Naturipe Farms increases Oxnard strawberry acreage

Naturipe Farms has increased strawberry acreage in Oxnard and additional acreage throughout the company’s main growing regions in California, said Jerry Moran, vice president of sales for Naturipe Farms.

Naturipe has a combination of proprietary varieties and University of California varieties. 

“We tend to go with what works best in the area and what gives us the best overall outcome to keep our customers happy,” Moran said. “We have seen very optimistic performances of our current variety mix in Southern California and will continue to monitor how they perform this season.”

The company’s production in Southern California will peak in April, Moran said. “We are running a little earlier compared to last year so we could see volumes creep up in March,” he said. “The weather we have over the next few weeks will play a pivotal role in how our peak volume sets up.”

The marketer will have great volumes and quality fresh strawberries to promote throughout the year, and especially for the early spring period, he said.

“Our three main districts will be up and running for Easter, Mother’s Day and Memorial Day, providing plenty of opportunities to promote throughout the spring and summer,” he said.

 In addition, Moran said Naturipe has more acreage in organic strawberries this year, with an expected increase of over 20% in production this year compared with a year ago. “We are focused on continuing to add to our production of organics to keep up with consumer demand,” Moran said.

In terms of packaging, Moran said Naturipe is looking forward to promoting the bigger packs that help out with the inflated freight rates to ship berries across North America. 

“The 2-pound pack is more efficient as we can get 14% more weight on a truck vs the 1-pound pack,” he said. “Also, we have new recycle-ready packaging that’s going to be a game changer for consumers and will make it easy for all berry lovers to recycle. We are modifying our packaging by adding a BOPP (Biaxially oriented polypropylene) label with the wash-away adhesive on it, which we’re in the process of rolling out to all of our packaging.”

Challenges and opportunities

Moran said Naturipe is trying to stay ahead of all supplies needed for its operations, but it isn’t easy.

“We’re seeing costs rise throughout the entire process,” he said, with growers dealing with higher costs for fertilizer, packaging, labor, fuel, and transportation. “The list goes on and on but we’re trying to push and look forward. “

At the same time labor and rising costs are a worry, Moran said consumers are making strawberries a consistent purchase at checkout.

“The health benefits and the great quality and flavor of the berries really make them a dual threat,” he said. “Also, the immune-boosting health benefits make them a highly beneficial fruit to consume, especially throughout this long-enduring pandemic.”

Moran said Naturipe is excited about the recent launch of its Greenhouse Strawberry program. “It's just another step our growers are taking in becoming more sustainable and reinforces how we, as a company, continue to innovate,” Moran said. As we look ahead and continue to evolve as strawberry suppliers, we also remain true to our roots.”