Sunkist Expands its Fresh Citrus Program to Florida

Sunkist Growers and Greene River Marketing are teaming up to sell Florida citrus under the Sunkist brand in markets across the globe beginning in the 2013-2014 season. “We are looking forward to this association,” says Greene River Marketing President Patrick Rodgers. “Both organizations bring great strengths to each other and I see tremendous potential in both the domestic and export With this program, four premier packing houses will pack Sunkist labeled citrus, Greene River Packing, Riverfront Packing Company, Leroy Smith and Oslo Citrus Growers Association. The four companies pack approximately 3 million cartons annually. Sunkist and Greene River Marketing will both sell Sunkist-branded Florida citrus, with the majority of the fruit being sold by Greene River Marketing. “Sunkist and Greene River Marketing are aligned on the importance of providing high-quality products and services to our customers throughout the world,” says Sunkist Vice President of Sales & Marketing Kevin Fiori. Central to this program is Greene River Marketing’s grapefruit, which will provide Sunkist with a consistent supply of high-quality grapefruit throughout the year. Florida #1 grapefruit will be packed under the Sunkist brand, while other varieties and grades will utilize the SK choice or Pure Gold brands. “We are excited about the expansion of our grapefruit program to Florida,” says Fiori. “In addition to our growers’ California and Arizona programs, we feel fortunate to have such high-quality associations with Lone Star Produce in Texas and now Greene River Marketing in Florida. We believe this expansion will provide our customers with the finest year-round supply of grapefruit out of all the major U.S. citrus growing areas.” Sunkist Growers is a citrus marketing cooperative, founded in 1893, which is owned by and operated for thousands of family farmers growing citrus in California and Arizona.