Hronis expands cold storage for grape season
DELANO, Calif. — Hronis Inc. has added three cold storage rooms this season — totaling 30,000 square feet — that will accommodate 300,000 boxes of table grapes, said Pete Hronis, senior vice president of sales and marketing.
“That takes our capacity to over 1 million boxes,” he said.
The company also has tripled the size of its receiving area and updated its receiving line.
“Our receiving line can now handle 50,000 boxes a day,” Hronis said.
The firm also has increased its volume of the green late-season autumn king variety to more than 1 million boxes and continues to remove its red crimson vines and increase acreage of the Allison variety.
“I expect to have half a million boxes of Allison this season,” Hronis said.
The firm is working closely with some private nurseries on new green, red and black grapes along with some “unique-flavor varieties,” he said.
Some already have been planted and will be available starting next year.
Hronis Inc. offers all three colors from July through Christmas.
The company packs some of its specialty grapes in 1-pound clamshell containers.
“It’s not just your typical bag of grapes,” Hronis said. “We’re packaging it differently so that it’s being called out special at store level.”
The firm also packs fixed-weight bags for some customers, which is relatively rare in the industry, as well as regular gusseted bags with handles.
Hronis packs its premium fruit in the Hronis Ranch label and also markets grapes under the Sierra Vista, Delano King and Hollywood & Vine labels.
