Staying Fresh

One of the few constants at Sanwa Growers is the 32-year-old fresh foods distributor's ability to change with the marketplace.

For years after the company was founded in 1981, Sanwa grew its own produce to sell. Then canker, increasing regulations and a labor shortage made farming more costly, so the company sold its land to developers. For years, the company sold and delivered fresh herbs to Florida's largest grocer until a competitor undercut its price in 2009. So it walked away from what had become an unprofitable niche.

“We have made one adaption after another all the way through,” says CEO Wes Pinkerton, one of Sanwa's newer additions.