With its annual migration north complete, fresh artichoke grower-shipper Ocean Mist Farms’ transition to its spring and summer growing region — in Castroville and Salinas Valley, Calif. — is in full production, according to a news release.
“The spring crop is looking great,” said Ben Wilson, commodity account manager for Ocean Mist Farms. “If these first harvests are any indication of what our season will bring, it’s going to be a good one. With the exceptional quality we’re seeing, we expect a strong crop through the Easter holiday and beyond.”
Easter is a big artichoke holiday, and this year will be no exception, the release said.
“We will have promotable volumes in a variety of pack sizes to support customer demand,” Wilson said. “Now is the perfect time for ads and promotions that will create excitement in produce departments and remind consumers of the exceptional crops they can expect this spring and summer.”
In addition to ads and promos, building destination displays and taking advantage of cross-promotional opportunities will also generate excitement and result in artichokes in baskets, says Ocean Mist Farms.
In addition to an ample supply of green artichokes, the company says its purple artichokes are a fan-favorite and hard to keep on the shelves when retailers stock them.
“These first spring harvests of purple artichokes are yielding a beautiful crop; we expect good volumes for Easter and through April and possibly into May,” Wilson said.
