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A Letter from our ceo

Quarterly Note

Jake Samuel, CEO Sunrise Fresh Dried Fruit

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to Our Friends and Customers,
 
Here at Sunrise Fresh – it’s actually getting a little ‘quiet’ in a year that’s been anything but that.
 
Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, it’s not so much a slowdown as it is the routine of
changing from Fall to Winter. From finishing our almond and walnut harvests to beginning to repair equipment for spring. It’s the time of year as farmers, we watch the weather and pray for rain, which we are beginning to get. It’s a beautiful time of year and not as rushed, loud and busy as the rest of the year.
 
After 2 ½ years of reacting to the pandemic and the resulting supply chain challenges, it
seems we finally have a little time to just breathe and not to worry about that next phone call that says, “…we don’t have any trucks..” or the envelope that contains yet another rate hike on cardboard. While not the largest cost to us, it all adds up. I won’t try and fool you, but the largest percentage of costs for us is labor – and in 2022, that went up as well!
 
I don’t want to be the one complaining, but I need to point out that we had these challenges, and we met them. In fact, we overcame them and had another successful year! A lot of that is thanks to all of you, and I want you to know that my family and I appreciate all the support and business over the last 2 1/2 years!
 
For Sunrise Fresh, the biggest news of 2022 was undoubtedly the acquisition of the dry
yard. This began the partnership and creation of Sunrise Dryers with a 72-drying tunnel
capacity facility in Colusa, CA. This has been a goal of ours for some time – as it gives us
vertical integration of our operations. This not only allows us to dry our fruits – but
expands the capacity of our current dried fruits, expands our berries line, and adds some additional warehouse space. So keep your eyes peeled, as we will be giving updates on our adventures in Colusa! 
 
We didn’t neglect our Linden facility either, installing a new, almost portable building to
house employee lockers and a new lunchroom! We also expanded our bagging line
capabilities by offering additional options for our customers and serving as a distribution hub for them. This allows our customer’s to order different variations of products for some new custom product runs and increases our capacity as well. Of course, all these things take time to expand and grow – and of course, tinkering - to get them operating efficiently. Still, once they are rolling, they will be a big help to our customers.
 
Looking toward 2023 and beyond, we are excited for what’s to come. Even as some parts of our economy are wishy-washy, and the global political unrest is tip-toeing around
further ridiculousness, we are hopeful about the future. Hopeful that we will have another bountiful cherry harvest! Hopeful about agriculture staying on its two feet and, of course, hopeful that we will continue to feed the world with our products.  Stay tuned, as we are never staying still here at Sunrise Fresh. We’ll continue to share our great news coming in the New Year!! Cheers to wealth, health, and success in 2023!

Jake Samuel

Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions When Choosing Your Dried Fruit Provider

Here at Sunrise Fresh, we get a lot of questions. They come in by phone, email,
thru the website, and even Social Media. We think it’s because we are a
premier supplier of dried fruits to the industry and the ‘go-to’ provider for many
of our customers.

If you are looking to purchase larger quantities of dried fruit and want to
establish a relationship with a provider, we’ve developed a list of FAQ’s that we
think you should ask - us or any other purveyor of ingredient-quality dried fruits.
Here’s one of the most popular:

  • Where do your fruits come from?

    An easy question to ask, but not always an easy one for suppliers to answer! 
     
    Fruits are grown all over the globe, as we looked at in this very newsletter!  They
    are grown under different conditions and farming practices, yielding varying
    qualities and quantities of fruit.  Even the drying and preservation methods can
    vary - including sulfite and preserving agents, none of which we use at Sunrise
    Fresh. 
     
    We’ve made a commitment that our brand will only contain fruit grown and
    processed in the U.S.A., and you’ll find that information on every package and box we produce.

    The majority of our fruit comes from California’s Central Valley - but we also
    purchase raw fruits from growers in the Pacific Northwest, including Washington
    State and Oregon - all of which meet stringent standards.  Owing to changing
    weather patterns and land usage, we work with growers in all three states, as well
    as Idaho and Michigan to ensure that we can continue to provide our customers
    with their needs- the finest premium dried fruits from the U.S.A.

    We’ll be adding more Q&A in future newsletters, and if you’d like to see the full list,
    please visit our website,  “FAQ’s for Fruit Providers” . If you have specific inquiries
    you’d like answered, please send a note to: Info@Sunrisefresh.com

Dried Fruits – A Global Industry

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Although Sunrise Fresh is located in the heart of California’s Central Valley, the
dried fruit industry is a massive worldwide one.
 
