Gary Wishnatzki

The company began as Wishnatzki and Nathel in 1922, then shifted to Wishnatzki Farms before a stroke of market

Scott Wilkins

Mark Bassetti, senior vice president for Duda Farm Fresh Foods, headquartered in Ovieda, FL, said on Nov.

Sixty years ago, Max Lipman founded Six L’s in Immokalee, FL, each of the L’s representing one of his three sons and three daughters. Today, the same family still owns the company, but with an eye on the future, it recently rebranded itself as Lipman.

In 1984, Willy Pardo started selling exotic and tropical produce from the back of his truck in Miami to neighbors who wanted items that were staples of their diets but not always easy to find in supermarkets.

A quarter-century later, W.P. Produce has grown into a full-line purveyor of tropical and exotic items headed by Mr. Pardo and his daughter, Vice President Desirée P. Morales.

The company has had great success as an importer of Dominican avocados and Hispanic specialties. Now, W.P. is branching out to cover another growing demographic group.

Southern Specialties Inc. in Pompano Beach, FL, had a terrific showing at PMA Fresh Summit, so much so that the weeks following have been “crazed” according to Vice President of Business Development Charlie Eagle.

“We have had great positive response to the PMA,” Mr. Eagle said. “We have good demand for our microwave specialty lineup. We’ve had really good response on those products from people from companies around the nation.”