Challenges abound, but the fresh herb business is good for Infinite Herbs.

The firm’s primary ownership is in Miami, with growing operations in Colombia, Mexico and the U.S. Camilo Penalosa, vice president of business development and sales, tells FreshFruitPortal.com on Aug. 10 that the 21-year-old firm has recently “grown quite a bit with new clients.” Its foodservice business has returned to normal since the Covid pandemic and retail sales are very strong.

Penalosa prefers not to be specific about his client list but it involves a good handful of major national chains. 

Virtually everything about the herb business comes with challenges, Penalosa notes.

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During the summer, the firm prioritizes sourcing in New Jersey and the Midwest. “We try to be ‘local’ whenever we can.” But this has recently faced excessive heat or rain. “The weather has been crazy.” Fortunately, Infinite Herbs can also source from Colombia and Mexico, as needed. 

Infinite Herbs offers a variety of consumer packaging styles, including clamshells, bags, and sleeves, as well as flow wrap machines. The firm is buying more packaging materials from sources in the U.S. and Mexico to avoid supply chain issues that came with sourcing in China. 

All these management practices are key to the firm’s strong growth, Penalosa says. “We are a serious supplier. We’re upfront with our clients. We have reasonable pricing and we’re 24/7. We’re always there for our clients.”

In addition to Miami and Boston distribution facilities, Infinite Herbs operates a “very nice new warehouse” in Vineland, NJ, and is in the process of moving to a new lease distribution warehouse in Chicago. New coolers help the firm assure quality.