Nogales, Ariz.-based Crisantes Ranches, whose Ultimate Trading Co. subsidiary already markets Sunny Valley Organics in the U.S. and Canada, plans to debut its Grown Free label in November, said Hector Crisantes, master grower with Crisantes Ranches.
The company represents and owns farms in Mexico, as well as in Yuma, El Frida and Cochise, Ariz. It represents a network of growers who pack product under the company’s labels, Crisantes said.
Crisantes Ranches recently opened a 40-acre operation of some greenhouse and some open fields for watermelons and leafy greens in Cochise, Crisantes said.
“We start with staples and then add the crazy stuff. That will give us a good indicator of the potential of the soil,” he said.
The new operation will open in phases, Crisantes said.
“At this stage, we’ll start with 5 acres in greenhouse and 10 in open field,” he said, with the first phase expected be “up and running” between November 2016 and July 2017.
“As we get our feet in the ground and staff up, we’ll expect to grow pretty soon after that,” Crisantes said.
The company operates a fully enclosed 5-acre greenhouse in Yuma, where it grows various types of tomatoes for a season that runs from mid-December through late June. The 60-acre El Frida operation has shade houses, where the company grows tomatoes, zucchini and cucumbers for a deal that runs April through November.
The company ships out of various Mexico locations from November through June, said Crisantes, who is a fourth-generation grower in the family-owned operation.
“We like to think we’ve learned some new things along the way,” he said.
The Grown Free label is designed for a specialty pack for “a little more of the specialty foodservice markets in Los Angeles and markets that want something with a higher appeal for flavor,” Crisantes said.
“Having more people engaged with that side of our business, it’s drummed up new business for upscale restaurants in the Arizona and California markets,” he said.
The Grown Free label will account for about 20% of Crisantes Ranches’ production, Crisantes said.
“We don’t know the volume yet, because we don’t know what the season’s going to bring,” he said.
