A Canadian speciality produce grower says recent success in a greenhouse competition with its sweet pepper can largely be attributed to the company's 'unique atmosphere'. 

Ontario-based Orangeline Farms swept to victory last weekend at the 8th Annual Greenhouse Competition at Leamington Fair, where its Zing!-branded Sweet Mini peppers won 1st, 2nd and 3rd place awards in the 'Best Specialty Mini Pepper' category.

A panel of expert judges weighed in on more than 180 entries of the very best in the home of the largest greenhouse region in North America, assessing the entries on taste, appearance, smell and shape.

Vice president of sales and marketing Jordan Kniaziew said it was 'truly energizing' to be a part of growth of the industry.

"It’s pretty exciting," he told www.freshfruitportal.com.

"It’s something that we’re really proud of here, we’ve worked hard at developing and growing our unique products and it’s good to be recognized. There was some of the biggest competitors in the industry at the event."

He also said winning in this competition would have a long-lasting impact and would establish a point of difference from other products in the market.

The representative also highlighted that the contribution from everyone within the company had helped it be able to grow an award-winning pepper.

"I think it’s the team atmosphere that makes us unique here at Orangeline farms, where everyone from our pickers to our packers to our growers to the sales team contributes to making that the award-winning pepper, and it’s something that we’re proud of," Kniaziew said.

"We’ve been growing that specific variety for the past five years so we’ve been in production for a while now, and you kind of learn the best practices for growing the plants and what works best for you, your farm and your greenhouse structure."

Orangeline's sales are strong in Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec, and as well as in the U.S. Mid-West and northeast, according to Kniaziew, who added the company was 'chipping away' at the southern states.

He also noted the market conditions were very positive for the speciality produce.

"I think there’s always a strong demand for greenhouse produce, the safeness of it, the reliability, consistency and the taste profile, so there’s always that strong demand for it, and you always see consistent pulls for the unique items that we do offer," Kniaziew said.

"There are a couple of holidays coming up that will have an effect on the market. You’ll see some stronger pulls, typically for the the Fourth of July holiday in the U.S. as well as Canada Day, which is right around the corner."

In addition, the sales and marketing vice president described the company's future outlook as 'exciting', saying it was going to continue to grow more unique items and continue to push the boundaries on packing.

"We're going to really focus on the core of what we do as being a specialty greenhouse grower and offering great selection to our supply partners so they in turn can get the pulls from the retailers, so that’s what we’re going to continue to do," he said.

www.freshfruitportal.com