair Trade-certified items, such as avocadoes, mangoes and limes, were introduced in 2012, said Marina Pace, marketing director.
Lakeside Organic Gardens hires staff
Watsonville, Calif.-based Lakeside Organic Gardens has hired Fernando Marquez, a Watsonville native, to its sales staff, sales manager Brian Peixoto said.
“We continue to grow as our acreage steadily increases,” Peixoto said.
Marquez is new to the produce industry, Peixoto said.
The Nunes Co. expands organics
The Nunes Co., based in Salinas, Calif., is making a major push with organic vegetables, said Matt Seeley, vice president of marketing with the grower-shipper, which markets product in the Foxy brand.
“We’ve been converting ground and continue to do that, step by step,” Seeley said.
The Nunes Co. recently added clinatro, kale, parsley and other bunching vegetable items to its organic line, Seeley said.
“As items come on, and we feel they make a good fit, we’ll continue to grow and add them to the category,” he said.
Wish Farms ramps up berry production
Wish Farms, based in Plant City, Fla., is increasing its Florida strawberry production and, this year, is moving into domestic organic blueberry production, said Amber Kosinsky, marketing director.
“Last season, consumers were asking for more organic product, general questions about it, and that led us to plant more acreage of organic strawberries,” she said.
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