Growers have said it’s been a record year for volume in the berry industry – one of substantial growth in fruit supply overall, and California Giant Berry Farms said it's been a strong growth year for the company too. Significant supply in strawberry volume this season adversely affected the berry market - California Giant’s quality standards remained firm and the company culture, innovation and staff seem to be growing alike, they said.
With a new force leading and overseeing the company’s sales, operations and strategic initiatives, California Giant Berry Farms COO, Joe Barsi, has enthusiastic intent, and a fresh vision for the future of the company, starting with accountability, communication and culture.
Change stems from within, and Barsi is already strengthening communication and culture from the inside out. Staff have already participated in a strategic planning process, internal company town hall discussions, a newly implemented annual Grower Summit meeting, employee training programs, and expanding various divisions within the company, all while continuing to align with its family heritage.
“The berry industry is going to look very different five years from now. In anticipation of that, we went through an extensive strategic planning process. Our company values of Quality, Community and Fairness have not changed, but our strategies to address the rapidly changing berry industry had to,” says Barsi. “We are thoroughly reviewing our operations and processes to make sure we are positioned for the future. It has been a challenging year for the California strawberry industry. Quality wins at the end of the day, and California Giant is committed to delivering quality berries every day when and where our customers need them, and that is weaved into our long-term plan.”
The company shared that a big part of the company growth is building on their professional staff following through on the commitment of delivering quality. With that commitment, comes people and the focus on service. October has been a very busy month at California Giant with several new hires and specifically, new positions.
Left to right: Joe Barsi, Brittany Wang, and Markus Duran
Brittany Wang joined California Giant on October 10, 2018 as Financial Sales Analyst supporting the company Finance Department. Originally from the tropical island of Hainan in China, she relocated to the U.S. and lived in Minnesota and New York, and recently moved to Los Gatos, California. She is already diving into several projects supporting sales with forecasting and analyzing data evaluating sales goals with key customers. Brittany is also researching and evaluating current economic conditions in various growing regions to help position the company for future growth.
David Johnson was just hired as a Logistics Specialist and his first day with the company will be October 29. He will work closely with Logistics Manager, Gary Bertone, responsible for the transportation and logistical requirements for the movement of all berries throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico strengthening capabilities, a critical component to the services California Giant provides customers with delivered loads, cost efficiencies and increased emphasis on hours of service.
As the company looks to grow their share of market in the blueberry industry, Joe Barsi announced to the staff on October 15 that Markus Duran was promoted from Blueberry Category Specialist to North American Blueberry Operations Manager. Markus has been with the company for five years learning every aspect of the fresh blueberry industry and is stepping into a leadership role as the company grows and shifts into a year-round grower/packer/shipper of fresh blueberries. Markus will compliment and lead an existing strong team supporting this portion of the company’s business working closely with the sales group and Nader Musleh who leads the South American blueberry program.
Other recent key hires include Abelardo Rodriguez, Systems Coordinator-Packaging/Track & Trace, a graduate from California State University Fresno with an emphasis in Plant Science & Crop Production Management, Wendi Castagnola filling the role of staff accountant, and Chico State graduate and Central Coast native, Shannon Cotton, sales coordinator.
While California Giant looks ahead to the future, they said their mission stays the same: "delivering the best quality berries and giving back to the community". The company's long-term vision is to continue to be recognized as an international berry company and recognized as a year-round supplier of all four berry types. They said their objective is to continue to grow, evolve and innovate to best serve their customers and trade partners, while maintaining a united company culture.
For more information:
Cindy Jewell
California Giant Berry Farms
Tel: +1 (831) 728-1773
cjewell@calgiant.com
www.calgiant.com