Although the majority of our products are grown and processed in California, we
also buy from growers in Oregon and Washington.  One of the reasons is that, with
differing climates, some states are just better producers of certain items.
Fruits, of course, are grown everywhere in the U.S. – even in Alaska – but only
certain areas can grow to a volume that makes them commercially practical.
 
The same story where countries are concerned- most grow some type of fruits –
but not in a quantity to make exporting practical, and when it comes to dried fruits,
there are several countries across the globe whose ship products to the rest of the
world.
 
You might not know that the United States produces a large portion of that total
number. In fact, the U.S. ranks in the top three when it comes to the production
and exportation of dried fruits and dried fruit-related products.
Top 5 Dried Fruit Producers Across the World.

While dried fruit products are produced worldwide, five are known to be the top
producers, according to statista.com. They include:
 
 United States – 16%
 Turkey – 16%
 Iran – 13%
 Saudi Arabia – 7%
 China – 5%


Different areas of the world produce a wide variety of fruits and nuts that are dried
and packaged for wholesale use, mainly based on what type of fresh fruits are
grown in that region. For more in-depth information on the global dried fruit market,
head over to our website.
 
While all of our products are grown and produced in the U.S.A. , Sunrise Fresh
also exports a smaller portion of our products for consumption in South America
and Asia. Our largest sales are dried fruits to be used as ingredients in other foods
made in the U.S. –like trailmixes, energy and protein bars, and baking products.
 
This means that purchasing professionals, foodservice pros, bakers, and
distributors, who want the highest quality products, want to purchase from
producers they trust. And that’s why so many of them choose Sunrise Fresh!

“Just the Fruit... And Nothing Else!

Product Spotlight

BING CHERRIES

Fresh bing cherries 172e9d7e 4325 48ef a210 0ff5f2fd0dcc

Time to take a look at a perennial favorite – the Dried Sweet Bing Cherry! It’s the King of them All – in terms of growing acres, pounds processed, and consumption.

And at Sunrise Fresh, we love the Bings – whether mixed in with other varieties, like Corals and Rainiers – or just by themselves! Like many fruits, the Bing is a ‘cultivar’ of two other sweet cherries (prunus avium) cross-bred by Seth Lewelling in Oregon in 1875. The ‘parents’ are a very dark red cherry called the ‘Black Republican’ and a lighter variety named “Napoleon’ except
in the Northwest, where it is known as the Queen Anne. Lewelling was a very successful horticulturist, and he decided to name the new variety after his orchard foreman, Ah Bing.

Bing was a Chinese laborer in the Northwest fields and orchards, following many immigrants who had come to the United States during the gold rush and to work on the railroads. Unfortunately, Bing, after toiling many years, got to return to visit his homeland and then was prevented from returning to Oregon by the Chinese Exclusion Act – but his family name lives on here through the Bing Cherry.

As a variety, the Bing has an exceptional taste, color and sheen. Almost as important, it has a solid texture and ships well when fresh – making it popular in the grocery store. The ‘’ Bing is also a sales leader here at Sunrise Fresh. Many customers specify Bings for use in ingredients, making it our #1 sales leader in both units and dollars. On our Sunrise Fresh Webstore, the 20lbs. boxes of Bings are the number one product on our pages.
Bings are also high in antioxidants, and the USDA has studies showing them to be beneficial to sufferers of arthritis and gout. But we mainly love them for their taste and color – fresh or dried.

NEWS & UPDATES

Personnel Updates

Case Samuel
Sunrise Fresh is pleased to announce that Case Samuel has been named as the
Chief Sales Officer for the company.  Recently, Case was the VP, Sales and he
has worked in numerous responsibilities within the company, including Production,
Procurement, and Sales.
 
Gina Szenasi 
 Joining us this Fall, Gina has been working as the Sales Administrator, overseeing
Sales Department activities, Ordering, On-Boarding and Customer Communications.
 
Greg Wilson
 In November, Greg joined the Sunrise Fresh Team as our new Vice President,
Sales.  Greg comes to us with a wealth of experience in the industry and will
oversee Industrial and ingredient Sales for the Company.


Justin Herrera – Project Manager
Adding to our awesome Operations and Production group, we are pleased to add
Justin to the Team as our new Project Manager.  He will be responsible for
keeping the ship upright and running smoothly

Simple Elegant Holiday Appetizer

VIEW RECIPE

Current lead time for orders placed with Sunrise Fresh is 6 weeks. Please take that into consideration when planning for your future projects so we can do our best toserve you!

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