CASTROVILLE, CA - Ocean Mist Farms, North America's leading grower and shipper of fresh artichokes, has officially kicked off its spring season. With its annual migration north complete, the company’s transition to its spring/summer growing region – in Castroville and Salinas Valley, CA – is in full production.

“The spring crop is looking great,” said Ben Wilson, commodity account manager, in a recent press release. Continuing, “If these first harvests are any indication of what our season will bring…it’s going to be a good one!” Wilson emphasized, “With the exceptional quality we’re seeing, we expect a strong crop through the Easter holiday and beyond.”

Easter is a big artichoke holiday, and this year will be no exception. “We will have promotable volumes in a variety of pack sizes to support customer demand,” Wilson stated. Adding, “Now is the perfect time for ads and promotions that will create excitement in Produce Departments and remind consumers of the exceptional crops they can expect this spring and summer.” In addition to ads and promos, building destination displays and taking advantage of cross-promotional opportunities will also generate excitement and result in artichokes in baskets.

In addition to its ample supply of green artichokes, Ocean Mist Farms' purple artichokes are a real fan-favorite and hard to keep on the shelves when retailers stock them. “These first spring harvests of purple artichokes are yielding a beautiful crop; we expect good volumes for Easter and through April and possibly into May,” said Wilson.