Growers Express Opens New Green Giant D.C.

Growers Express, the Salinas, Calif.-based parent of the rapidly growing Green Giant fresh produce brand, is celebrating the unveiling of a new, 70,000-square-foot fresh cooler, consolidation and distribution facility in Gonzales, Calif.

Company officials said the advantages of choosing Gonzales for its new depot include proximity to its farming operations; ease of doing business; less truck congestion; and an updated facility design to meet the future needs of the business. Improvements in facility layout, design and function, plus a 50 percent increase in storage capacity, will further enhance cut-to-cool times, leverage existing investments in warehouse management and tracking technologies and reduce environmental impact and costs.

Following the lead of Taylor Farms, which expanded its 80,000-square-foot fresh-cut vegetable processing facility in late 2013, officials from Growers Express decided to locate its operation next door to improve customer service, minimize load times and physically align with one of its strongest Green Giant brand partners.

“As freight and freshness has become more important to our customers and consumers, we aligned with Taylor Farms Retail to offer more efficient loading and consolidation center across a much larger set of Green Giant Fresh branded products," explained Growers Express President Gary Andreasian. "This facility will put us in a position where customers can begin to look at Green Giant Fresh as a one-stop program."    

Utilizing the most efficient cooling equipment, the new Growers Express facility has doors that maintain the cold chain during the loading process and unloaded field trucks in a semi-enclosed area to protect vegetables from sun and wind damage. Rear finished product delivery doors, meanwhile, are set up to receive product for cross-dock and consolidation without interrupting loading flow. 

A multiple award recipient of Progressive Grocer's Category Captains, Green Giant Fresh is a proven branded vegetable category leader and the only fresh produce brand featuring Box Tops for Education, which can be found on over 100 Green Giant Fresh products.