Consalo Family Farms has expanded its sales of summer citrus, says Steve Stackhouse, director of operations for the Egg Harbor City, N.J.-based company.
Consalo Family Farms is a vertically integrated grower, packer, shipper, importer and distributor of both conventional and organic commodities, Stackhouse said. The company farms blueberries, wet vegetables, herbs, cooking greens and salad items.
“Over the past three years, we have vastly grown our summer citrus program, with the development of our brand, Little Smoochies,” he said. “We are very excited that it has gained amazing consumer recognition. The brand is inclusive of clementines, oranges, lemons, grapefruit and limes.”
Looking ahead, Stackhouse said the company anticipates growth in both supply and demand. “We are expecting our citrus category to increase in volume, especially in this upcoming imported summer citrus season,” he said.
Even though they are not “new varieties,” imports of cara cara oranges and star ruby grapefruit are fairly new to the U.S. market, and Stackhouse said Consalo Family Farms will be focusing more on those.
“Additionally, some later varieties of mandarins and oranges from our Southern Hemisphere suppliers will extend the season, allowing us prolonged supply,” he said.
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Consalo Family Farms offers custom packaging and custom pack sizes, and the company has overnight delivery capability to retailers on the East Coast, he said.
“We intend to source more fruit from our Southern Hemisphere suppliers and continue promotion of our brand,” he said.
Among the surprises of the fall and winter citrus season, Stackhouse said, have been the weather in California and the undersupply of Moroccan clementines on the East Coast.
“These two dilemmas have led to an undersupplied clementine market,” he said, noting resulting interruptions in the wholesale and retail supply chain.
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For Consalo Family Farms, Stackhouse said the company anticipates big promotional opportunities in the months of August and September.
“Our program is strong, and demand goes up in warmer months, especially for commodities like lemons,” he said.
There is an added demand pull in the fall sporting and back-to-school season, he said, with clementines and oranges finding much demand as a perfect fruit to pack for a lunch or a quick pick-me-up snack.
