Progressive Produce Focuses on Sustainability and Social Responsibility

Progressive Produce has announced a new sustainability and social responsibility initiative called "Rooted," which focuses on people, planet, and practices.

“We’re doing our part to build a better tomorrow by ensuring workplace wellbeing, giving back to our community, minimizing our carbon footprint, and utilizing sustainable growing, packing, and shipping practices,” said Oscar Guzman, director of marketing and sales for the Los Angeles-based company. “As part of Rooted, we’re expanding our earth-friendly packaging options and offering more sustainable solutions.”

Oscar Guzman, Director of Marketing and Sales, Progressive Produce

Progressive Produce's philosophy encompasses the core values of pursuing excellence, bringing positive energy, respecting all team members, treating the business like everyone owns it, and doing what they say they will do. 

“We’re doing our part to build a better tomorrow by ensuring workplace wellbeing, giving back to our community, minimizing our carbon footprint, and utilizing sustainable growing, packing, and shipping practices.” – Oscar Guzman

“These actions have proven to be a difference maker for us in this industry and [are] how we continue to gain the confidence and partnerships of our growing partners [and] retail and food service partners,” Guzman said.

Progressive Produce began in 1967 as a potato and onion business and was the first company to bring bulk loads of potatoes to Los Angeles, merging all facets of potato production—wholesaling, packing, refrigeration, transportation, and sales—under one roof.

Since then, it has grown into a year-round grower/packer/distributor of potatoes, onions, asparagus, and other fruits and vegetables, growing thousands of acres throughout North and South America.

Progressive Produce's sustainable packaging items

On the horizon, Progressive plans to offer sustainable packaging options for its other commodities, including a mesh and wine glass label that completely bio-assimilates, leaving no microplastic behind.

Some of Progressive's current sustainable packaging items include compostable bag locks, compostable tray packs, compostable PLU stickers, and fully recyclable bales and corrugated cartons.

The company is also offering 100-percent recyclable paper packaging, which is available in 1.5-pound bags for red, gold, and medley baby potatoes and 3-pound bags for organic russet, red, and gold potatoes.

Some of Progressive's current sustainable packaging items include compostable bag closures, compostable tray packs, compostable PLU stickers, and fully recyclable bales and corrugated cartons.

As of this fall, Progressive Produce is now offering baby yams under its new brand, Mim’s Famous Sweet Potatoes.

“Inspired by Mim, the beloved grandma of one of our Progressive team members, the company has taken her tradition of serving a sweet potato dish at every meal and putting it in a small package full of flavor and variety,” Guzman said. “The organic mini-medley pack comes in 1.5-pound bags and has up to four different types of sweet potatoes, including the Beauregard Orange, Garnet Red, Bonita White, and Murasaki varieties.”

Progressive Produce's sustainable packaging items

Guzman added that Mim’s petite sizes make preparation and cooking quick and easy. Mim’s organic mini-medley pack offers the consumer up to four different varieties of sweet potatoes, each with [its] own unique flavor profile.

“Mim’s Organic Mini Sweet Potatoes can do for the sweet potato category what mini potatoes did for the potato category with [their] sizing and varieties,” Guzman said. “[They] will create incremental sales, new demand, and new sweet potato consumers.”

Mim’s organic mini-medley pack offers the consumer up to four different varieties of sweet potatoes, each with its own unique flavor profile.

The fall and winter months also kick off Progressive’s extensive citrus program, which includes organic navel oranges, organic heirloom navels, organic grapefruits, organic lemons, and organic specialty citrus.

“We will see an expanded organic heirloom navel orange program towards the end of the year and into the first quarter of 2022,” Guzman said. “The perfectly sweet and delicious organic heirloom navels will be packed in 3-pound bags, with bulk sizes also available.”

Progressive’s organic heirloom navels are an old-line Washington variety grown on 100-year-old trees by a third-generation family farm located in Bakersfield, CA.

 

Trinity Fruit Releases New Organic Stone Fruit Pouch Bags

Trinity Fruit Company, the Fresno, CA-based grower-shipper, recently released new organic stone fruit pouch bags, which feature recycling information for consumers.

The new bags have a How2Recycle logo to educate “consumers on how to dispose of the bag and help alleviate problems in the recycling stream,” said Angela Hernandez, Trinity Fruit’s director of marketing.

Angela Hernandez, Director of Marketing, Trinity Fruit

“Stone fruit pouch bags have been a thing of the past but adding the How2Recycle logo on our new organic pouch bags is something new and has been beneficial for retailers,” said Hernandez. “We are always on a hunt for packaging material that is sustainable for the environment, and while we continue to seek the best packaging, we took the approach to use the logo as a tool to help the issue.”

Hernandez said retailers have responded very positively to the company’s new pouch bags. “We have found that retailers receive this well and appreciate the approach we have taken in educating the consumer and helping to alleviate issues in the recycling stream,” she said.  

“We are always on a hunt for packaging material that is sustainable for the environment, and while we continue to seek the best packaging, we took the approach to use the logo as a tool to help the issue.” – Angela Hernandez

Established in 1999, Trinity Fruit Company is a year-round vertically integrated grower, packer, and shipper of fresh fruits. “We are committed to ensuring that all aspects of sustainable agriculture and production practices are met,” said Hernandez. “We are proud to share the fruits of our labor and be a part of an industry that helps feed America.”

“We are committed to ensuring that all aspects of sustainable agriculture and production practices are met.” – Angela Hernandez

Trinity Fruit offers a wide range of conventional and organic commodities. Its organic items include peaches, pluots, nectarines, plums, mandarins, lemons, persimmons, and pomegranates—all grown in California. The company can accommodate virtually any packaging preference, whether it is standard cartons, RPCs, Euro boxes, bags, clamshells, or custom packs.