Mastronardi Produce/SUNSET® announces Pepperco USA

Starting off the new year, Mastronardi Produce is proud to announce their latest greenhouse venture: Pepperco USA. As the largest greenhouse pepper company in North America, family-owned, employee operated Mastronardi Produce has quietly grown their acreage and capacity in Coldwater, Michigan since completing Phase II of their greenhouse operation this past summer.

“After the recent completion of Phase II, we decided to carry on expanding our Coldwater greenhouses to 100 acres,” stated CEO Paul Mastronardi.“We’ve already established a strong demand for our Michigan grown tomatoes from retailers and were overwhelmed with the response from consumers. We’re anticipating even more enthusiasm for local SUNSET® peppers this Spring.”

Greenhouse builders Havecon Projects and Stolze wrapped up Phase II this past August and have been working through the winter to complete Pepperco. At 41 acres, Mastronardi’s greenhouse is the first large scale pepper greenhouse in the US.

Since opening their Coldwater facility in 2012, Mastronardi Produce has been leading the industry with advanced greenhouse technology to combat frigid Michigan winters and bring fresh, summertime flavor to the Midwest in a sustainable way.

“Because of the strategic location of Coldwater, we’re able to reduce food miles and deliver a vine-ripened product,” said Joe Sbrocchi, VP of Business Development. “With such close proximity to a number of distribution centers, we’re able to harvest, pack and ship our produce to our clients’ doors the same day, which ensures our consumers are getting the freshest product possible.”

The state of the art greenhouse will begin harvesting Spring 2015. Stay tuned for more SUNSET® expansions.