PMA foodservice tour provides news and fun

PHOTO DETAILS: Dino Cancellieri, sales manager of Veg-Fresh Farms, Anaheim, Calif., shows off some hothouse tomatoes on April 3. Photo by Dan Galbraith, reporting from the Produce Marketing Association's Consumer Trends '08: A Produce Solutions Conference in Newport Beach, Calif.

TOUR TIME: Day 1 (April 3) proved intriguing as I went on the foodservice tour. I, along with a bunch of grower-shippers, wholesalers, distributors and others, got a glimpse into what makes Legacy Farms LLC (Buena Park, Calif.), Veg-Fresh Farms (Anaheim, Calif.) and Family Tree Produce (Anaheim) so special. Of course, one of those things was that such a high percentage of their business was to foodservice.

CATERING TO RESTAURANTS: Legacy Farms' Nick Cancellieri estimated 40% of his company's business deals with foodservice, while the percentages for Veg-Fresh Farms and Family Tree Produce were also on the high side. In fact, David Figueroa of Family Tree Farms said almost all of his company's business is foodservice-related. All of the company representatives were especially hospitable.

NEWS OF NOTE: Steve Bradley at Legacy told me privately that his company plans to expand its hothouse business into Mexico this year and 2008 also should hold some eye-opening developments for the company as it moves forward with its packaging division. Also, it may not be this year, but at some point in the near future, look for Family Tree Produce to add on to its current facility. David Figueroa, who noted his company already deals with five buyers (which he said is two more than most companies of comparable size to his), is crammed full of produce and he said he expects the company will have to add on to its current facility if the company continues its current growth rate.

LOOKING AHEAD: Day 2 of the conference on April 4 looks to be equally exciting as I'm looking forward to meeting the likes of Scott Horsfall, chief executive officer of the California Leafy Green Products Handler Marketing Agreement; Bonnie Fernandez, the new executive director of the Center for Produce Safety at the University of California at Davis; and Dr. Robert Whitaker, new chief scientific officer at PMA.