Decades of Adding Value Through Packing Operations
From the inception of Four Seasons Produce in 1976, repacking has been a service to add value to customers. Back then, it was commonplace for most boxes of tomatoes to be sorted before shipping, and for a 24 count box of head lettuce to be turned into 4 packs of 6 heads or 2 packs of 12 head for local restaurants, for example. This activity was done informally right where the product was stored at and typically by the warehouse associate or driver that was selecting the order.
As the business grew, so did Packing capability and professionalism with Tomatoes being the main item during the 1980s and 1990s for local foodservice customers and eventually for larger retailers.
This part of the operation became known as “Ready-Ripe” where “gas green” Tomatoes were ripened in storage rooms, then later sorted for color, graded for quality, and repacked into refinished bulk boxes for foodservice, or placed into 2-layer row packs for retailers, or packaged into 3, 4, and 6 count retail trays. Long conveyor belt lines with washers, rollers, and sorting areas were built, and plastic overwrap machines and scales were added to the packing line.
By the late 1990s, Four Seasons Packing Operations had added new capabilities with Tray-pack Tomatoes with crinkle wrap Four Seasons branding, a Punnett container machine for making early club packs of bulk fruits and vegetables for BJs Wholesale, and Citrus bagging machines to re-sort and fresh pack California citrus into bags on the East Coast for both Sunkist and Tropicana brands so buyers could rely on better quality and shorter lead times.
With a steady and industrious local workforce, Four Seasons Produce was able to solve packaging problems for busy retailers and make fresh packs on the East Coast that West Coast shippers weren’t investing in at the time. This included creating Fruit Baskets for Fleming customers and K-Mart Supercenters each holiday season where the team would build the basket with fruit and tissue paper, wrap the basket in plastic, then shrink it with a heat gun, or later in a heat tunnel.
As the 2000s advanced, so did the needs of the marketplace. During this time, Four Seasons Produce was one of the first companies to package certified organic produce into small bags and overwrap trays with UPC labeling. This helped retailers ensure they got the correct ring at the register and also protected organic integrity via preventing comingled displays. In the 2010s, Four Seasons Organic brand changed to Spring Leaf Organic brand for these products, and private labeling organic produce for major retailers ramped up.
Grower-shippers began improving their retail packaging capability at source and improved post-harvest techniques to create better shelf life, reducing the need for East Coast reworking and repacking on some commodities. As this evolved, so did Four Seasons Family of Companies capabilities in Packing Operations.
These days, Four Seasons Produce and Sunrise Logistics utilize Packing Operations to address new challenges in the fast-moving supply chain of produce and other fresh categories for grower-shippers, foodservice wholesalers, and retailers in a food safe, certified organic shop. Giro-machines net bag Avocados and Citrus from nearby ports, Flow-wrap and Overwrap machines create retail tray-packs, Digital ink-jets date code product moving from frozen to fresh, and there are tables and conveyors for a variety of line work – all capabilities on site that create tens of thousands of cases of new finished goods each week.
Investing in new ways to serve our partners is in our DNA, including adding Hiperbaric High Pressure Processing (HPP) tolling services at the Ephrata, PA campus via Sunrise Logistics. HPP is a preservation method that inactivates harmful bacteria in packaged fresh products like squeezed juices, health shots, hummus, guacamole, deli meats, fresh pet foods and more, without having to use traditional heat pasteurization which can diminish flavor, color, texture, and vitamin content. This state-of-the-art HPP equipment will create a one-stop hub offering tolling, co-manufacturing, packaging, labeling, ripening, warehousing, and nationwide distribution.
None of this work happens without great people. There are so many stories of outstanding associates starting their work careers at the Packing Operations of Four Seasons Produce who then were promoted to other roles within Packing and around the business. Stories of celebrating gaining their US Citizenship, stories of learning a second or third language, stories of helping their families and being part of a team – all while Helping Others Succeed In Fresh!