Sand Candy sweet potato partnership announced
Bland Farms LLC., Battleboro Produce, Boyette Brothers Produce LLC., and Sandyland Produce have announced a new partnership and sales company, Sand Candy Produce LLC.
Four major sweet potato growers have partnered in Sand Candy Produce to focus on selling sweet potatoes grown in North Carolina and Georgia. With their respective packing facilities, each partner has the ability to pack bins, boxes, and bags with sizes ranging from 2-10 lbs, including shrink wrap and microwave.
The company will have its main office in Battleboro, North Carolina and will handle sales for more than 10,000 acres of sweet potato production in North Carolina and Georgia. This will put the new partnership as one of the major marketers of sweet potatoes in the United States.
The new company will expand the market reach for each partner company due to the synergy of their combined domestic and international customer bases. Joel Bozeman, Owner and President of Battleboro Produce, states, “We are one of the three North Carolina based growing partners that have been farming world famous North Carolina sweet potatoes for over 50 years. We have enjoyed a strong export business and are excited that now with Sand Candy, we can grow our domestic business along with our international business. Having both North Carolina and Georgia sweet potatoes this season will be a win for our customers.”
Delbert Bland, Owner and President of Bland Farms LLC., is excited about the partnership, stating, “We’ve been growing Georgia sweet potatoes for several years now. This partnership will allow us to expand our production of sweet potatoes and complement our Vidalia sweet onion season.”
Sand Candy Produce LLC is able to provide customers with a consistent and secure supply of sweet potatoes because of our diversified growing areas in North Carolina and Georgia. The company can also ensure fresher product for longer periods with Georgia sweet potatoes typically being available earlier than North Carolina’s, and the North Carolina season extending later than Georgia’s.
Sand Candy will also be able to provide full marketing and promotional services to their customers including in-store POS, social media, and customer specific marketing. In addition, the company will be able to provide mixed loads of sweet potatoes and sweet onions as needed, as well as mixed bins of sweet potatoes and sweet onions upon request. Sand Candy Produce’s name is derived from the sandy soils in which North Carolina and Georgia sweet potatoes are grown.
