CHICAGO, IL - This week, Hazel Technologies has announced a spate of new hires—bringing produce industry veteran Mario Cervantes to its team as the new Business Development and Sales Manager at Hazel Technologies and adding seven new team members, in total, to meet the rapidly-growing company’s needs.

Additionally, the company announced the opening of an upgraded facility, featuring a new state-of-the-art post-harvest produce lab, brand new refrigeration rooms and modified atmosphere capabilities. According to the company’s press release, the new lab will be used to provide best-in-class technical support for Hazel’s customers, which include some of the largest growers, packers, and shippers of fresh produce in the world.

“After working for over a decade on the cutting edge of fresh produce packing as both a grower and technology provider, I was excited to see the powerful impact Hazel's products are already having on the fresh industry globally,” said Cervantes. “With Hazel's traction across the Americas in several different fresh categories and funding support from key organizations such as the United States Department of Agriculture and Western Growers Association, I could not pass up this unique opportunity.”

Cervantes brings more than a decade of experience as an innovator in the fresh produce industry to his new role, according to Hazel Technologies’ press release. Most recently, Cervantes served as a Regional Sales Executive with Compac, leader in high-speed packinghouse technology, and before that, Cervantes founded and managed a commercial vegetable farm, Tlalli Organics, in Guanajuato, Mexico and worked for Spectrum Technologies, an agriculture instrument company. Cervantes is currently completing his Masters of Agribusiness from Kansas State University.

Derick Jiwan, Ph.D., is also joining Hazel Technologies as Senior Technical Lead. Jiwan comes to the company following more than 15 years of experience focusing on the research and development side of commercial agriculture. Most recently, Jiwan spent five years as a genetics researcher at the United States Department of Agriculture and had the opportunity to work hand-in-hand with growers to develop new crop varieties.

Additionally, the company noted, Hazel Technologies added the following team members:

• Laura Blaser, MBA, Operations Lead
• Ken Kurita, Sales and Operations Analyst
• Shriya Subedy, Post-Harvest Scientist
• Emily Moy, Production Scientist
• Nick Moore, Production Scientist

Each of the company’s new team members, Hazel Technologies noted, brings varied experience in agriculture, supply chain logistics, business, and research, and all are passionate about reducing waste in the fresh produce industry.

“All of us at Hazel Technologies are very pleased with the new team additions and facility expansion,” said Aidan Mouat, CEO and Co-Founder. “Our support from the United States Department of Agriculture and Western Growers Association have played a crucial role in our ability to increase our company resources, reduce food waste in the fresh produce industry, and improve the customer eating experience.”

Congratulations from us at AndNowUKnow to Hazel Technologies’ new team members.

Hazel Technologies