Posts Tagged “Bridges Produce”
By INDUSTRY PRESS RELEASE July 23, 2021
Bridges Produce has built their business on long term partnerships and their relationship with Fruit d’Or is no exception. The Bridges team has worked with Fruit d’Or, for over 24 years and has acted as their exclusive organic fresh cranberry sales representative in the United States for the last 7 years. During this time, they have seen the program grow and diversify across many markets and distribution channels. This Fall, Bridges will be adding Massachusetts based Decas Farms conventional fresh cranberries to their available offerings.
In March 2021, family-owned Fruit d’Or based in Quebec, Canada acquired Decas Cranberry Products Inc. The Patience Fruit & Co organic brand is well-developed in Canada and is a strong organic player in the US cranberry market. Decas Farms has an 80 year history of producing high quality fresh cranberries and cranberry products.
There continues to be opportunities for significant growth across the fresh cranberry category which grew over 4.1% in 2020. Bridges will be able to offer both 8oz. and 12 oz. Patience Fruit & Co. brand organic cranberries and 12 oz. Decas Farms brand conventional cranberries from October through December shipping from three locations – Carver MA, Los Angeles, CA, and Vineland, NJ.
With Decas Farms now under the Patience Fruit & Co’s umbrella, they plan to pack and ship the majority of the organic and conventional fresh fruit at the Decas’ Massachusetts facility. “Bridges is excited to add a Massachusetts based packing house and the additional SKU’s in the Decas Farms label. The combination of Patience and Decas has greatly increased our capacity and efficiency of logistics. We can now cover the full cranberry category with both organic and conventional options with three loading locations in the US,” said Ben Johnson, Bridges Produce’s President. With these increased efficiencies, and hundreds of years of combined experience Bridges expects to provide even higher levels of customer service paired with the superior quality fruit that all three companies are known for.
by Bridges Produce
This Fall, Bridges Produce is debuting a new label in the U.S. for the fresh organic cranberries from Patience Fruit & Co. This new label, “Patience,” was chosen to reflect the belief that doing things the right way is better than rushing through them. Growing cranberries organically takes more effort, more thoughtfulness, more respect for nature, but the results are worth it.
The relationship between Patience, formerly known as Fruit d’Or, and Bridges Produce began over 16 years ago and has evolved as the companies and the organic market has grown. During the 2014 season Bridges became the exclusive fresh sales representative for Fruit d’Or in the U.S., selling 8 oz. bags and 7.5 oz clamshells. The following season they debuted a 12 oz. poly bag, a size that is in high demand for use in many recipes. For the 2016 fresh cranberry season, all pack styles and sizes will be branded as Patience Fruit & Co.
The group of Quebec growers practice organic farming to minimize their ecological footprint. They believe in working with nature and following its rhythms rather than trying to work against it. For example, they use a “closed circuit” water system where rainwater and melted snow are collected in a drainage basin and used to irrigate the fields and flood them for harvesting. They also rely on 6 million bees to help pollinate the cranberry plants. Growing organically is not the easiest way but yields the best results.
Their superior quality fruit as well as their sustainable growing practices make Bridges so pleased to continue their partnership with Patience Fruit & Co. This year the pack styles Bridges will offer include 12 oz. and 8 oz. poly bags, 7.5 oz. clams, and a 22 lb bulk box. They are available for shipping from Los Angeles and New Jersey October through December. Patience Fruit & Co. also has a line organic dried cranberries, dried mixed berries and artisan blends available as well.
For more information regarding fresh organic cranberries contact Bridges Produce at: info@bridgesproduce.com 503-235-7333