Taste the Tropics

February is the perfect time to add color, flavor, and a touch of the exotic to winter retail displays. Citrus fatigue is real! While tropical fruits like Mango and Papaya need consistently hot, frost-free conditions, subtropical fruits, which includes Cherimoya, Dragonfruit and Passionfruit, grow best in warm regions that can handle mild winter chills—making February ideal for highlighting this category. These fruits are at peak availability right now, offering a fresh opportunity to excite shoppers and drive sales.

Cherimoya: Known as the “custard apple,” cherimoya has a creamy texture and sweet, tropical flavor reminiscent of banana, pineapple, and pear. Display sliced for sampling or highlight recipe ideas like smoothies or desserts to inspire shoppers. California season often lasts through spring.

Dragonfruit: With its vibrant pink, red or yellow thick rind and mythical green-tipped scales, dragonfruit draws attention to any produce shelf. Most varieties have bright white flesh with tiny black edible seeds (similar to kiwi) that give a striking speckled appearance. Some varieties have deep red fuchsia colored flesh. Its subtle sweetness pairs well with citrus or mint blends, making it versatile for fruit bowls, smoothies, or desserts. Native to South & Central America, these beauties are currently sourced from Ecuador; California has a strong summer crop, too. Considered a superfood, dragonfruit is growing in popularity world-wide. Yellow skin varieties taste the sweetest!

Passionfruit: Small but strongly flavored, passionfruit offers a distinctive tangy, tropical and aromatic punch. Perfect for juice bars, cocktails, breakfast bowls, or desserts. Wrinkled skin is a sign of ripeness! Known as ‘lilikoi’ in Hawaii, our fruit is California-grown and a staff favorite!

Mango: Mexican-grown Ataulfo variety is available in February, offering rich, sweet flesh and tropical aroma. Mango is a familiar customer favorite that is versatile enough to anchor a tropical fruit display or be paired with other seasonal offerings for a vibrant winter collection.

Papaya: A true tropical fruit, papaya features smooth, coral-colored flesh with a mellow, musky sweetness and buttery texture.  The Intenza variety papaya is typically a larger, retail-focused variety bred for uniform size, firmness, and consistent sweetness. Ours is fair trade from Mexico. The Sunrise variety  is generally smaller and prized for its deeper orange flesh and more pronounced, aromatic sweetness. Ours is grown in Hawaii, from Kumu Farms on Molokai Island. Papaya is rich in vitamin C and vitamin A (beta-carotene), and is known for papain, a natural enzyme that supports digestion.

Pineapple: Vibrant golden flesh, bright sweet-tart flavor, and a commanding appearance; pineapple needs no introduction!

Whether you are looking to elevate winter menus, add a tropical twist to your recipes, or inspire shoppers, these subtropical fruits deliver bold flavors and eye-catching appeal.

Weather Watch

Is it Spring Yet?

Unusual weather patterns have plagued us all winter and continue as we round the corner to spring. Warmer-than-usual temperatures in the California desert have pushed crops ahead of schedule. This earlier-than-normal seasonal transition from the desert back to northern growing regions is happening soon! Expect the transition to be challenging, much like this winter, as harvests follow the Sun southward and back again. Quality and availability might be a bit unpredictable, with February looking especially tight for all leaf and row crops. Things should start to smooth out in March, though, with steadier production, lower prices, and better overall quality.

Carrot Shortage Report: Let’s Get to the Root of It

Carrot supply is currently tight due to a combination of weather and regional production challenges. As a cool-season crop, carrots grow best at 60–70°F, but in California’s southern Central Valley—particularly Kern County, where most of the state’s carrots are grown—persistent Tule fog and ongoing water-access pressures have slowed growth and limited sizing. Coastal California growers are experiencing similar delays.

Typically, spring supply shifts to Texas and Arizona, but increased demand is pushing some Arizona growers to harvest early. Compounding the issue, North Carolina—another major carrot-producing region—is reporting low yields due to storm impacts, tightening national supply overall.

Note: It is not only organic production that has been impacted, non-organic growers are also experiencing significant problems.

New & Exciting!

Black Garlic (right): Bulk black garlic will soon be available in 2 and 5-pound cases. Black garlic is fresh garlic that has been slowly aged under controlled heat and humidity, transforming the cloves into a soft, dark, almost jammy texture. The process mellows the sharp bite of raw garlic and brings deep, savory-sweet flavors—think balsamic, molasses, and umami.

Grape: Peruvian-grown Flames (Red seedless) and Sugarone (Green seedless) have arrived! Available in 8-count pouches per 18-pound case.

Kishu Tangerine (left): Petite and easy to peel with delicious, balanced sweet and acidic flavor. It’s impossible to eat just one! Staff favorite!

