Lakeside Organic Gardens sees growth in 26 years of growing organic vegetables

Watsonville, Calif.-based Lakeside Organic Gardens has entered its 26th year of growing solely organic vegetables, and strong demand is fueling continuing growth, said Marliese McWherter, marketing director.

Organic broccoli, cauliflower and celery are the marketer’s top sellers of the 45-plus available commodities, she said.
“Our summer crops are green and red bell peppers, eggplant and zucchini, available from June through November,” McWherter said. 

Celery, broccoli and cauliflower have been strong performers for the marketer, she said. 

“In our leaf category, romaine is always our top seller, followed by red leaf and green leaf,” McWherter said. “Romanesco continues to have increased traction as it’s gaining consumer and foodservice awareness in the past few years.”

Organic vegetable production for Lakeside Organic Gardens will be about the same as last year, she said.

“Annually, we slowly increase crop acreage to keep up with organic vegetable demand and we can adjust or add to our commodities and volume based on our customer requests,” McWherter said. “We meet with our sales team yearly to go over our planting schedule and we only plant what we think we can sell.”

She said the company is transparent and honest with its customers, and sharing farming challenges, successes and strategies with them is a big part of the overall campaign.
“In addition, as a vertically integrated company, we are a one-stop shop for our customers, ensuring less stressful times for them,” she said. 

The shortage of labor is the worst in years, she said, and California regulations and water rules are challenging for organic growers.

But on the demand side, McWherter said there is much to celebrate.

“Organic demand is on the rise, and we expect continued growth in 2022,” she said. “Consumer awareness since the pandemic is off the charts.”

Sustainability has been a focus for the company, she said.

“Lakeside Organic Gardens has, for the past 10 years, researched ways to sustainably change our bib ties to make them more environmentally friendly,” she said, noting the company’s participation in such programs as the TagBack Recycling program, through which twist-ties and other types of packaging closures can be recycled . “Recently, our manufacturer has implemented a recycling program where consumers can now recycle their bib ties at a drop box at participating retailers. We also have new tags with the TagBack program on the back of the ties for consumers to mail them in to be recycled.”

Other sustainability efforts by the company include removing 6 million pounds of wax from landfills by using recyclable plastic cartons .

For the next three to six months, McWherter said the company’s sales and marketing plan consists of articulating its efforts to take care of the company’s customers. 

“We are looking forward to hands-on ranch tours and cooler tours, which are incredibly beneficial for our customers,” she said. “Being transparent and honest with our customers and sharing our farming challenges, successes and strategies with them is a big part of the overall campaign .” 

Building demand

McWherter said organic vegetable demand continues to grow year over year, and the pandemic has only served to boost that demand.

“Consumers are still leery to go out and shoppers continue to cook more homemade meals that involve meal prepping with nutritious ingredients and actively purchasing more organic produce,” she said. “And they see the positive results. Organic juicing continues to be on the rise.”