MONTEREY, CA - Looking ahead can also be an opportunity to look back at your success. That is exactly what the team at Awe Sum Organics is doing as they gear up to hit the show floor at Organic Produce Summit (OPS) 2021. As the supplier looks back at its history, it prepares to meet face-to-face with industry friends once again.

“We missed OPS last year, as it was canceled due to COVID. We are excited for this year’s show because this year’s OPS will be Awe Sum’s first public event or trade show since before COVID. It will be wonderful to see all our friends and colleagues in the organic produce trade again. OPS is our favorite show because it is 100 percent focused on organic produce, just like Awe Sum Organics is and has been since our inception over 36 years ago. And we love it because we are so passionate about what we do, organic farming, getting the fruits of our labor to our customers and to consumers across the country, sustainability, awe sum tasting organic fruit, and the organic food movement,” said David Posner, President, CEO, and Founder.

As noted in a press release, Awe Sum Organics has evolved over the years to specialize in seven organic commodities: grapes, kiwi, apples, pears, blueberries, citrus, and avocados.

“I started the company in 1985 with the vision to help create a year-round supply of a wide range of organic produce so that retail shelves and consumers could have healthy, nutrient packed, high quality, beautiful, and awe sum tasting, authentic organically grown produce options year-round. We began with a group of organic growers in California and then went south of the border to develop organic farms and growers to produce organic crops that could not be grown domestically, such as tropical fruits, and items for winter months such as melons, tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, and peppers,” Posner continued. “Then, we evolved into growing and importing organic fruit from the southern hemisphere to complement the domestic supply in the off season and keep the shelves full of fresh organic fruit year-round. I have always enjoyed helping our growers to learn how to grow their fruit organically and have supported them with constantly evolving cutting edge organic growing methods. That part of the work really excites me and is my true passion!”

Awe Sum Organics worked to grow grapes organically where there is no natural dormancy, or very limited dormancy, so the company could supply in the U.S. during winter. It perfected and patented its method and its Peruvian organic table grape growers now use its method for improving budbreak in table grapes as well as its cutting-edge organic fertilization and pest/disease control program.

Awe Sum is showcasing this project, highlighting its Sweet Celebration, Sweet Globe, and Red Globe varieties, in the Organic Innovations Showcase at OPS. The company's first arrivals will be hitting both coasts just after California finishes its organic grapes in December and are available in two consumer packs: catch weight pouch bags and fixed weight one-pound clamshells with UPC.

Awe Sum also has a year-round supply of organic kiwi, offering green kiwi 52 weeks per year and gold kiwi for nine weeks out of the year. The company also has limited volumes of organic Red kiwi during the winter. Its supplies are brought in for its customers during fall, winter, and spring and will be certified by Fair Trade USA for the first time this season in bulk, clamshells, and bags.

Organic pears will reportedly arrive fresh when domestic varieties are out of season. These pears have been Fair Trade Certified for many years and so far, Awe Sum has collected and contributed over $400,000 to the community through its sales of this Fair Trade certified fruit. The company packs bulk and 2 lb pouch bags of its pears. Its organic apples from Hawkes Bay, New Zealand, are also Fair Trade certified and include five varieties in pack bulk and bags. A full supply of Awe Sum Organics blueberries is available from growers in South America for the fall and winter months as well. Year-round organic citrus from California is supported by orchards in all three citrus districts, with year-round availability of lemons and oranges in pack bulk and bags. Soon, Awe Sum will be introducing its organic avocados grown high in the mountains of Colombia with 100 percent natural irrigation from rainfall.

In the press release, Posner outlined how its success in the organic category has been driven by these pioneering programs and an increased consumer interest in the sector.

For more details of Awe Sum’s programs and organic data, please click here.

We hope to see you all later this week!

Awe Sum Organics