Medjool Date Gift Pack: Celebrate Ramadan with this lovely 5-pound Medjool date gift pack of mini-sized dates. Mini dates are petite, smaller in size than our usual Large Medjools but just as beautiful, rich, and satisfying. Perfect for sharing, gifting, and breaking fast. Add to exotic fruit salad, oatmeal or tossed salads with made with bitter greens, such as escarole or frisee. Did you know dates are excellent for baking? Check out Jewel Date Company’s recipe for Vegan Date Brownies!

Rincon Avocado: Rich, creamy California variety with smooth skin, a nutty, well-balanced flavor, and a long neck like Fuerte.

Rosa Radicchio (left): AKA Radicchio La Rosa del Veneto. One of the least bitter chicories, this eye-catching bitter green boasts beautiful pink colored leaves and a sweet, mellow taste. Perfect for salads and holds up well in a sauté or roasted.

Thumbelina Carrot: Just as their name suggest, this carrot variety is downright adorable! Small, round, and extra-sweet with thin, tender skins that don’t need peeling—just a quick scrub. They’re perfect for snacking, roasting whole, or adding a pop of color to salads.

Tulip Bouquet: A true sign of Spring is the arrival of beautiful tulips! Available as straight packs and will be adding gorgeous color in all the mixed bouquets from Thomas Farms.

Promotable

Ataulfo Mango: AKA Honey Mango. Sweet and creamy with buttery texture. Delicious for eating out of hand but also amazing for smoothies and shakes.

Blueberry: Supply and volume continues to build steadily. Highly promotable!

Butternut Squash: Local supply for Butternut is still going strong.

Citrus

• Blood Orange: Great balance of sweet & tart cherry-like flavor and beautiful ruby colored flesh. The juice is rich and delicious with undertones of fresh berries. Most popular orange in Italy!
• Lemon: Good supply and sharp pricing!
• Royal Mandarin: In a sea of winter citrus, this one reigns supreme. Royals have zesty sweet orange flavor and are juicy with some lemony undertones. The thin skin is easy to peel; expect some seeds. Wonderful for eating fresh or juicing!
• Rio Red Grapefruit: Vibrant red flesh, exceptionally juicy and sweet!
• Ruby Grapefruit: AKA Marsh Ruby. Known for its pale pink to light ruby flesh and clean, bright citrus flavor. Refreshingly balanced, it offers a smooth texture, high juice content, and a crisp, slightly tangy finish. Grown by VV exclusive grower, B&J Ranch.
• TDE Tangerine (right): Sweet, rich and a triple treat of flavor! The TDE is a triple cross of a Temple tangor, a Dancy mandarin, and an Encore mandarin, pulling the best characteristics of each variety.
  

Heirloom Tomato: This mixed medley offers rich tomato flavor during the peak of winter. Grown in Mexico, Ram’s Farm tomatoes are handpicked, cooled, and carefully packed for long lasting quality!  Perfect for salads, sliced for a sandwich or roasted into a cozy tomato soup!

Limited

New Crop California-Grown Hass: Limited supply from various growers. Buy Local!

Baby Leaf Lettuce: Winter baby leaf struggles continue with cold wet weather causing slow growth, mildew pressure and quality issues. Supply is expected to be impacted through February. Arugula is most affected, we’re seeing some shorts on spinach. Spring mix has been steady.

Bell Pepper: All colored bell peppers are extremely limited.

Berry: We may see some gaps or limited supply due to upcoming wet weather.

Burdock: Gapping

Carrot: All carrots are still very limited—from bunch to baby peeled. We’re bringing in everything we can, including early harvest from Calcagno Farms (pronounced cal-caw-nyo), grown in Arizona. See Carrot Shortage Report above.

Chili Pepper: Jalapeno and Poblano are limited. Serrano and Habanero are gapping.

Cucumber: The market overall has been tight. Bulk Persians are gapping. English cucumbers are becoming more steady. Both 36 count and 42 count continue to be very limited. Prices are way up and holding.

Dill: Both bunched and retail clamshells are limited.

Green Onion

Living Red Butter Lettuce: Slow growth due to weather has been impacting harvests on living greens, seeing some pro-rates.

Salad Kits: Josie’s Organics is experiencing a shortage of romaine which impacts supply of all retail salad kits that contain Romaine lettuce (including Southwest, Jalapeno Ranch, Mediterranean, Avocado Goddess and Kale Cesar). These shorts may last through March.

Spinach: Desert crop is winding down early. See Weather Watch above.

Tomato: Most varieties are limited. Prices are up on beefsteaks and Romas. TOV availability is picking up and prices are slowly coming down. Lean into heirlooms which have good volume right now!

Turnip: Scarlet Queen & Tokyo

Zucchini: Very limited, prices are up. Check out Yellow Squash which is more readily available.

Done for the Season

Celery Root