HOLLYWOOD, Fla. — Attendees and exhibitors came ready to get inspired, learn from each other and share best-in-class produce at this year’s Global Organic Produce Expo, held Jan. 30-Feb. 1 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino hosted by The Packer and PMG.
Jeff Richardson and Mike Faul of Great Lakes Greenhouses Inc. were happy to exhibit at GOPEX 2023 and said they look forward to GOPEX 2024.
“Look around,” said Richardson eyeing the attendees in the aisle alongside Great Lakes Greenhouses’ booth. “Everyone is having fun.”
“The yacht was a really good icebreaker and introduced our new team members to the industry,” said Wholesum’s Joanna Jaramillo. Added to that, the keynote from Fair Trade USA’s Paul Rice resonated with the team at Fair Trade USA-certified Wholesum Family Farms.
Related news: Seen and heard at GOPEX 2023 — Part 3
Aaron Sumption, who has worked in the indoor ag industry since 2011, is excited to see the organic industry come together in person at this year’s show. He also is hopeful about the future of CEA agriculture. At Local Bounti, his team has worked to brand greenhouse grown lettuce so that consumers can easily learn the story behind the greens.
While the majority of produce that Delaware-based Royalhalo grows and imports from Latin America is conventional, “10 loads of conventional to one load organic” to be exact, according to Royalhalo founding partner Ricardo Hernandez, who added that the company is excited to expand its organic offerings in the coming year.
The team from Palmetto, Fla.-based Sunripe brands came to this year’s GOPEX excited to share about how its move from California to the Southeast has positively affected its brand. Once spread out on both coasts, the grower now concentrates on growing on farms in Florida, Georgia and Tennessee.
“The freight cost was too much, and the quality was down,” said Jon Esformes, owner of Sunripe.
“Relocating has made deliveries become overnight, instead of four days,” he continued. “This has worked very well for us.”
Additionally, Sunripe was able to certify every farm in the Fair Food Program.
“When producers take the time to make transformation change on the ground, the market rewards that investment,” said the Fair Food Program’s Marley Monacello.
The start of strawberry season was top of mind for Well Pict Berries’ Director of Marketing Jim Grabowski at this year’s expo.
“You approach each season with high hopes,” Grabowski said. His growers are getting a late start this year because of the atmospheric river and subsequent flooding in California.
“The floods pushed us back a month,” he continued. “Luckily, it didn’t damage our acreage, just affected timing.”
Grabowski is confident that they’ll make up for lost time quickly and have a strong season.
The Equitable Food Initiative is excited about connecting with growers at this year’s GOPEX. One of the social responsibility certifier’s goals is to be a “one-stop audit shop” for growers pursuing EFI certification, according to Madelyn Edlin, marketing and sales manager at EFI.
“We’re excited about our GFSI benchmarking roll out. This will relieve time and audit fatigue for our growers,” Edlin said.
She’s heartened not only with the growers her team is partnering with, but Edlin is noticing more interest in responsible sourcing in the produce industry in general.
“More people on the buyers desk care about social responsibility now,” Edlin said.
“It’s nice to have everyone in our backyard,” said Alexander Wegner, account manager at Hippie Organics. The Florida-based brand was developed by Alpine Fresh to market its premium fresh fruit and vegetable offerings.
