Strawberries and Valentine’s Day go together, and Southern California strawberry grower-shippers say there should be plenty of the heart-shaped fruit on hand for the most romantic day of the year.
In late January, Cindy Jewell, who handles marketing for Bobalu Berries in Oxnard, Calif., said fruit size was excellent and that plenty of stem berries should be available.
“It bodes well for Valentine’s Day,” she said.
Watsonville, Calif.-based Seven Seas will have plenty of berries for Valentine’s Day loading at the company’s cooler in McAllen, Texas, said Brent Scattini, vice president, West Coast.
“Our crop is planted to peak around the holiday, and all indicators show we are right on track,” he said in late January.
Seven Seas will have ample stems available and will continue to do so even after Feb. 14, he said.
Similarly, Salinas, Calif.-based Naturipe Farms LLC will have good supplies of strawberries between its Mexico and California crops, said Jerry Moran, vice president of sales.
“Our central Mexico crop is just now getting into peak production and will have the majority of supplies for the holiday pull, before we transition into California strawberries in early spring,” he said.
Long-stem strawberries “are certainly a hit for Valentine’s Day, as they are great for dipping in chocolate and are the perfect sweet treat for any celebration,” Moran added.
Stems will be available from Naturipe’s Mexico and California locations.
“As long as Mother Nature cooperates, we should have promotable volumes to offer our partnered customers,” he said.
Gem-Pack Berries, Irvine, Calif., also is “set up for solid volume” of strawberries leading into Valentine’s Day, weather permitting, said Michelle Deleissegues, vice president of marketing.
“Stem berries are a huge hot item for us in all active districts,” added Madu Etchandy, vice president of operations.
“As long as rain does not hit us hard in SoCal, we will have a lot to go around,” she said.