Gold Coast increases attention to retail, introduces new 2-pound pack
With core items that include broccoli, cauliflower, spinach and cilantro, Santa Maria, Calif.-based Gold Coast Packing Co. Inc. also has significantly grown its Brussels sprouts program in recent years.
Harvest for some of its core items was transitioning from the desert area to Santa Maria in March.
Retail gains
Gold Coast has always been a predominately foodservice company, said Crystal Chavez, marketing coordinator, but she said the company gained retail customers throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Our focus for 2021 has shifted to more retail offerings,” she said. “We recently added 2-pound value-added offerings to our lineup, and we have a lot of other great retail items in the works that will be released later this year.”
Chavez said Gold Coast is focused heavily on innovation and has a product development and innovation team that is always exploring possible next steps.
Marketing strategies for Gold Coast in 2021 are built around e-commerce and digital growth, she said.
At the same time retail business has grown, Chavez said foodservice demand will rebound, with expectations of near normal demand by the third quarter of 2021.
Crop outlook
Gold Coast grows part of its Brussels sprouts in Santa Maria, Chavez said, and for about half the year grows them in Mexico as well. The firm’s cauliflower is grown 100% in the Santa Maria Valley, and broccoli is grown in Santa Maria for most of the year, with winter supply from the desert. Spinach and cilantro are grown in Santa Maria, with winter supply from Yuma.
Crop conditions in Santa Maria have been very dry this year, she said.
“We are in need of more rain,” Chavez said. “At the start of the year we had a few days of rain but not nearly enough of what we need.”
About 10% of Gold Coast’s volume is organic, she said, with expectations for that number to grow in coming years.
