Charlie Eagle, vice president of business development for Southern Specialties, headquartered in Pompano Beach, FL, told The Produce News that tropical fruits and vegetables have had strong growth in produce aisles and on foodservice menus for the past several years.

Tropical fruits and vegetables have been a growth phenomenon in produce aisles and on foodservice menus for the past several years. Eric R. Crawford, president of Fresh Results LLC, headquartered in Sunrise, FL, believes the trend will continue into the future.

There was a time not too far gone when fresh pineapple was a novelty in a grocery store. Consumers were not quite sure what to do with a product they were used to consuming from cans or atop a holiday ham. That has clearly changed. And now that shoppers are familiar with fresh pineapple, they need to be better educated about how to pick the best fruit, said Alan Dolezal, vice president of sales for Turbana Corp. of Coral Gables, FL, and its premium Fyffes Gold pineapple.

With quality and service being focal points for Tex Mex Sales LLC in Weslaco, TX, and a stated goal to deliver a perfect onion to retail and foodservice customers and consumers, father and son owners Marvin and Mike Davis have taken the company’s entire growing program under their wing.

While the company previously supplanted their onion supplies with contracts from other growers, the Davises now control all the acreage their product comes from.

With just a single week of wintry weather and solid markets heading into the heart of the deal, The Onion House in Weslaco, TX, is primed for an excellent Texas onion season.

Sweet onion giant Bland Farms LLC in Glennville, GA, is heading into what looks like an excellent Texas onion season and solid market that will set the table for its keystone Vidalia onion deal, according to Director of Sales John Cameron. It does not hurt that the company also owns Bland Distribution Services, in Donna, TX, just a few miles from the Mexican border.