Foodshed.io and The Kroger Company have worked together to launch Georgia Sunnies – Extra Friendly, a new citrus brand. The brand is helping local, small growers to bring citrus to market at select Kroger stores throughout Georgia. Foodshed.io is an agricultural technology company that specializes in local food supply chains.
“Family citrus growers take a lot of risk in planting trees and hoping that our fruit finds a market,” said Lindy Savelle, executive director of the Georgia Citrus Association and a Georgia Sunnies grower. “Helping our growers get ready for retail and finding a market is critical to the success of these new groves.”
The new Georgia Sunnies brand brings together dozens of family growers with multiple varieties of citrus who have helped to build the foundation for the citrus industry in Georgia. Citrus varieties under the brand include Cara Cara, Golden Nugget, Shuranui, Meyer lemons, grapefruit, satsumas and more.
“These growers are regular people who took a chance years ago that the trees they planted would not only bear fruit, but would find a market,” said Dan Beckmann, chief executive officer of Foodshed.io. “Working with our partners at Kroger, we’ve been able to help these growers with the elusive last step of reaching consumers and building a brand to market their incredibly hard work.”
Foodshed.io worked with Kroger inspectors and category managers to make sure that these growers could meet or exceed standards. Together, the companies exclusively launched the Georgia Sunnies – Extra Friendly brand in select stores in the Atlanta market and throughout Georgia this season.
“These growers range from a former FBI agent, a gynecologist and a nurse to multi-generational growers,” said Amelia Weeks, director of farm operations for Foodshed.io. “We have been grateful to Kroger in helping us to establish this program and bring better flavor and fresher quality to their customers.”
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